Hey, I took an engineering degree and it was able to teach me how to be a person as well (despite it not being a liberal arts degree). =) My experience is somewhat similar to your experience. I went to college because I did not know what else to do and it was "the thing to do". And it changed my life. Lifelong friends, outlook and maturity.
Swapping experiences aside, I'm glad that someone is taking up the college side of the argument. I like to think of college as a purgatory for people who don't know what they want to do in life to hang out in. And hopefully, while they are there, they learn more about themselves to the point that they know what they want to do outside of college. To me college is one of the best places for people who are unsure of their life direction to learn about themselves (costs and other factors aside) because of the variety of new experiences and people that they encounter there. Once they learn what they want to do in life, it is trivial to analyze whether continuing with the college degree is worthwhile.
Swapping experiences aside, I'm glad that someone is taking up the college side of the argument. I like to think of college as a purgatory for people who don't know what they want to do in life to hang out in. And hopefully, while they are there, they learn more about themselves to the point that they know what they want to do outside of college. To me college is one of the best places for people who are unsure of their life direction to learn about themselves (costs and other factors aside) because of the variety of new experiences and people that they encounter there. Once they learn what they want to do in life, it is trivial to analyze whether continuing with the college degree is worthwhile.