In Defense of the Ivory Tower
In Defense of the Ivory Tower
I have a few hundred thousand dollars in 529 plans. We have been growing them for years. Although not 
everyone’s cup of tea, this lump of money invested in this manner suggests that not only am I prepared to drop a boatload on college education, but also feel that it is cash well spent. Although this type of thinking was self-evident a decade ago, there is a growing chorus of voices that question the voracity of educational spending. I was lucky enough to have college and medical school paid for me. I expect to do the same for my children. But should I? While some would argue that a mix of less costly community college or online education is all that is necessary today, I decided to write this post in defense of the ivory tower.
The prestigious university.
Not only for professionals like me, but many can benefit from investing in a traditional college education.
The Right Credentials
In defense of the ivory tower, certain career paths require traveling the traditional route. You can’t become a doctor by going to community college. No medical school will accept an online education. The same is said for many other professions like law and even accounting. The bar is set at a certain level, and there is no way to duck under or walk around it.
The fairness of this reality is not being questioned. Could a less expensive alternate educational pathway serve a student just as well? Probably.
The upside is, that for the most part, the money spent on education will most likely pale in comparison to the wealth accumulated by being a sought after professional. Financial sacrifice at the beginning of the journey may provide life long dividends.
Balancing Pragmatism
In order to be successful at whatever career or money-making venture, one must learn pragmatism. In the real world, we get very good at groveling in the muck of everyday compromise. Staunch morals often get in the way of getting the job done.
In defense of the ivory tower, the four-year academic university is still the bastion of good old, puritanical idealism. A major part of any thoughtful young persons development, idealism will continue to serve long after the tarnish is scrubbed off this all to perfect veneer.
In all things business, money, and otherwise, pragmatism is balanced by a foundation of ethics.
The ivory tower provides this in spades.
A Complete Education
In defense of the ivory tower, there were many life lessons learned at college that had nothing to do with my classes. I learned how to cook, clean and take care of myself. I learned how to live on my own. This knowledge would be lacking if I spent four years holed up in my parent’s basement taking online courses.
More importantly, I rubbed shoulders with young, intelligent, motivated students who taught me about the culture of success. I shared classrooms with innovators, motivators, and leaders. These connections not only last a lifetime, but form a bridge of support into the future.
They engendered in me a way of thinking and approaching problems.
There is no substitute for hobnobbing with the best and brightest.
Final Thoughts
While college is not reasonable or affordable for everyone, I think there are many arguments in defense of the ivory tower. In my case, I would have never been accepted to medical school without acquiring the right credentials from a prestigious, costly university.
The benefits, however, are more varied than just a stepping stone to a graduate program. At university, I learned to balance pragmatism with idealism. A skill that continues to serve even today. I also learned not only how to take care of myself but also to nurture life long relationships with what would one day become highly successful people.
My four years in college were precious and necessary,
Money well spent.
I do think that the climate of careers are changing so rapidly that traditional college education just can’t seem to keep up. Now there are bloggers, Instagram influencers or YouTubers you make leaps and bounds more than the average professional.
There are so many more paths available to young people now, that college just might not be the best option for everyone. With all that said, i think it would be very shortsighted not to be prepared to fund kids education in college.
Also, there will always be a need for Doctors, Lawyers , Engineers etc…. so as long as kids are pursuing these types of careers, especially when completely funded by parents, it becomes almost impossible to fail.
Cheers!
“it almost becomes impossible to fail”. I think the ivory tower helps make this statement true.
I tend to agree with you on this one. They say you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. So therefore a person will have more advantages being surrounded by bright and motivated intellectuals at an “ivory tower” university.
The importance of networking should not be understated too.
I went to a four year college within the prestigious University of California system. Then immediately went to medical school after three years. So it has benefited me.
