First off, excellent article! Very clearly explained some of the major issues surrounding the standardized testing dilemma... :/
To further in the hijacking of this thread:
I have and still do see some people (of particular talent and drive) able to do well for themselves without a degree (mostly CS), but the vast majority of students are unfortunately not:
- Experienced (mature) enough without 4 more years of "seasoning"
- Skilled and driven enough or
- Lucky enough (to make the right contacts)
I do believe that unfortunately "a degree" vs "talent and experience" is almost never fairly evaluated in almost all large and medium sized companies, and idealistic youth might unknowingly overlook that fact. Unfortunately this falls into the same category as the importance of GPA to a students actual learning, one of those things that VERY easy to judge on and can have an incredibly low correlation to actual performance.
And on a even more tangent note: because after even a few years of working a job a degree is just "a piece of paper" it's important to not overpay for it.
Students in my experience rarely are informed on how the cost of their education can have long term effects on their personal financial welfare. If you graduate with little to no debt then your new salary will take you much much farther than with a looming 20k, 50k, or even 80k student loan on you or your family.
College is a huge investment of money, but if you're smart about it, and are frugal with your finances you can graduate in 4-5 years with no debt and a lot more experience having co-oped, interned and done undergraduate research to pay your way through a
reasonably priced school. Then, if you've keep your grades up and made a strong network of folks that are impressed with your talent and dedication, then you'll have an easy time of getting a great job, or if you want to go to go for a graduate degree it should be a free ride, even at a fancier school.
I hesitate to say this, but other than a bit more potential job security and hire-ability, if you graduate with tremendous debt and/or it takes you 8 years to finish a 4 year degree, financially you might have been better off without it.