The Worthiness Of College Through Generations

It is often said yet rarely understood if college is worth it or not. College tuition is rapidly increasing each year, but the cost of a college education far outweighs its benefits. A high school graduates hardest decision is choosing their major because their major is what makes college education worth it or not. It has been said by many that there are quite a few majors that are useless to go to college for. Others say that they could make more without college, but what about a college degree makes it cost so much money.

Millennials

There were more millennials that attended college than any other generation before them (Hoffower, 2018). Richard Vedder, a professor at Ohio State University told business insiders that the demand for higher education has risen drastically since 1985. The tuition itself has also drastically risen since the 80s, back then for public colleges its price annually would be no more than four thousand and now it is about ten thousand and for private colleges back then its price would be no more than fifteen thousand a year and now it is about thirty-five thousand. This being so, has given millennials no other option but to borrow loans to pay for their tuition ending up paying twice the price because of the high interest.

An average annual salary for millennials is 20% lower than the average salary for a baby Boomer (Hoffower, 2019). It is also taking millennials longer to move out of their parents' house and when they do, they are renting not buying homes because homes are 39% more expensive than they were 40 years ago. Derek Silva from Smart asset found that it could take median salary earners from the largest cities four up to ten years saving up for a twenty percent down payment.

A survey from insider and Morning consult indicates that 17% have undergrad student loan debt and 7.5% graduate student loan debt, but 36.7% believe that they make a higher salary with their degree while 49% believe that they do not earn a higher salary with their college degree. Half of millennials mistakes were wrongly estimating their first jobs salary after college making them believe that they would be able to afford their monthly payments.

Generation Z

Currently, generation Z are trying their hardest to avoid the mistakes millennials made with student loans. According to the nonprofit college savings foundation generation Z is more financially careful. Roger Michaud from Washington-based savings organization says that generation Z appears to realize the impact debt can have in their lives. In 2017, more than 500 high school students had participated in the foundations survey to see how they were planning on paying for college. Only eleven percent said they would take debt to cover for college, which is twenty percent down from last year ( Rosen, 2017). Michuad says that because they are more connected to the internet, they can see everyday headlines about student debt rising and how it impacts ones future.

The foundations survey also points out how 85 percent are willing to work while in college and twenty percent are planning on working full time. Seventy-nine percent have said that the cost of college has made their change career paths, go to community college or trade school, or go to a state college. Michuad mentioned how high school students now are “ more engaged “ about how to pay for college, they want to be more financially responsible.

First and most importantly, a high school graduates motivation for furthering their education is to earn more money. College graduates earned about 61% more than a high school graduate per year back in 2011 (C.Daly & Bengali, 2014). Not all college graduates earn more than a high school graduate, several graduates have difficulty searching for employment in their field they have studied causing many to believe that pursuing a degree is not worth it(Osborn, 2016). College only offers one a higher education not any experience, and doing so gives recent graduates lack of experience which does not help them find employment. Nine out of ten times an employer will replace a degree with work experience (Farrington, 2014). It is very challenging for college graduates, but it is even more difficult for those who did not go to college (Osborn, 2016). You will always have a lower income and have to fight a lot harder for any job. The only reason why it is so hard for a college graduate to find work is because there are more people going to college means more graduates in the workforce which leads to more competition, less available job20s and less pay.

Public colleges VS Private colleges

Aside from ones earnings, another big decision that has to be made is choosing between a private and public college. Debrah L. Jacobs from Forbes covers a story about Toby Alfred 40th high school reunion. Her graduating class of 1970 have a private facebook group to reflect on the choices they made since they have graduated. One question that caught her attention was “ public or private school and is the outcome any different ?” Debrah reached some of her high school classmates to ask them what college they went to, what have they done since graduation and what about their decision will they be using to help their children during their college applications process. “ One thing they all agreed on is that what you do with an education is at least as important as the school you attend ( Jacobs, 2013).

In the facebook group, Marc Beckerman majored in biomedical engineering and graduated from Boston University and he says, “ I do not think it would have mattered where I went to school. He transitioned into sales after using his scientific background for six years and has witnessed the prolonged economic downturn is preventing his ability to fiance for his children's education and to find a job in his field. Beckerman says that he used to be able to submit his resume in the morning and have a new job offer in the afternoon. It was even more challenging for him to find a job competing against new graduates. Employers always like to hire recent graduates to pay them less since they are less experienced. He ended up working for a car service as a driver, sold mattresses and hearing aids. Marcs daughter went to a state college for photography and now she is a professional photographer while his son who went to an Ivy school in Massachusetts and majored in sociology and criminal justice has had trouble finding a job after graduation. He also ended up working as a salesman, Marc says he is currently making more money than him.