However, there are ways to save money by going to community college for the first two years, then transferring to a major prestigious university for the last two years to get a degree from the university. For example, I have had some medical school classmates who went to Santa Monica City College (a community college) who then transferred to UCLA and attained therefore attained their degree from UCLA. The degree is all that matters to medical schools, professional schools, and employers. These people can save thousands by going this route.
Great point. There are ways to frugalize the University education and still get all the benefits.
I’m somewhere in the middle here. I think in a different world everything you mentioned could be learned in the real world without spending a fortune on school. But…
We don’t live in that world. So for now it is what it is.
Get a degree from a name brand school and some experience and you’ll come out ahead of a person with same experience and community college. So get a degree from a school with an ok reputation, not a fly by night online school. Going to a name brand school online however can be cheaper and indistinguishable from the on-site option. If you can get the other things you mentioned elsewhere and you seek them out why not. Different strokes for different folks. I believe the difference between mid and top might be overstated and irrelevant to your long term career. But bottom to respectable is a cliff.
The question becomes, will our culture change. Will the cheaper options become more acceptable?
Short answer yes long answer no. Will traditional schools more and more offer degrees indistinguishable from on site degrees and potentially lower price. Yes. Will online only schools prosper? I remain doubtful as culture seems entrenched against it. Someone with an in person degree from the past is more likely in power. They are also more likely to frown on online degree. Until and unless the people on top have these degrees things won’t change.
Then again I avoid 529s for other reasons.
The university is becoming more questionable as online learning opportunities grow. I have a friend whose son is quite smart and would like to become a medical researcher, with both PhD and MD. He just got accepted to Tulane and even with help, they will be paying 45K per year for the undergrad. They have also been saving for the past 18 years and yet, we talk about the possible ways to save.
He as taken community college courses since he was 15 years old, has gotten AP and CLEP credits to help. But you are absolutely correct about the experience being something that is unique and worth it if you can afford it. I just wonder if my friends will be able to retire or if they will be sacrificing on his behalf for many, many years to come. It is a tough call.
Definitely a tough call. We have been saving for a very long time so hopefully it won’t put much if a dent in our finances.
We’re saving for our son’s education too and hope to pay for the majority of it. Mrs. RB40’s parent discouraged her from attending a more expensive school because they didn’t have much savings. We really don’t want to do that. If our son is good enough to get into a prestigious university, then we’ll help him as much as we can.
I think the school choice really depends on the major. If you’re in finance, you really should go to the best school you can so you can have the best contact. For engineering, any respectable college is fine. IMO.
I definitely agree with you about the major. Certain fields it’s more important than others.
College is useful. Knowledge is more useful. Aggressively applying yourself even more useful. My route to med school was basically I filled out a post card and got in. I went to a second tier university in IL. I cross pollinated in a multitude of disciplines and had a blast. I learned my stuff for real and did not just study for the test. I got out and went into engineering and 4 years later decided to go into medicine. I studied for the MCAT for a year, took the test, scored in the top 1% nationally. My grades were good but not strait A’s. I took classes like physical chemistry bio physics and multi variable differential analysis. In college I had no interest in medicine and I thought pre meds were idiots. Going to my second tier school allowed me to have no debt. I worked 2 jobs, the tuition was very reasonable. I lived in a $50 one room efficiency. Good enough. I applied to 6 schools got into 4. I had saved enough money, plus a couple years of Navy commitment, I came out of med school and residency debt free as well. I moonlighted in the Navy and front loaded my portfolio and then did Locums living off the per diem and banking the wages.
One of my med school class mates went to another smaller second tier IL college. He was Mr strait A’s from one of Chicago’s premier High schools. He could have gone to Harvard with his credentials. He went to the little downstate University based on game theory. If he went to Harvard he would have been average among his peers but downstate he was superior without a perverse amount of studying. His goal was medical school and his path was to be the Valedictiorian from downstate U. He wound up gong into neurosurgery. He was far from the smartest guy I ever met though he was smart. Med school is all about knowing your 10 things. If you know 11 good deal but the cirriculum demands 10. This cat knew his 10 things cold. He also came out of college with little or no debt.
