Is Higher Education Really Worth It?

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and early investor in Facebook, is awarding $100,000 fellowships to young people who drop out of college. Although he's a graduate of Stanford Law School himself, he points to Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as Harvard dropouts who made it big as entrepreneurs. On a campus in Northern Virginia today, President Obama touted an industry-led initiative linking companies with community colleges to create some 500,000 manufacturing jobs in years to come. Are America's most expensive schools failing to provide what graduates need to compete in the global economy? Is real-world experience a better investment, or is preparation for work the only important standard? Is a well-rounded education valuable just for itself, for those who can afford it?