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College provides general knowledge,

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Certainly not the only way to accumlate general knowledge.
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preparation for jobs,

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In some cases, sure. But, probably not as effectively as vocational training of some sort, or an apprenticeship.

I think a lot of people confuse college with direction and purpose. With direction and purpose college may be quite beneficial. But, with direction and purpose a non-college route might serve you just as well.

Without direction and purpose, neither college nor non-college paths are likely to serve you too well.

And, I am quite convinced that college is not the place to find direction and purpose.