School smarts

I heard an anecdote today about the daughter of a friend of a friend. The daughter went to an expensive private college and received a great liberal arts education. However, the daughter also lost faith in the church she was raised in; that probably wasn't part of her parents' dreams for her. Then, despite having received a high-quality college education, the daughter went back to school and earned a nursing degree recently.

In light of the very high price of a college education at many liberal arts colleges, I have to wonder, why would anyone in their right mind encourage their son or daughter to go into debt to attend one of these schools? Heavy debt to end up with a child that rejects your belief system and can't get a good job just doesn't make sense! (Of course, the situation is different for people who don't have to get into debt to pay for tuition and costs at such a school. I don't know many such people, though.)