Why College Is Not Worth It

Your Degree Might Not Land You A High

Sure, theyll all help you bring home a paycheckbut not all degrees are created equal. A history degree might earn a starting salary of $36K while a mechanical engineering degree, for instance, might earn twice that. You have to consider whether what youd be making is worth what youll be paying for school. Seriouslygraduating college with $100,000 in student loan debt to take a job making $36,000 just doesnt make sense. And it doesnt take a college degree to figure that out.

Why College Is A Waste Of Money

The last problem with the $1M analysis is that it if youre doing an analysis on students whove worked for 40 years, the best that you can show is that 44 years ago it made sense to enroll in a college. Proving that a choice was smart in 1965 does not mean that choice makes any sense in 2021. Things are a little different now.

When we talk about successful college graduates, we are looking at college graduates from decades ago. Currently, 33% of adults aged 25 and older have a college degree. This is a significant uptick from, say, 1940, when only 5% of adults held a bachelors degree. As more and more people graduate from college, the value of a college degree has dwindled.

The 1980s were the peak for college graduates, but the value has been declining. The cost of college is so high and the value of a degree so low, the investment is now very risky.

Is College Still Worth It In 2021 No

On purely economic terms, attending college is a suspect decision. John Lounsbury, SeekingAlpha

The figure comes from a 2011 Georgetown study that proves college is worth the investment. Lets first ignore the bias in a university-funded study proving that university education is valuable. The study says that a college graduate earns $2.3 million over her lifetime compared with someone who didnt graduate who earns about $1.3M.

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Is Going To College Worth It

It’s a valid question – but in short, the answer is yes. You might look at the list above and think that there’s no way that spending all of that money on a college education will be worth it. However, while the cost of college is admittedly high, there is still enormous benefit to obtaining a four-year degree. Here are the top reasons why college is worth it.

College Graduates Earn More Than Non

Despite the rising cost of post-secondary education, a college degree still pays off for the majority of graduates. On average, those with a bachelors degree earn significantly more than their peers with only a high school diploma.

Just how much more? The median salary for workers with high school diplomas is $38,792, and they have an average unemployment rate of 3.7% as of 2019, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by Northeastern University. By contrast, the median salary for workers with bachelors degrees is $64,896, and their unemployment rate is just 2.2% on average.

Over the course of their careers, college graduates can earn hundreds of thousands more than those who dont attend college.

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Colleges Tend To Take A One

Most colleges apply the same teaching approach and subject matter to all students, regardless of the individuals interests or future career. The result: a lot of what you learn in college simply wont be relevant or useful to you as an individual.Moreover, colleges test everyone by the same standards, without taking different learning and testing abilities into consideration, which means that if youre not entirely neurotypical, youre at a disadvantage from the start.In his 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Dr. Howard Gardner proposed a theory that there are multiple types of intelligence, namely Logical/Mathematical, Linguistic, Musical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Naturalist, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. His theory was that each individual possesses each of these intelligences in varying proportions, accounting for different levels of aptitude for different subjects and activities.Whether or not Dr. Gardners theory is entirely accurate doesnt matter. What is certainly true is that not everyone learns the same way or has the same capabilities or interests. Standardized testing requires everyone to be tested by the same standards, regardless of their individual aptitude. Which, when you think about it, is kind of crazy. Because how you stack up against your classmates or some predetermined standard is an entirely irrelevant metric for determining whether or not youre capable of succeeding in the real world.

Is Attending College Still Worth It

In todays society, a rising question in the minds of American youth is, Is college worth it? To which the answer is a resounding yes. Attending a university still carries a large amount of value ranging from being able to develop as a person by gaining responsibility and independence to the opportunity of increased material

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You Likely Will Graduate With Student Loan Debt

Because college costs have increased so much, its unlikely that youll be able to cover the entire cost out of your savings or earnings from a part-time job instead, youll probably have to use student loans to cover at least some of the expense. According to The Institute for College Access and Success, 62% of 2019 college graduates left school with student loan debt, with an average balance of $28,950.

Depending on your student loan repayment plan, you could be in debt for 10 to 30 years. Thanks to your minimum monthly payments, you may feel pressure to put off other financial goals, like saving for retirement or buying a home.

