Are College Costs Still Worth It?

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Finding a well-paid career after graduation is a main issue for students. The Economist Group reports that students are still paying massive amounts of money to get their degree in hope of finding a well-paid job and earning back their investment over a life time, but warns that there is no guarantee for graduates to find a job. The Economist Group cited the example of hundreds of thousands of law graduates who have not found work as lawyers and stated that 9.1 percent of students who borrowed a federal student loan had defaulted on their loans within two years of graduating in 2011 because they could not find a good job. However The Economist Group ignored many other factors in finding a job such as individual’s level of efforts and the society’s needs for a specific major. Also, by considering only small parts of the students population such as law graduates, ignored the experience of graduates of other programs. Without evidence of other graduates experience, there is no way for the reader to determine whether law graduates experience is a typical or a worst case example. According to Trends in College Pricing 2013, “The earnings gap between high school graduates and bachelor’s degree holders ages 25 to 29 is 54% ($15,200)”. This earning gap between high school graduates and bachelor’s degree and the increase in it clearly show that the college worth its price for people who attends there.

During my research, I confront several criticisms about government and educational institution’s insufficient effort to make colleges affordable. Critics such as Peter Wood, a professor at Boston University, pointed to the federal subsidizes and its effects on colleges cost. He noted this federal subsidizes are seen by colleges and universities as money that is there for the taking tuition is set high enough to capture those funds and whatever else we think can be extracted from parents, but he did not offer any evidence. Also, critics did not offer any way to solve these problems. It is unfair to criticize an issue without any reasoning and evidence and do not show the right way to solve it. President Obama’s proposal plan strongly shows government’s concerns about high tuition of colleges and its effort to make college loans larger and more affordable. President told colleges that there’s people out there doing good things, you should look at them, try them and try to do better and here’s where we can help.

College is a place that has been generating science and education for decades. Regardless of the type of college, they have been costing too much for people who attended them during this time. Also, it is going to cost more and more to be educated and to have a degree to prove that you are educated. That is why people are so preoccupied with the value of education and are willing to acquire debt for colleges. There are many logical reasons that show investing in education are worth it. Outcomes that make these costs reasonable for individuals and societies are apparent. Although college costs are high, considering these positive outcomes, hoping all government’s efforts to make colleges affordable, and seeing that institutions are willing to cut the cost of higher education are persuading people to continue to attend college in these decades.

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Works Cited

Baum, Sandy, Jennifer Ma, and Kathleen Payea. “The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society: Education Pays.” Collegeboard.org. College Board. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.

Bin A. Tambi, Abdul Malek, Maznah Che Ghazali, and Norasikin Binti Yahya. “The ranking of higher education institutions: A deduction or delusion?” Total Quality Management. 19.10 (October 2008): 997–1011. Business Source Premier. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

Clark, Ken. “Understanding the Skyrocketing Costs of a College Education” About.com. 7 Oct. 2013.

Edwards, Chris, Neal McCluskey. “Higher Education Subsidies.” downsizinggovernment.org. May. 2009. Web. 19 Mar. 2016

“Higher education: Not what it used to be.” The Economist. The Economist Group. 1 Dec. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

Lewin, Tamar . “Obama’s Plan Aims to Lower Cost of College.” Nytimes.com. New York Times. 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 25 Mar 2016.

“Making the Harvard College Connection.” Harvardgazette. Harvard University, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

“Responses to FY13 Operating Budget Analysis.” University of Maryland. University of Maryland, 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

“Trends in College Pricing 2012.” Collegeboard.org. College Board. 2012. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.

“Trends in College Pricing 2013.” Collegeboard.org. College Board. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2016.