[antattack]

4. There are companies that will not even consider an applicant w/o BA degree, no matter what experience (HR filters).

Anyway, in large measure, we are only talking how college is not for everyone because it's so expensive. It's fine to have alternatives but education needs to be more accessible to those that want it.

[jfengel]

In way way those are two sides of the same coin. College has become so expensive because it's so indispensable. You earn more money with it than without it.

It's become almost a Veblen good -- the more expensive it is, the more desirable it is. And that pushes all colleges to be more expensive.

Having people treat non-college experience as valuable would decrease the necessity of college, and hopefully lower the price. The prestige factor would still exist, but hopefully it would reduce the costs on the lower end that more people can afford the education (if not the networking and prestige benefits).

[indymike]

> It's fine to have alternatives but education needs to be more accessible to those that want it.

As long as funding for college is a lifetime of debt, college as a delivery vehicle for education may not be a very good choice. There are many alternatives to college.

[antattack]

Networking and collaboration is hard to substitute though. As to the costs, looking for a substitute to college because it's expensive it's like treating a symptom rather than the cause.