Increased Earning Potential For College Graduates

Perhaps the most compelling reason, and the one that is most quantifiable, is the well-documented increase in earning potential for college graduates as compared to individuals with no degree. Studies show that those with a high school diploma or GED earn approximately $36,000 per year, and those with a bachelor’s degree earn a median salary of approximately $60,000. That’s almost double the yearly earnings!

Put in another perspective: high school graduates will earn, on average, approximately $1.2 million over the course of their working lives. While this sounds like a lot, consider that individuals with a bachelor’s degree are projected to make approximately $2.1 million.

Understanding that an increase in salary will mean being better able to repay loans, and will ensure future financial security, makes taking on the costs of college a more feasible options for many students.

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Should College Students Get Paid After College

The cost doesnt stop there, so were those thousands of dollars spent really worth it? Thats what most ask themselves at night when they cant sleep because theyre figuring out how to pay their light bill. The ground on wages fluctuates by year, hourly wages for young college-educated men in 2000 were $22.75, but that dropped by almost a full dollar to $21.77 by 2010. For young college-educated women, hourly wages fell from $19.38 to $18.43 over the same period . This means that the wages people are obtaining after college is dropping and that it will be likely be many years before young college graduates-or any workers- see substantial wage growth.

Benefits Of Going To College

Although one might say attending college is a good thing, it can also be a bad thing. Parents can be proud of their kids for going to college, but some think college is not worth the time and benefits. Parents work really hard for this money and what happens if the student fails and drop out from college. What happens if you dont do well in college and you dont get a degree. Some parents think earning a college degree is useless especially if they are paying for your tuition.

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Students Who Go To Graduate School Did Not Get Their High Earnings From College

Approximately 37% of college graduates obtain graduate degrees. Granted, one can only go to graduate school after obtaining a bachelors degree. Still, I want to figure out the value of a college degree, not a graduate degree.

Doctors, lawyers and MBAs are going to lift the median earnings for college graduates even though its graduate school, not college that brought their fortunes. Furthermore, many people go to graduate school because they did not think their college degree was sufficiently competitive in the marketplace. Maybe if they hadnt gone to college, they would have found a different career that didnt require graduate school. And if its your plan to go to graduate school, it would probably behoove you to go to the cheapest college possible to cut down on debt.

The other factor would be that most people who go to graduate school come from wealthy backgrounds. In any case, Im assuming this group would be subsumed in another group in my analysis.

A Significant But Probably Unjustifiedinvestment

College rates are high, but formost students this investment might not be the best one. Since 80s the costsfor education have risen . In fact, when you are nota college person, such fees are critical you have to pay for something thatdoesnt have an obvious value, while this something makes you depressed all thetime. When you are getting a lawyer or doctor degree, sitting over yourtextbooks day and night, it becomes even more difficult. Meanwhile, the tuitionfees continue growing and your investments seem less and less justified. As aresult, we get an entire army of graduates that are absolutely not interestedand unprofessional. Not only they spend significant sums on education but theyget low-paying jobs in the end. This way, their investments never come back.

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Is College Worth It A Concluding Thought

Going to college is worth it if the experience will help you to achieve what you want in life. There are times when a degree from an institution at any level can help to break down doors to get into a job that someone with a high school diploma will not have a chance to earn. Some creative careers can benefit as well because colleges and universities offer opportunities to practice skills in meaningful ways.

It is essential to remember that most college graduates do not regret their decision. Only 3% of students who graduated in 2011 and said that they wished that they have not gone to college in the first place. You will have more options if you have a college degree hanging on your wall. Sometimes the decision is that simple.

Is going to college worth it? That all depends on your personal perspective. If the career you want does not require a certificate or degree, then the expense of earning this paperwork may not make sense. If you want to work in a specialized field, then the pros and cons of going to college would suggest that the investment you make in your tuition expenses is one that will provide a lifetime of dividends.

The Student Loan Issue

Student loan is the primary assistance for students who cannot financially support their college education it does not only cover tuition fees but also other expenses This is a tremendous help, especially if you are taking one of the most expensive majors or are studying in one of the most expensive US colleges or both. But while it helps you go through college, it is also a huge responsibility.

Below are some relevant student loan statistics:

• 45 million borrowers share the national student debt.
• $393 the average student loan payment.
• $17,000 the median student loan debt.
• 10.8% the default rate for student loan debt.
• In 2018, 65% of the graduating class had student loans .
• Graduates of public colleges in the US during the school year 2017-2018 have an average student debt of $27,777 .