One of my ex partners went the other route. He did Ivy League college and med school and became a fellowship trained attending a Ivy League academic. He always had his air of Ivy League susperiority. One day we were talking and he admitted the Ivy meant nothing. He had all the whoop de doo and it netted him a private practice gig as a junior partner in my anesthesia practice. Even so he made a hell of a lot more money being part of my practice than being junior in the Ivory tower. The quarter million dollar Ivory tower buys you a piece of paper and an attitude. It does not make you smart or particularly gifted just self possessed. Bottom line you can be whatever you want to be.
True, but certain professions require a reasonably reputable university. Medicine is one of them. Even second tier universities in Illinois would be considered ivory tower.
My view is not so much if university is worth the cost based purely on acquired educational content. Content can be obtained for free in any library or online provided you have the self discipline. It’s the entire experience and exposure to the academic world that is important. University shapes critical thinking, it builds teamwork, and helps you become more socially adept. You can’t be a total social noob and be a success. But the most important thing that piece of paper is good for is it is a key that opens doors and gives you options. I’m all about options, and having a degree from a good university gives you more options than if you didn’t have it. Whether you choose to exercise those options is all up to you.
I agree that the paper itself, or even the skills are not as important as the environment.
When I read this I am so glad I’m a Canadian. No one really cares where you went as long as it was in Canada. My husband hires many of these specialists into his group. I absolutely know they could care less where someone went for their training. And the docs who needed the US Ivy League degrees are often passed over for the grads who did not pay for those high priced degrees.
Maybe in certain professions such as finance it matters. But then again when it’s often shown that indexing works as well as most active funds…makes one think. Maybe many of these finance guys are just about optics. And how much do you really want to pay for optics?
It’s like most things in life. Some give a damn about these things and thus should pay for the privileged. I don’t give a rats A$$ about it so I will gladly save my money.
Apparently everything thing is better in Canada. I’m not saying this jokingly. It may just be true!
College for the most part is still valuable, but shouldn’t be seen as a necessity to have a well paying job or successful career. It’s the perception of “it’s mandatory” that has been getting the push back in recent years, which I agree with.
I agree. Not mandatory but helpful in certain fields.
This is a great article but I have a question for you and others out there: do you also save money for your kids in other accounts besides a 529? I’m not talking about the daily expenses as they grow, that should be covered in your monthly living expenses. Obviously we will contribute to a 529 plan, but how much?
Should we also contribute to a dedicated savings account / CD’s early for other milestone purchases like a car?
How does the conversation change when you want to contribute $100/month vs $1,000/month?
I’m not in the medical field (engineer) but have been reading a lot your blogs and I truly enjoy learning about personal finances. Recently, I have been trying to come up with the best strategy for my wife and I plan to start a family. We are earlier 30’s and have great careers, live in a low COL area, and have a couple rental properties that we’re trying to reduce our debt on. It can be a daunting task to balance our own retirement savings, personal goals of paying down debt, and planning to fund their futures. It is important to us that we provide them with a great foundation and the opportunity to attend college without debt. For us, that definitely means providing them with a bachelors degree and some assistance for graduate school. I’m just curious to hear others’ thoughts in this area because while 529’s are a great tool, I also worry about a child that decides not to go to college or that we save too much and miss out on other opportunities.
I think it’s important to remember that perfect is the enemy of good. You can’t plan everything perfectly. By the time your kids get to college, you will likely have 529 money as well as some saved in other taxable accounts. I think it is reasonable to add to 529’s what you can afford and set a limit on how much. You are already ahead of the game living in a LCOL area, having real estate and paying off debt.
Who knows what college financing will even look like in 20 years. Some medical schools are even going tuition free now.
I guess the point is to shoot for good. Do your best, and financial independence will come if you are careful even if you don’t do it exactly right.