Category Archives: student loan debt

The Rise of the College Graduate

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In case there is still debate over the value of a college degree, the Pew Research Center is trying to put the argument to rest, once and for all, with a new report The Rising Cost of Not Going to College. Most convincing is the finding that when compared with previous generations, there is even more income disparity between college graduates and those with a high school diploma.
For those who question the value of college in this era of soaring student debt and high unemployment, the attitudes and experiences of today’s young adults—members of the so-called Millennial generation—provide a compelling answer. On virtually every measure of economic well-being and career attainment—from personal earnings to job satisfaction to the share employed full time—young college graduates are outperforming their peers with less education.    ~Pew Research Center
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The Great Debate continues…

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The president of Georgia Regents University renewed discussion on the value of a college education with his recent essay, The Great Debate: Is College Still Worth It?  The piece included poll results from a new survey by the American Association of State College and Universities stating that those with a college education and those more likely to benefit from higher education believe in its worth. So, college graduates, women, and communities of color have buy in to the value of education.
…to ensure our collective future success, more Americans must appreciate the value of, have access to, be able to afford, and complete college. This message must be disseminated widely, so we can rally the will and resources necessary to make it happen.  ~Dr. Ricardo Azziz
More on the Value of Higher Education:
Why College is Still Worth It
Choose Education
Education Value
Future Earnings

Why college is still worth it

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So does college raise incomes? Is it an investment good enough to make widely accessible?

Yes, it is. Period. Usually, this would be the part of the article where I note that there’s disagreement and perhaps a slight weighting of evidence to one side or the other. I won’t. Even McArdle and other college skeptics acknowledge that the average college graduate today will make far more over the course of his or her life than the average high-school graduate who doesn’t attend college. And the bulk of the information indicates that college really is the cause. Going to college means you make more money than you otherwise would, and that benefit far, far outstrips its upfront price.   ~Dylan Matthews

Read more:  The Tuition is Too Damn High, Part II: Why College is Still Worth It

Just Say No to Saying No

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When I read yet another article minimizing the value of a college education I am challenged by thoughts of privilege.  Yes, Steve Jobs, an individual I greatly admire, was a college dropout, but at least he had the opportunity to give it a try. Mark Zuckerberg’s intelligence and initiative is without question, but how many students can realistically include Harvard on their college wish list? And then walk away from the opportunity?

I do not discount hard work, enterprise, and determination. But for those of us who are simply above-average, or first-generation, or of a marginalized population, college is the pathway to get a step ahead, a leg up, a move toward potential success. Yes, student loan debt and college costs demand answers, but denying the value of learning, but for an elite few, is not the answer. Just say Go. Go to college.

Choose Education

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The only thing that’s more expensive than going to college is not going to college, so you really don’t have a choice. ~Anthony Carnevale

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce released a study saying what those of us in higher education have been saying all along–your college education is a worthy investment.  You can listen to or read about it at this interview on NPR.

Try these statistics on for size:

The unemployment rate for all four-year college graduates is 4.5 percent, but the unemployment rate for recent four-year college graduates is more than 50 percent higher at 6.8 percent. At the same time, unemployment rates for recent high school graduates are near 24 percent.  ~Carnevale, Jayasundera and Cheah

Take that, Peter Thiel.