Opportunity Costs And Benefits Of Going To College

Hours sitting in a library, carrying loads of books, saving money for years to pay tuition fees, staying up all night studying for demanding exams, working on group projects, moving to another state or country and leaving family and friends are all circumstances that happen to anyone going to college. As they require mental, physical and financial preparation, they must receive some attention throughout a student’s entire school life. In the environment I live, I am sure that my school and family are preparing me to face the challenges I might encounter in higher education. Although, instead of committing to trade money, time and effort for this way of learning, I could simply decide to make a change of plans and put those investments in a backpacking trip in Europe.
The very famous economic saying “There is no such thing as free lunch”, popularized by the economist Milton Friedman, brings the concept of opportunity cost. It shows that every choice has a cost; something will need to be given up or sacrificed to get something else. In the quote, for example, no money was paid for the meal, but the time to eat the meal is the pay. This leads to the fact that analyzing the costs and benefits of going to college is an essential part of the decision-making process – understanding what sacrifices will need to be made and how much effort will need be put into practice leads to a clarified idea of what taking this step means in person’s