Posted on 06/02/2022 7:24:15 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Growing disillusionment over the value of a four-year college degree has has many high school graduates and their parents rethinking whether it's the right financial decision.
In a recent Gallup poll, 46% of parents said they would prefer their child pursue an alternate to a bachelor's degree - with more than one-third citing finances as an obstacle. And according to a Federal Reserve study, just 56% of adults under age 30 who have degrees say the benefits outweigh the costs, Bloomberg reports.
In general, the older one is, the more value they see in the value of college - which is supported by data. Overall, a bachelor's degree increases a person's lifetime earnings by 75% vs. those with a high school diploma, according to (not exactly unbiased) research from Georgetown.
That said, it's becoming harder and harder for younger Americans to stomach crippling student loans while tuition has outpaced even today's inflation.
This growing disillusionment is showing up in enrollment data. The number of students registered in undergraduate programs plummeted during the pandemic and continues to fall, defying expectations for a rebound as in-person learning resumed. There were more than 662,000 fewer students registered in spring 2022, a 4.7% drop from the year prior, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. -Bloomberg
College degrees have historically increased a person's job opportunities - and for sure, that still holds true for jobs requiring esoteric knowledge - however things are beginning to change in the tightest labor market in decades, as many industries have begun relaxing or scrapping college-degree requirements altogether. What's more, jobs which don't require a degree have seen wages jump as employers have to pay up amid a worker shortage.
"I definitely feel like I have received tenfold what I put into my education," said 38-year-old E.C. Crippen, a hairdresser in Tennessee, who says that opting for a professional license vs. a bachelor's degree was one of the best decisions of his life. Crippen dropped out of a state university over a decade ago and instead enrolled in a 10-month program at the Tennessee School of Beauty in Knoxville. Now, he makes around $120,000 per year.
"I have a job that I love," he added.
Tuition was inflating before it was cool
Students faced with taking on a giant - non-dischargeable debt, are reeling from sticker shock - as the average tuition and fees at a private college topped $38,000 in the 2021-22 academic year. In-state schools are a much more affordable option at $10,740.
Some degree-holders, even ivy league graduates, are finding that their expensive decisions aren't paying off.
Gregory Lowry, a 26-year-old teaching coach, graduated from Brown University with $165,000 in student loan debt for a degree in chemistry and anthropology.
He originally planned to go to medical school, justifying the $66,000 undergraduate annual tuition. But by the time he graduated, he realized his true calling was education. Had he discovered his passion earlier, Lowry said he likely would have chosen a different school and degree that would have resulted in less debt.
Now, he makes a point to tell his students about alternate pathways after high school that make financial sense for their families.
“It's really important for people to have time to experience what they need to before jumping into a $100,000 decision,” he said. -Bloomberg
According to the Gallup poll, around 1/3 of parents who went to college themselves don't want their kids to follow in their footsteps - particularly those (obviously) who found that their degrees made no difference in their income.
That’s mighty sad. Brrp.
If you’re stupid enough to go to college for other than a STEM degree and borrow for it, you deserve to lose.
If your tens of thousands of dollars in student debt and you can’t get a good job, or are two entitled to start t the bottom and work your way up; you weren’t educated, you were conned.
“Would you like fries with that?” — Yale ‘22
The 3 generation push for a degree at all costs, has resulted in just that.
It was still cheaper to send my child to UnG (university of north Georgia) even paying out of state tuition( at that time) than to hope she could get a lucky raffle number for nursing school in California
After working ten years in the field she had saved enough to do her masters and is in her dream job….family practice nurse practitioner
She and her husband have no student loan debt. Both have careers they love. They are doing well….living the American dream
Good - maybe the schools will re-think the proliferation of the “studies” degrees and get back to real education with degree programs that have real-world usage. The thing that would matter most would be removing the linkage to government guarantees. Good to read that students and parents are making better choices.
A college degree got my son a commission as an Air Force officer, but beyond that, it didn’t amount to much. 🤗
What are the kids who are unqualified for college supposed to study if they get rid of the "studies" degrees?
All you get now for your large amounts of money is indoctrination.
Spend $250,000 for “Black Lesbian Dance Theory for White Transgendered Men”. Yes is is just somethign I made up, but it is as relevant as any “studies” degree and just as useful. I agree with the comment, college for STEM only, otherwise you are wasting time and money
in the ‘80’s, i had one class left to satisfy the curriculum credits necessary for a BS in Avionics Technology. well, o and behold, during tje summer break the leadership decided to make that degree a FIVE YEAR curriculum.. at that point, all my CCAF, victor valley ccollege, san bbernardino comm ollege, and now dowling college work meant crap. i could not afford it anymore, either. i was not going to go into debt for that last year of school. they may just do it again next year!!
so, i just said PHOOEY, and i haven’t regretted it.
“But by the time he graduated, he realized his true calling was education.”
Idiots. a LOT of my batchmates at Stanford STILL didnt know what they wanted to major in after the first sem. I mean, You’re 20 and you still dont know what to do with your life?
what?!? the degree in womens studies didn’t pay off?
IMAGINE THAT!!!!
enjoy paying your loans back you idiot!
“What are the kids who are unqualified for college supposed to study if they get rid of the “studies” degrees?”
It’s a little late to go searching for The Joker meme about “Hmmm...not sure if serious” so I’ll just straight up separate my answers.
First, if the post was meant sarcastically, I’ll go with the smartass answer: “I guess the jocks can always hope to catch on with a minor league team.”
Serious post with serious answer: So many options pop into my mind like vocational training (welding, machinist, health sciences, automotive repairs), apprenticeship (electrician, plumber, pipefitter), military (not a choice I really recommend these days), hope your body holds out over the long haul for manual labor jobs. Unless you have an absolutely miserable academic record and don’t test well, community college could still be a possibility at a lesser cost.
You still can earn a bachelor’s degree with zero debt today, but most students aren’t willing to do what’s necessary:
OPTION 1: Earn a full scholarship.
OPTION 2: If you don’t qualify for Option 1, then work and pay-as-you-go, first with an associate degree from a community college, then transfer to a state university for junior and senior years and commute to class.
Option 2 might take a little longer, and you won’t live on campus, but you’ll earn a bachelor’s degree with no debt.
And who’s the dumbass that didn’t see this coming? Half the people in college getting diplomas shouldn’t be there. Too many new Degrees for Idiots going around out there. We’ve got pancake house waitresses on TV waving Ph.D degree diplomas and firing off their big mouths about everything. Trying to teach the new college students serious subjects is like trying to teach a chimpanzee to build a rocket.
It’s a shame... Colleges today offer “liberal studies” degrees, but if you take a closer look, those degrees aren’t necessarily what we might think... The students must combine disciplines. One student might combine Sociology with Women’s Studies, while another student might combine Economics and Mathematics. Unfortunately, both degrees will be in “liberal studies.”
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