State schools vs. other options

[MDela3]

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This isn't an XBox Live lobby; people on this forum aren't really prone to personal attacks.

I'm a college counselor who has taken both the well-trodden route and the unpaved online route, and I can try to straddle the line here since I've experienced the benefits of both. This is just a personal reflection with no statistical weight to it, but I definitely feel that my undergrad was more academically rigorous, while my online CBE M.S. was far more practical and professionally oriented. 
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That is often the case. My experiences at FLCC, CUNY SPS and now within this online MBA program was practical and professionally oriented but this MBA program is quite rigorous academically. I don't mind it though. 

With that said, I can also attest that undergraduate financial aid doesn't reach all students equally, and for many students it's almost a necessity to take out tens of thousands of dollars in loans, even if they do qualify for other aid. I graduated from my undergrad 1.5 years early, received the full Pell grant, and even earned nearly $100K in external and institutional scholarships, yet still left with ~$20K in loan debt. I chalked it up to "that's just the way it is for college students" at the time, but I and other users on this forum are more focused on college access in all its many forms, especially when loan debt is so crushing to many people.

Yes, I can understand that as well not everyone qualifies. But, you went to a private university, Tulane. It is clear how you ate away at your scholarships, pell grants and still managed to have 20k in debt. This should be a lesson to any future students in proper degree planning. 

You are very right to consider ROI, and I'd also advise students to look closely at that kind of metric. However, being a fly on the wall on this forum has taught me that there are many other legitimate paths toward higher education than I'd ever considered. State schools (which shouldn't be taken for granted as the best default route) can vary in quality and access from state-to-state. Such are the vagaries of federalized education. Online programs from alternative universities--especially competency-based options--can open up a lot of possibilities for people.

I agree there are many legitimate paths towards obtain a degree. My only gripe with competency-based options such as WGU is the predatory marketing, the lack of resources for students and the low standard they set for what is "competency."  If WGU raised the bar a bit by hiring real academic professionals for proctoring/mentorship, creating a better "competency" based courses, provided quality career services and student support, it would be a real game changer and would be more widely embraced within HR circles. Unfortunately, I don't think WGU cares about improving these things when they making hand over fist off of their poor students. This is not to say, WGU graduates will not have possibilities open to them. But, the opportunities will be limited because of all things I mentioned. I often hear the "WGU does not do hand holding." I even heard this from those who tried to recruit me. It seems to me, it is propaganda that absolves WGU from actually investing in their students' success. Why shouldn't a college have a robust career services office with pipeline programs, internships, fellowships and other partnerships with employers for their students? Whether or not, one is looking for a job or not, these career services offices are often the greatest resources to possibilities. 

I feel that when I first veered off my well-trodden route and entered this vast, expansive field that lacked any clear orientation, I also had a similar healthy skepticism and resistance to some of the routes that other people were carving. Much of the higher education sphere tries to correlate cost with quality, and there is a presumption of inferiority that just isn't always true. You will find predatory practices (UoPhoenix) and less-than-optimal practices (like UoPeople's peer assessment model) in online higher ed, but it may be beneficial for new users to at least start with the assumption that people on this forum work to bring awareness of legitimate, accredited paths, even as they pave them themselves.

the higher education world, correlates quality based on data. Graduation rates, retention rates, starting salaries for it's graduates, etc... that is why this information is important and public. Although, the gainful employment rules can be improved to alleviate a lot of the issues, such as ensuring student debts are actually affordable relative to students' actual incomes, the DOE has certain rules in place to have some sort of governance & compliance in higher education. 

I am all for unique educational paths. To each their own.