This month, students across the United States are starting to head back to campus. Shopping — for classes, for course books, for the perfect dorm setup — has begun, and with it comes the question of cost. For years, the price of a college degree has soared, leaving parents and students to decide: Is college still worth it?
Theodore R. Johnson: Sticker shock
The answer to whether college is worth it is not only “yes,” but — as a parent preparing to pay tuition for a third child — “it better be.” All signs suggest it is. The economic advantages of a degree are well-chronicled. Degree-holders are more likely to be employed, earn more income and have access to more benefits. The social and civic dividends are also substantial. College grads vote at higher rates, build broader networks and are more likely to volunteer for community leadership. The numbers alone are a bad standard for measuring college’s value to the country.
Yet the price tag is a national problem. In the last three decades, the cost of public college has doubled and that of private college is up 75 percent, outpacing household income, which has increased 32 percent after adjusting for inflation. Student loan debt sits at more than $1.8 trillion, second only to mortgage debt. The average debt is approximately $40,000, and debt-holders take 20 years on average to pay their loans off. The newest workers are saddled with debt before they can chase the American Dream in earnest.
College is worth the cost — but not at any cost. Take it from a parent on his third time around.
Matthew Schmitz: Where not to go
Fewer Americans are going to college. In 2016, 70 percent of high school seniors enrolled in college. In 2022, only 62 percent did so. Americans more generally have lost faith in higher education, with 57 percent expressing high confidence in the sector in 2015 and only 38 percent doing so today.
It isn’t hard to see why. Universities have lowered standards and become politicized, diminishing the value of what they offer and betraying the public trust. They have also saddled students with massive amounts of debt and failed to counter the proliferation of artificial intelligence. Students are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars, but how much are they learning?
Given these facts, parents should think carefully about where value can still be found. The most elite colleges offer excellent networking opportunities and, frequently, generous financial aid. State schools that offer in-state tuition and merit-based scholarships can also provide value to the determined student. Some families will find it worthwhile to send their children to a school with a strong religious identity.
The least appealing option is the middling and expensive school, the institution that is neither most prestigious nor least expensive nor possessed of a distinctive mission.
Thomas McKenna: Getting the job done
I graduated in May from a small liberal arts college, which means my experience wasn’t typical for a Gen Zer. But what made college worth it to me was the preparation for both career and life.
I spent about two years in classes for a career-oriented major and minor, and another two in core classes mostly studying the Great Books, from Aristotle to Dostoyevsky. My education was a privilege — half of it didn’t do much to increase my earning potential.
“To improve employment opportunities” and “to make more money” are the most cited reasons for going to college. But I hear from peers with these aims that much of their coursework proved irrelevant when they entered the workforce. If that kind of education requires the financial amputation of your right arm, it’s probably not a good bargain.
That’s why it’s encouraging to see the Education Department open up Pell Grants for students at short-term workforce training programs. Career and technical education can provide upward mobility for much less time and money.
I hope more colleges can offer what I received: education for the whole person, not only their workforce potential. But until then, for students who just want a job, professional certifications may look like a better deal than a diploma.
Elizabeth Ernst: A personal decision
As I tell my 9-year-old son, college is valuable only if the school is close to home (cough, me).
It will break my heart if my son and younger daughter leave for college someday, but I want nothing more. A university education isn’t for everyone, but it is so right for some people. And for now, we are a proud family of school-loving nerds.
Even as college enrollment declines, millions of students thrive at U.S. colleges and universities each year. Countless professionals know they owe their careers to higher education — myself included.
Some employers may be dropping degree requirements, but that hasn’t changed which candidates they hire. One study examined more than 11,000 job postings at U.S. companies between 2014 and 2023. It found that lower education requirements resulted in fewer than 1 in 700 new hires.
Data, however, is not the point for parents. Know your child, and encourage them to choose wisely. What would help them grow and forge a meaningful career?
Thankfully, I have at least nine years before my eldest is out the door. But when that day comes for him and my daughter, I will support them if they want to go to college. Wherever it is.
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