From Conversations With Casey:

I would suggest that a parent thinking of allocating $40,000 to $50,000 per year for four years of college education instead grubstake their kid with that same money. You could even make it a fraction of that, to be put into actually doing something, like starting a business or trying out different investment strategies, and get a lot more experience and knowledge for your kid as a result.

You certainly don't need a college to gain knowledge. For example, there's an outfit called The Teaching Company that hires the very best professors in the world in all sorts of subjects to deliver superb audio courses. I listen to these things all the time in the car. I watch the ones that have important visual components on my computer, and I can go back and repeat anything I don't understand clearly - when my mind is receptive to it. It's much more effective than going to college would be, and it's vastly cheaper. Superior in every possible respect.

Another thing I'd do if I had a college-age kid is plan out a travel schedule. He'd have to spend at least a month in a dozen countries and report on what he does there. Travel may be the single best type of education, at least if done with a method and an objective.

Crux Note: Get more of Doug's unique insight on the markets, politics, society - you name it - by signing up for Conversations With Casey. You can learn more about the free service here.

More from Doug Casey:

How to understand the "Greater Depression" in one paragraph

Doug Casey provides the best quote on poverty you'll read all year

Must-read: Why gold stocks could shoot 1,000% higher from here