What is College Worth?

The NYTimes Magazine section ran an opinion piece about a college education this weekend that raises a series of questions about higher education--many of which we have talked about here:

1. Is is worth it? He argues that the fact that people pay higher and higher tuition prove its worth in the market.

2. What should a person major in? Outside of specialized courses like medicine, the author argues that college is mostly a signalling device for employers. Thus, being flexible and demonstrating the ability to excel in any course is all you need to do. One might call this the liberal arts, but the author emphasizes the elitist nature of this kind of training.

We have heard these arguments before, but it seems to be part of an oblique criticism of the idea that more people should go to college.