oberlin isn't golden ticket. we're talking about a couple dozen schools.
dismissive of $60k? have you seen the average income in this country in general? or for various slices?
my point isn't even necessarily to laud the golden ticket, it was more about how people with some money may be more willing to let their kids find their way and take educational risks. and back that with funding til they get there. middle class or poor families want safe choices. worse, these days, want to get rid of the choices that are more about personal development or knowledge or the arts. but someone is making that show you like, and the worst case scenario of a college grad is they figure out it won't be them, retool and reboot into the very sort of practical job the middle class wants.
everyone i know from my college who was a humanities major is doing fine -- and some ended up phi beta kappa, professionals, MBAs, and professors -- but we were also the second hardest school to get into in that state. you can diss oberlin and its politics all you want but 1% loan default tells me they are probably similar or better.
i also think a couple notions overlooked by critics are that graduates show they generally can act like adults, show up the vast majority of the time they are expected and punctually, and get stuff done. you dig beneath a 4 year degree and that's part of what it shows. delayed gratification and people who work. sorry but contrary to trumpist sales pitch, one cannot make this sort of assumption about the average guy off the street. i have worked in a machine shop during college. not everyone shows up like they are supposed to. not everyone works hard. that boss wanted more people like me as opposed to the usual dudes he gets. to me it's a student-athlete thing. if i didn't work my butt off i wouldn't graduate. if i didn't show up for practice i wasn't going to games or meets. not sure what the heck entitlement is to that. i work hard and come up with ideas.