The Value Of A College Education
It costs a lot to go to college or university and the increasing
costs have many wondering if there is real value to a college
education. Is the cost of tuition, the time lost to full-time
employment, and the thousands of dollars of debt worth the
investment? Those are good questions and the answers may lie in
a review of the value of a college education and rates of return
on investment to both the individual and to society.
On the financial side of the equation there is significant data
to suggest that on average and over time a college graduate will
earn a great deal more than a high school graduate. The United
States Census bureau estimates that over a lifetime a college
graduate will earn on average about $2.1 million dollars
compared to an average lifetime income of $1.2 million dollars
for a high school graduate.
Compared with the cost of attending a four year public
university of college at an average of about $10,000 per year
and even adding the cost of lost working time, it is clearly of
financial value to attend university.
But college graduates also enjoy other benefits in addition to
the possibility of increased earning power. In 1998 the
Institute for Higher Education Policy published a report that
stated that people who completed a college or university program
experienced a number of ancillary benefits. They included higher
levels of saving, increased personal/professional mobility,
improved quality of life for their offspring, better consumer
decision making, and more hobbies and leisure activities.
Another report published by the Carnegie Foundation noted some
other benefits of higher education that included the tendency
for postsecondary students to become more open-minded, more
cultured, more rational, more consistent and less authoritarian
and that these benefits are also passed along to succeeding
generations.
A college education can even improve your health and a number of
research studies have shown positive correlation between
completion of higher education and good health, not only for
oneself, but also for one's children.
There is also benefit and value to the public from higher
education. According to the Institute for Higher Education these
benefits include increased tax revenues, greater workplace
productivity, increased consumption, increased workforce
flexibility, and decreased reliance on government financial
support.
So it appears that even after rigorous scientific review and
analysis there is still much value in a college education. But I
think we knew that all along.