Capitalism

To be fair a lot of college graduates learn very little.

Khan Academy is also free and amazing. It's possible with free YouTube and KA to learn nearly any subject you desire.

Obtaining education doesn't increase your intelligence.

The only cost to an education or learning about subjects, ideas and people these days is the cost in TIME, NUTRITION AND EFFORT

Sure you can spend tens of thousands of dollars and go to university, college or whatever institution for a whole bunch of years and learn a bunch of stuff. Or you can just take the time to read a bunch of books, study them, learn from them on your own time.

I never had the opportunity to attend post secondary school ... I read, I write on my own and do things on my own. I'm not the smartest person but I've surprised my more educated friends and family in my ability to know a lot about many things. I've also traveled the world to many countries and in each country I visited, I took the time to read about it's history, read books from there and learn as much as I could about it all. I also enjoy learning about the latest technologies, so I've learned to tear apart computers, put them back together, install, uninstall, reinstall an OS and just generally play around with computer systems often. I have friends who are teachers and nurses with qualification in many things and lots of education, yet they come to me to fix their computers and they're surprised when I can talk to them about most subjects about history, politics, travel, countries, science, technology and many other things.

I hate to say it because it sounds stupid ... but having an education these days often doesn't amount to much. Unless you have a well defined goal as to what you want to do and you have a lot money, resources and support, you get to become a well rounded, educated, knowledgeable and capable individual. Otherwise, the majority of post secondary educated people I've seen are just people collected certifications and diplomas to add to a collection and don't really gain much of an education in anything valuable.

Read, read books, read all kinds of things and read often ... it's probably the biggest thing they get people to do in higher education. There is so much content out there that is freely available. Read, watch and listen to lectures that are freely available in all sorts of sites and made by actual highly educated and knowledgeable professors and professionals. Find those free resources that are vetted, recommended by people you trust.

The other part of the equation I honestly believe is nutrition. Eat properly and eat enough of the right things. My mom literally raised us on oatmeal every morning. I grew up with kids who ate sugar pops or nothing at all and the majority of them didn't end up with a good life path. Then we seldom had processed foods as mom and dad were hunters and trappers that fed us a steady diet of wild meat and especially fresh fish. We're Indigenous so a lot of our diet was from the land ... we were poor and didn't get to eat much but the food we ate was highly natural and nutritious. Eat enough good natural food, enough protein and fats, exercise, walk and train if you are young and capable and all that nutrition and blood pumping will get you to learn more, faster and retain things longer. The younger you do all this, the better it is because the older you become, the harder it is to do anything.

because rich people dont want competition, so some fields are gatekept. like professorships, medical doctors, research scientists, probably admins that arnt acquired through nepotism. if have been a job forum alot of positions are taken by nepotism in general. research heavily gatekpt, by placing a arbitrary amount x years of experience in job listings even at the entry level. Also the top prestigious schools often breed elitist ass students too, they think they are entitled to certain jobs, or if they become professor, they think the way its taught should be higher than it would for that college.

some people are saying degrees are useless, they are if you are getting one without doing research on it before applying, thats on you. trades is not as easy to get in as you think, even if doesnt require it.

For centuries it was called "gatekeeping." Education is the means of mobility. The elites want that limited.

Honestly you can't even buy an education outside of some technical fields needed in the economy. The only way to really become educated is to be a life long enjoyer of knowledge across many domains. There is almost no educated people left anymore since all of that has gone to the way side to make room for authoritarianism and orwellianism. Economics is a great example. Go to the most prestigious schools in the U.S and you will not learn even the most basic principles and facts of economics. Law is the same. You will not learn law as it actually is, but this totalitarian mindrot version of law.

Higher education is a positional good. That means you're not paying to learn, you're paying to be ranked among the top X%. By definition only so many people can be in the top X%, so it's an arms race dynamic just bidding up the price of education.

That's also why Harvard doesn't create a chain of schools like the for-profits. They're not better at education. They're selling exclusivity.

gatekeeping

90% of what I've learned hasn't been in a classroom, since I've been out for decades, since before the internet was a thing.

As for why formal education isn't free... Are you suggesting I stand in front of a group of people and teach a subject in which I'm an expert just because I should want to? I gotta eat too, you know, and my expertise didn't come from just standing around, but many hours of effort, including giving up social time, hanging out with family and friends, to become an expert.

Today you can learn nearly anything online or a library.

The Teaching Company has university lectures on DVD, available in your local library. I've watched a few, and learned tons. I'm talking 300-level courses from schools like Columbia and Harvard, courses that are 40 hours of lecture or more.

History, Religion, Physics, Math, Astronomy, Music, Arts, etc, etc.

Because billionaires have an interest in remaining billionaires, and if everyone was smart, there'd be more people tearing down the structures that consolidate wealth and maintain wealth inequality.

George Carlin said it best.

To keep the poor undereducated and easier to control. The ones allowed through have to pay the entry fee.

Private lessons don't make you smarter. They just make you more well equipped with.

I am a lifetime student. I am not smarter. I am not a smarty pant