College graduates make over $1 million in their lifetime compared to high school graduates.

> Anyway, I think ev isn't the right tool to model gambling behavior; dollar utility isn't linear.

You're right. The more money you have, the less utility it gives you, which makes gambling for a windfall an even worse decision. Worse still if you include taxes.

> What's the ev for going to college once you factor in graduation rates?

Very positive (IRR ~9%). It's been studied extensively: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstrea...

If I borrow a lot of money to start a business and then don't start the business I would also be in the hole. So, don't do that?

you can always go back and finish later...that's what I'm doing.