I ponder this question a lot, especially with a young daughter. I've increasingly come to see college as an investment of time and money. There are real opportunity costs. I agree wholeheartedly with the "gap year." I didn't take one. I just went along with the flow, 'cause that's what I was supposed to do.
You might find this Quillette post interesting: The Case for Dropping Out of College.
Financially for most people degrees are worth it. If you factor in the opportunity cost I think on average graduates still earn 50% more in a lifetime.
Then there's all the qualitativre gains of course!
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