Not all degrees are 100k. Lots of STEM degrees pay themselves off. The real issue is the time commitment. Most code school students (IME) are career changers that can't afford to spend 2-4 years changing skillsets. Also, Lambda School caps ISA at 30k, which I would argue is insane for a 6 month fulltime program. To your 100k example, college is actually cheaper.
Yeah, maybe the ISA asks for too much. It is reasonable to find ways to align the incentives between students, schools, and employees. So in that way the ISA as a concept is plausible.
You can cherry pick, but with most random programs the value prop is much less obvious. And there are hundreds of them for every stand out program. In CS particularly you are probably ok right now, but it doesn’t generalize well, like your example.
[edit] if not clear, I’m not arguing post-secondary isn’t worthwhile, just picking a program like Waterloo isn’t good evidence.
I don't really agree - having a STEM degree from an accredited university gets you pretty far. Unless you're going to an elite school for a given field, it doesn't really matter what you pick. An elite school's degree is better than alternatives, but a STEM degree in general is better than not having one (for STEM industries).
Going to a mediocre state school for CS will pay itself off quickly, regardless of which school.
Not all degrees are 100k. Lots of STEM degrees pay themselves off. The real issue is the time commitment. Most code school students (IME) are career changers that can't afford to spend 2-4 years changing skillsets. Also, Lambda School caps ISA at 30k, which I would argue is insane for a 6 month fulltime program. To your 100k example, college is actually cheaper.