Six Propositions to Consider Before You Consider College

I’ve been a fan of Blake Boles’s (author, Zero Tuition College) ideas for quite some time. I reached out to him directly when I wrote a post that shared his 11 Great Reasons to Skip College inviting him to share more of his ideas here.  He agreed! The following post is an excerpt from the newest book he is writing, "Better Than College." If you like his ideas, please consider helping him out by visiting his fundraising site here where you can learn more and pre-order the book.

PHOTO: (credit Flickr/Earlham College) http://www.flickr.com/photos/earlhamcollege/4618231007/sizes/z/in/photostream/

While the idea that you can skip four-year college and still get a higher education may seem nuts, Blake Boles is writing Better Than College: How to Build a Successful Life Without a Four-Year Degree, a book on how to do just that. Below is an excerpt from the book where Boles shares six propositions to help you see why Zero Tuition College —the alternative learning method described in his book—holds just as much life-changing potential as traditional college.

Proposition #1: College is just too expensive.
Today, the liberal arts college experience offers many valuable things: exposure to new ideas, analytical skills, social networks, support, accountability, and the opportunity to live independently. But these good things come at a high price. The average family will shell out roughly $20,000 per year for tuition and living expenses,[1] while the average student who takes out loans will graduate with more than $25,000 in debt.[2] And this isn’t a recent trend: since the 1950s, college tuition has risen almost twice as fast as inflation.[3]

When the price of oil rises, we look more seriously at alternative energy. When a business raises its prices, we consider different ways that we could obtain the same goods or services. But even though the price of college has skyrocketed, we flood its gates. Why?
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