From the Washington Monthly’s college blog, on the question of whether college is worth the cost, and for which students:

The “did college pay off” question is based on the premise that it’s college that we should be questioning. As most people who went to college understand, the most important lessons that one learns in college are life lessons, which are economically difficult to measure.

What evidence is there that college students learn more “life lessons” than other people their age? If anything, I’d argue that the opposite tends to be the case — leeching off your parents for an extra four (or more!) years and living in student housing isolates you from the pressures and “lessons” of everyday life.