The Education Bubble: The High Cost of Higher Education

This has come up a lot recently, so I think its worth discussing in some depth. There is a notion that the next big economic bubble to burst will be in higher education.

To adequately discuss the issue, I think its important to first talk delineate the difference between the common conceptions of what higher education is and what it does and the reality on the ground. For the purposes of this post I'll try to define everything operationally. When I talk about "success" and "outcomes" I'm talking principally in financial terms. The picture is obviously much more complicated than just finances, but its much more difficult to quantify quality of life than dollars.