Is A College Education Still Worth the Investment?

The average list price of a four-year public university, including in-state tuition, fees, room and board, is now about $22,000 a year, according to The College Board.  Average annual costs at four-year private, nonprofit colleges are well over twice that amount. The question many families wonder is whether their child’s college degree will pay off.  

A recent article in The New York Times, reporting on findings from a public policy group, stated that graduates from almost two-thirds of the 26,000 bachelor’s degree programs in the study were able to recoup their educational investment within ten years of graduation. Of course, a student’s field of study matters greatly. Students in higher paying fields like engineering or health care were able to pay off their educational debt quicker than those in the arts or religion.

Overall, the conclusion of the report was that the vast majority of students who earned bachelor’s degrees, regardless of their major, were likely to earn more money than they would have without a college degree.

The cost of college is a key issue to students and parents, particularly in the aftermath of a year when many college students attended their classes remotely, missing out on the social benefits that accompany a college education. According to a survey released last week by Fidelity Investments, four in ten high school students say cost is the most important factor in choosing where to pursue their college education.

Cost also impacts the choice of majors of collegebound students.  More than half of the four million high students surveyed by Fidelity said that their goal was to prepare for a job that pays well enough to support them and their long-term goals. This has led to an increased popularity of high-paying fields such as engineering, computer science and business.  

In order to get the best return on their college investment, students should do everything within their power to graduate with a degree.  Otherwise, students will be left with the debt but not the degree to help pay it off. 

Students should also plan in advance to earn the credits necessary to graduate within four years, as the more years spent earning a degree, the more years spent paying off student debt.

Susan Alaimo is the founder and director of Collegebound Review that, for the past 25 years, has offered PSAT/SAT® preparation and private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362