The student loan problem is one of the most challenging problems.
My undergrad is probably thought by most on HN to be a diploma mill (UCF) - University of Central Florida. But, UCF has done something really special. They said screw it and they worked really hard to keep tuition low. The median Tuition is just $6,368. That low tuition + easy Florida scholarship money has worked well for the University as the acceptance rate has fallen below 50% (That is comparable to many universities in the top 100 globally).
I think UCF's bet that they need to compete on price is going to work in their favor. The biggest downside is massive class sizes, but that is made up for with more online learning and better lecturers.
When someone asks me where I would go, I tell them pick one: Really, really prestigious or cheap and decent. UCF does not provide the opportunities that Harvard does, but it will still beat out an unknown liberal arts college charging $200,000 for 4 years.
> I tell them pick one: Really, really prestigious or cheap and decent
In reality, there is really only one criterion: affordable.
The really elite universities will make themselves affordable if you can get in, and if you can't then you're better off going somewhere cheap. There's no point in paying for the expensive middle.
Hopefully, this will do more to eliminate degrees as a (useless) hiring signal.
There are multiple definitions. No one thinks UCF is illegitimate, but it is a large university which pumps out a ton of students and some people here question any school which isn't a top ten university.
My undergrad is probably thought by most on HN to be a diploma mill (UCF) - University of Central Florida. But, UCF has done something really special. They said screw it and they worked really hard to keep tuition low. The median Tuition is just $6,368. That low tuition + easy Florida scholarship money has worked well for the University as the acceptance rate has fallen below 50% (That is comparable to many universities in the top 100 globally).
I think UCF's bet that they need to compete on price is going to work in their favor. The biggest downside is massive class sizes, but that is made up for with more online learning and better lecturers.
When someone asks me where I would go, I tell them pick one: Really, really prestigious or cheap and decent. UCF does not provide the opportunities that Harvard does, but it will still beat out an unknown liberal arts college charging $200,000 for 4 years.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/with-54000-st...