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The Majority Of Jobs Require College Education

In past generations, a college education wasnt necessary to earn a middle-class income. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, two-thirds of jobs required a high school diploma or less before the 1980s.

Thats no longer the case. Georgetown University predicts that 70% of all jobs will require some college education by 2027.

Without higher education on your resume, it may be more difficult to find a high-paying job, and competition for available opportunities will be fierce.

Underemployment Is Common Among College Graduates

According to estimates by the Federal Reserve bank of New York, around 43 percent of college graduates are working jobs that dont require a degree. Meanwhile, the employment rate for 25-35-year-olds without a college education is at a high 72 percent.Some 22 million American workers are underemployed thats to say, theyre overqualified for the work theyre doing, or theyre working part-time when theyd prefer a full-time job.Ending up underemployed and struggling to make your student loan payments is the opposite of a good investment.

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Reasons Why College Is Not Worth It

Deciding whether or not to go to college is not a decision between a well-paying career and being unemployed or working a minimum-wage job in retail or food-service for the rest of your life.These are not the only options.You dont have to resign yourself to going with the flow and getting a degree just because its expected of you or working deadbeat jobs because you think its your only option.Its entirely possible to skip college, save yourself from a mountain of student debt, and invest those four years in your own development.You can take control of your life and your career, develop the skills you need to succeed, and build a fulfilling and meaningful career doing something you really love.

Making An Investment In Your Future

Perhaps more than any other reason, the fact that by getting a degree you will be making a investment in your future makes the cost of college worth it. It can be difficult to look beyond where you are right now to make decisions that will benefit your future self, but when you really consider the benefits of a degree, the value of college education becomes evident. Despite the significant financial commitment you’re making when you enroll in a degree program – not to mention other challenges, such as the time, energy, and work required to reach completion – the payoff is more than worth it in the end. When you receive your diploma, you’ll be greeted by not just the tangible benefits in terms of career and income, but a sense of having done the right thing to secure your future success as well.

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Is College Really Necessary

If we compare college graduates with non-graduates, college graduates tend to do well financially. However, dont get the causation wrong. College does not make people successful -successful people go to college. If youre not already destined for success, college is not going to help you get there.

Consider that children from the top half of the income distribution earn 77% of all bachelors degrees. The children of the richest 25% amass 50% of all degrees. As the New York Times provocatively points out, some colleges have more students from the top 1% than the bottom 60%. Wealthy children go to college and wealthy children have better outcomes. If your parents are multimillionaires or billionaires, youre probably going to be ok in life.

And if college students dont come from wealthy backgrounds, theyre smart and/or hard-working, as evidenced by applying to and being admitted to college.

A famous study showed that college students who were accepted into Ivy League schools but attended state schools, earned just as much as those who graduated from Ivy League schools. Even more interesting, those with comparable GPA/SAT scores rejected from Ivy League schools earned just as much as graduates from those schools. What does this tell us? That college even at an Ivy League institution doesnt add any benefit. The kids had the advantages baked in before attending college.

Why College May Not Be Worth It In A Chart

Ive summarized this article into the above chart. As you can see, I conclude that 15% of college students benefit from college, but 85% do not. And that 15% is giving the statistics a lot of benefit of the doubt.

Though it made total sense for me to go to college 20 years ago, it might not make sense for someone like me to make the same choices today. A lot changes in 20 years. Beware of people who use their own experiences from decades ago as evidence that college is a good investment today.

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Why College Isnt For Everyone

Around half of the American college students drop out before completing their four-year degrees. This goes to show that not everyone is cut out to thrive in the college environment.

• Extensive studies have shown that only 5% of people surveyed felt that lecture halls were their prime learning conditions.
• An astonishing 75%, on the other hand, stated they learn best from hands-on, practical work.

Whats more, is that college wasnt actually designed for everyone to attend. Before the 1960s schools were focused on teaching kids practical skills they could take with them into jobs and apprenticeships. Unless a person wanted to practice medicine, for example, it was believed a college education was not worth it. Only afterward did schools begin ushering students into the college system, a decision that has been financially catastrophic to many who have gotten little use out of their expensive degrees.