&gt;The median per capita income in the US is 56K<p>Where are you getting that from? The median personal income is very close to 30K. The median household income isn&#x27;t even 56K.<p>And where did you get 40K per year for total cost at a public university, the average is closer to 20K.<p>Furthermore, why are you including cost of living for college students but not for workers when calculating the opportunity cost?<p>&gt;If you&#x27;re going to attend a university, don&#x27;t do it for money. That&#x27;s a really stupid rationale.<p>Even if you&#x27;re calculations were correct, they&#x27;re only correct for generic &quot;college&quot;. If you plan on choosing a major that pays better than average, even with your calculations, attending university for the money would still be a net win.