But there's also the fact that college is now free in Germany, and that offer is open to Americans. I actively tried to persuade a family member to at least consider Germany as an option. After all, what could be better? Free degree, travel Europe on holidays, no drinking age issues.
She didn't consider it. She's going to a college nobody has ever heard of in the US and spending $45K annually for the privilege. At least I tried :-/
Many subjects, say Biology, are actually difficult to get in, even for Germans. Not having the language skills would mean you're in for bad grades from the very beginning.
It'll work only for a few majors, and only with a considerable effort, ideally before enrolling, to obtain relevant information (about costs and specifics) concerning the admission procedure and moving to Germany (or some other European country where college tuition is low, say Austria)
Knowing what I know now, I would have jumped at the chance to study for free in a place like Germany (as per danjoc's comment). That sounds like the perfect way to minimize the costs of what college purports to offer- a chance to broaden one's horizons and investigate possible directions one wants to take with their life.
When you get older, read more, travel more, experience more, you'll understand the value of a well-rounded education.
Or maybe not. Perhaps confining yourself to a one-track life and career path will prevent you from seeing, or being considered for, other opportunities in life. You'll never know.
I'm using "young life" in the sense of "up to that point in my life". I'm now in my mid-30s and on my 3rd career (first in sales, then as an overseas ESL teacher, and now as a software developer). I've travelled to 20+ countries, lived in China and Europe, and had many wonderful experiences along the way. I'm grateful for the many careers I've had, which allow me to state with confidence that my current career is a great fit for me. But none of my experiences required that I attend the college I did and go into deep debt to do so. While (as you said) I'll never know for sure, my guess is that debt probably cut off just as many opportunities as it gave me.
