How Much is a College Education Really Worth?

Should some college-bound students opt for a two-year degree at a technical school? Will an education give you a better life? Money Talking digs into the tough questions in the debate over the high cost of higher education and the mounting student debt that's one of its byproducts. The central question: Is college worth it? The answer: Only the listener can decide.


It's a question absolutely worth asking. It's also compounded by the fact that these kids are coming out into a very sluggish job market in which they're going to make less comparatively than they were going to five or 10 years ago.
— Rana Foroohar


As a result, some students and parents might be asking whether that college degree was really worth the cost. As higher education has gotten more expensive, total student debt has risen to more than a trillion dollars — second only to mortgage debt. The amount has nearly tripled since 2004.
Finally, some have rightly pointed out that our findings are descriptive, and should not necessarily be interpreted causally. It is likely true that smarter students self-select into engineering majors, so not every student will do better if she studies engineering rather than English. The same logic applies to more selective schools: part of why students at elite schools do better later on is that they are more talented before they ever enter college. Even so, careful economic research suggests that students do best when they attend the best school they can get in to, and that certain  majors have real benefits.

Ultimately, higher education decisions are made by individual students and their families, and are based on their unique interests, strengths, and personal values, not only income and career prospects. Students need to have realistic expectations about what they’re likely to get out of pursuing higher education. Rigorous   economic    research has found that there is a sizeable proportion of people who experience a negative return to their education. That doesn’t mean they may not excel at other pursuits. It just means that one size doesn’t fit all high school students.

Money Talking
The Brookings Institution