Why College Degrees Are No longer Worth It

[jeffrey]

The four-year college degree has come to cost too much and prove too little. It's now a bad deal for the average student, family, employer, professor and taxpayer.

A student who secures a degree is increasingly unlikely to make up its cost, despite higher pay, and the employer who requires a degree puts faith in a system whose standards are slipping. Too many professors who are bound to degree teaching can't truly profess; they don't proclaim loudly the things they know but instead whisper them to a chosen few, whom they must then accommodate with inflated grades. Worst of all, bright citizens spend their lives not knowing the things they ought to know, because they've been granted liberal-arts degrees for something far short of a liberal-arts education...

DON'T GET THAT COLLEGE DEGREE! - New York Post

[disneysteve]

I don't think the problem is that the degree isn't worth it. I think the problem is that tuition inflation has been out of control so that the "better" schools have gotten so ridiculously expensive as to be unaffordable. I graduated college in 1986. The year I graduated, tuition, room and board was just over $10,000. Today, that same school is over $40,000. Now I don't know too many people who are earning 4 times as much as they did 20 years ago. Tuition has risen far faster than inflation and far faster than average wages.

So even though I attended a fairly elite, small private school, the odds are that my daughter will not have that same opportunity because it is cost prohibitive which is really a shame.

[GREENBACK]

I don't think the problem is that the degree isn't worth it. I think the problem is that tuition inflation has been out of control so that the "better" schools have gotten so ridiculously expensive as to be unaffordable. I graduated college in 1986. The year I graduated, tuition, room and board was just over $10,000. Today, that same school is over $40,000. Now I don't know too many people who are earning 4 times as much as they did 20 years ago. Tuition has risen far faster than inflation and far faster than average wages.

So even though I attended a fairly elite, small private school, the odds are that my daughter will not have that same opportunity because it is cost prohibitive which is really a shame.

This is very, very true. At the same time I wonder if it's really that neccesary for every single child to go to college. I know kids that went to trade school and make very good money as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc.. Seems like college is such an automatic choice anymore but it doesn't have to be and, frankly, many kids aren't suited for it.

[irmanator]

This is very, very true. At the same time I wonder if it's really that neccesary for every single child to go to college. I know kids that went to trade school and make very good money as plumbers, electricians, carpenters, etc.. Seems like college is such an automatic choice anymore but it doesn't have to be and, frankly, many kids aren't suited for it.

I agree.

[nmboone]

I should think that getting a degree is a decision of mostly wanting an education. I'm sure many students flunk out because they find that school is difficult and not worth the outcome.

However, how do we figure out who is suited for it? Does a person who makes a 2.0 gpa in high school become "suited" for college? A true story: I graduated high school with a 2.2 gpa and I'm certain the counselors at the school would never have thought I would go to college. I failed every math class consecutively. I did go to college however, and I did awesome, I'm glad to say and I now have two associate degrees and one bachelors! I loved every minute of it, even with all the challenges. Many of my friends have failed to graduate at the same school (LSU.)

So I seriously wonder about all the kids who become disillusioned about going to college because their grades are not very good, but they would like to go to college. Are they pushed aside? Or am I one of a few? Sorry if I went off topic!

[disneysteve]

I should think that getting a degree is a decision of mostly wanting an education.

I wish that were true but I think a more accurate reason that most students go to college is because they know they need a degree to get a decent job.

[simpletron]

I find the arguement disingenuous, just to support the author's conclusion. only one sentence to the fact that the college graduate would have a higher standard of living his entire life other than retirement, following the author's assumptions. the college graduate can still easily reduce his standard of living to a level above the high school graduate and save more for retirement, if he so chooses(though the averages do not support this happening). also who really thinks the average 18 year old high school graduate isn't going to blow the ~17K on something(probably a car) and invest it in an index fund. if the high school graduate spends the ~17K, then he loses almost 600K from the retirement and shrinks the gap considerably and if he misses out on the early years like most people the whole advantage disappears.

[red92s]

if the high school graduate spends the ~17K, then he loses almost 600K from the retirement and shrinks the gap considerably and if he misses out on the early years like most people the whole advantage disappears.

This was my first thought as well. Since the author relies heavily on "averages" in his article, I think it's worthwhile to note that the "average" 18 year old will probably not dump that entire amount into an index fund upon graduation. What does the "average" person spend on a car? What does the 'average" person spend to pay first/last/deposit on an apartment, then buy some "average" furniture for it? Going off "average" numbers, most people could blow through $8k or more pretty easily doing that. Relying on averages for the entire article, but assuming you have the most fiscally responsible teenager in existence kind of nullifies the whole thing.