Commuter

One main reason students decide to go to a school out of state is to dorm and have “ freedom “. They want to feel grown and not have parents around to tell them what to do or what not to do. Although dorming is a great experience to have, it may be one of your biggest regrets later on in life. The average cost of room and board is ten thousand for public schools and almost twelve thousand at a private school(Tretina, 2017). NBC news interviews Darian Stevenson, a freshman at Southern illinois University who says, “I did want to have an experience where I got to meet new people and move away from home, and I haven’t had that. It looks like everyone else is having so much fun and I’m on the sidelines.” Stevenson estimated that she will be saving about $10,000 a year by commuting to school, the rest is entirely being paid with scholarships and FAFSA (Diluna, 2015).

College dropouts

There are those who argue that the primary reason for college dropouts is money. Many students work while enrolled in college to pay for all their financial needs like books, transportation, etc.. Many college dropouts find it difficult to balance school and work. Many also lack enough support from student aid and from their parents (Kantrowitz, 2009). Seventy-nine percent of students say that work contributed to their decision, but more than fifty-four percent say that it was a major factor in their decision. Thirty-five percent say that it was hard balancing work and school. “Half of students who dropout of college have income under $35,000, compared with only a quarter of students who graduate (Kantrowitz, 2009).

According to a survey from LendEDU, students had dropped out of college because they did not have a cosigner and were unable to find funding. LendEDU found that 60.6% of student loan applicants apply without a cosigner because they do not have access to a cosigner, but only 4.9% are approved. Co-founder and CEO of FundingU, Jeannie Tarkenton says, “Each year, about 2 million students apply to banks to attain critical ‘last gap’ loans to reach graduation. Those without cosigners are rejected, and poor/moderate-income students are disproportionately represented in this rejected cohort”. About 40 percent of students who do attend earn a bit more than those with only a high school diploma (Shell, 2018).

Majors

It is very clear that the only possible way for you to succeed in college is by choosing the right major. A students biggest decision is choosing a college to enroll in and the second biggest decision is choosing what to major in. Students usually do not choose a major until after their freshman or sophomore year. Many students actually change their major during their first or second year. It was mentioned earlier that a student motivation to further their education was money, giving them a reason to want to change their major because they realized that their current major does not make enough or it is a competitive field which could potentially lead to unemployment or low pay. “Non-technical majors--the arts (11.1%), humanities and liberal arts (9.4%), social sciences (8.9%) and law and public policy (8.1%)--generally have higher unemployment rates(Goudreau,2012).”

Georgetown reported that a student with an associates degree in a STEM field, have a higher annual salary than those who have a bachelor's degree in a humanities/ liberal arts, arts, or psychology/social work field. Employers recommend to think about the job market before deciding what to study(Heytutor, 2019). Chief people officer at careerbuilder, Michelle Armer says, “Everyone chooses their college major and career path with their own set of criteria in mind, but the rising cost of education and student debt is undoubtedly a concern for people who are college-bound.” College Majors with the lowest return on investment tend to be in the arts, humanities, and social sciences (Heytutor, 2019). According to a report by the Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) at Georgetown University, your choice of college major substantially affects your employment prospects and earnings (Goudreau, 2012)

Community college

Students who transfer from a two year have an equal to or higher graduation rates as students who enrolled directly from high school. Jennifer Glynn says “ 'Students who do successfully transfer from community college to a selective university do quite well and are more likely to graduate.” Glynn mentions how students with low incomes usually start at community colleges and it is not because of lack of academic ability. The cost of college tuition increasing each year is one reason why many are starting their first two year at a two year college because it is cheaper. “Regardless of your major, the first two years of college are composed of the same general courses such as English 101, college-level math and basic science” says Zoey Bullock. Often, students may not be able to transfer all their credits. In a data from two states, Belfield, Fink, and Jenkins found that even if not all credits transfer it is still cost less because they may have 68 credits and only 12 did not transfer.