I think I can give a better perspective, considering I’m probably one of the younger posters in this thread. I’m in Yeshiva in the mornings, and in the afternoons/evenings I’m currently a Senior in a “regular” college (i.e. not a Jewish one) majoring in Computer Science. I went to college because I felt that it is a necessary evil in order to have a degree and make a decent living for my family.
That being said, I would not recommend it to anyone who’s actually considering learning all day or getting into klei kodesh (Rebbi, Shochet, STA”M, etc.). The environment is most definitely NOT what an ehrliche Yid should be in, in all regards of how people dress and act, as well as the required classes. While I have no complaints about the contents of the CompSci courses I took, some of the requisite courses in literature and other topics contained material that literally made me walk out of class on several occasions (I spoke with the Professor and explained my objections and he understood).
I’ve routinely had to have dealings with females in my class, and unlike in a work environment (I’ve had experience with that as well) it is expected to go beyond a working relationship. It’s very difficult for me to explain that no, I don’t want to go to the bar with them after class, and it takes even longer for them to accept that.
The way these girls dress- even in the winter!- is the type which you simply don’t find in the working world where (hopefully) you work for a company that has some sort of professional dress code. While I haven’t seen too much of the boy-girl thing I’ve had many friends from my Yeshiva who have.
Bottom line, getting an education is important, yes, but from someone who’s doing it, for many who want to keep their neshamos pure, a secular college just may not be worth the risk.