Is College worth going after all?

Is College worth going after all?



People say a university degree is an investment in your future. Is that still true in our generation and in the coming years? Could going to college guarantee us a high paying job? In this article, it discusses the issue of college’s expenses getting too expensive for middle families to afford; even with student loans.


In this generation, students apply to colleges for the sake of obtaining a higher degree as it meant a higher probability of achieving their respective career goals and also because if everyone is doing it, you have to do it. The playing field has risen. Long gone were the days when students were in it purely for the pursuit of a higher education. Nowadays, the consequences heavily outweigh the motives.

As for the colleges, the tuition rates are constantly raised year after year in order to keep up with other colleges to create the ideal learning environment for the students. Some students and families get attracted to these kinds of campaigns. On the other hand, about 31% of middle class families claimed that going to colleges is too expensive. When students apply for student loans, they are committing themselves to years of loans. These years, college graduates do not necessarily get a job right out of school or worse, sustained unemployment. This indicates that there is quite a risk for paying so much for colleges when it does not guarantee your future. In fact, in terms of investment, the idea of putting that money into stocks and bonds instead might not seem that bad. Furthermore, going to colleges is not as valuable as in the past. About 57 per cent of parents with children aged 11 to 18 said a university education was less valuable than it was 10 years ago, while 47 per cent claimed that degrees no longer gave young people a good start in life. With this kind of perspective, it is no surprised that parents are beginning to doubt if it is worth sending their children all the way to colleges and paying $50,000+. To explore the areas of knowledge, we can see this issue with reason. We are raised to believe that we need to go through high school, pursue higher education in college in order to succeed in life. However, these years, colleges increased their tuition and expenses tremendously compare to the past years. The rise of the tuition and expenses does not mean that the school’s condition/ education is better or the professors they hire are more intelligent or better at teaching than those in other schools. After going to colleges, students get degrees on the field they studied for. However, all these tuition we pay for, is degree the only thing we get out of this? It seems to be like it.

From the recent strikes at Wall Street, most of the protestors hold a college degree and they are just fresh out of colleges. Yet, they do not have a job. Instead, they have their degree framed and hanged somewhere in their houses. This is rather discouraging when the costs are so high, while nothing is guaranteed. It is much easier to justify the means when you get the result you want, but when nothing is certain, you are left to ponder every scenario.

Sources:
http://www.collegefinancialnetwork.com/How_We_Work.html
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/add-it-up/4494.html
http://globalelites.net/207-274-large/pew-survey-is-college-worth-your-investment-57-say-no-75-too-expensive-and-86-good-personal-investment-for-career.jpg
http://www.collegefinancialnetwork.com/images/superstock_1042r-9016.medium_gnl4.jpg