Going to college used to be absolutely essential for any high-achiever on a path to success, but in 2024, the exact return on investment has become less clear. After all, college is a four-year commitment and a significant investment of time, energy, and money.
Crew Dog is all about capturing the uniqueness of the college experience, but lately, many people are wondering if the return on investment still stands.
A Pew Research study tells us that almost a third of Americans don’t think a degree is worth it, and it shows: Peter Thiel offers a $100,000 fellowship to dropouts, college has become increasingly expensive, and online gurus share countless alternatives to the traditional path. Although it seems not everyone agrees on the value of an education, The Crew still believes that college is the way to go, and will continue to be for a very long time.
So what makes college worth it?
Academics are the number one priority on a student’s agenda, and while critics may point out that top schools like Harvard and Yale don’t have pre-professional majors, we see this as a positive. College is a space to delve into our intellectual sides, where we’re less focused on what’s practical and more focused on what makes us tick. Learning the ins and outs of an industry is important, but first we must learn how to think and where our interests lie. We have the opportunity to be exposed to all sorts of ideas and fields of study, allowing us to open our minds and explore interests across disciplines. And if you do care about numbers, there are numerous reports that prove a degree leads to higher wages and lower unemployment rates.
But perhaps more significant than academics is something a little harder to quantitatively assess. There’s no other time in our lives when we’ll be living with and surrounded by so many of our peers. It’s impossible to assign an exact value to the connections you form, whether that’s meeting lifelong friends, a life-changing mentor, or, in our case, the co-founder of the apparel brand you started. These are the people with whom you’ll have thought-provoking conversations, memorable nights out, and the freedom to explore who you are in the world.
Much of Crew Dog’s success can be attributed to those who share our view that college is one of the most unique and special times of our lives. If you’re still a skeptic of the power of a degree, try listening to your heart, not just your head. Sure, there are other pathways to professional success, but there’s nothing that compares to what college does for your growth as a person. Think of the professor who propels you to pursue a certain field, the classmate you run into down the hall who becomes your closest friend, the conversation you have one night that changes how you think about your life, the startup ideas that come to life on the bus to practice.
To us, that’s invaluable.
Oh, and don’t forget the value of discovering your new favorite clothing brand after seeing someone on campus wearing one of our hoodies ;)