James Altucher's 8 Alternatives to College

Online, February 14, 2011 (Newswire.com) - James Altucher's 8 Alternatives to College

Doug Allen, author of "Million Dollar Profits," comments on James Altucher's latest Yahoo article "8 Alternatives to College."

James Altucher is right again. There are many alternatives to college, that from both a financial perspective, and an "enjoyment of life" perspective, may be far better choices than attending college. For many students, colleges may be one of the biggest scams they experience in their lives.

Here is Altucher's original story on Yahoo:
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James Altucher's 8 Alternatives to College

It's been nearly a year since Formula Capital's James Altucher discussed his theory on why sending your kids to college is a bad idea. The segment proved to be one of Tech Ticker's most popular...and controversial of 2010. (See: Rethinking College as Student-Loan Burdens Rise)

More recently, a report based on the book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses found that after two years of college, 45% of students learned little to nothing. After four years, 36% of students learned almost nothing. (See: Brain Drain: Most College Students Learn Next to Nothing, New Study Says.)

Meanwhile, the cost of college keeps rising -- 20 times the rate of inflation and much faster than say healthcare costs -- and student loan debt keeps growing. As of mid-2010, U.S. student loan debt totaled $850 billion vs. $828 billion for credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve.

So with more people coming around to the idea that maybe Altucher is onto something (vs. being on something), the money manager and author is back with a follow-up: The 8 Alternatives to College:

-- Start a business.
-- Work for a charity.
-- Travel the world.
-- Create art.
-- Master a sport.
-- Master a game.
-- Write a book.
-- Make people laugh.

"Whenever I suggest 'don't send your kids to college' a lot of very smart people invariably come back with the response, 'well what else should they do?'," Altucher writes on his blog. "So I figure I will help people out by coming up with a list and try to handle the criticisms that will certainly arise even before they arise. I can do this because I have a college degree. So I've learned how to think and engage in repartee with other intelligent people."

In the accompanying video, Altucher "repartees" with Henry and me about his alternatives to college and addresses the most powerful thing working on behalf of higher education: The huge gap in employment between those with and without college degrees.

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Where Altucher misses the point is that these choices are "and's" not "or's". People can do all eight of these things at the same time. You can start a business that involves traveling the world, proceeds can go to support a charity, you can photograph the experience and write a humorous book about it, all the while turning the adventure and life into one big game.

Read Doug Allen's review of James Altucher's previous article here.

Visit Doug Allen's "Million Dollar Profits Blog."