Is College Worth the Price?
Many people in today’s society believe that a college education is a must, however the price is increasing so much that it is beginning to sound questionable. While it may seem to some that college is too expensive, it is actually true that your college education is completely necessary. People spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to get a college education because they are told, from a young age, that without it there is no way to succeed in life, however this is not always the case. Some can succeed without a college degree; nevertheless the majority of people who succeed have college degrees. College is the safe route, and is almost always the right route.
One of the main reasons people go to college is because of the promise of getting a good job that makes them a lot of money. So, because more and more jobs now require you to have a college degree, having one is necessary. Also, when you go to college it gives you the chance to explore more career options and in addition, when you receive your degree you will attract higher paying employers to your community. To get a great job, many might say that you need a college education. That, to a certain extent, is completely true because most jobs only want people who have a high education, college level. Getting a job is hard enough, why make it even harder by not getting a college education when it is offered to you.
Sure, it is a lot of money, but if you work hard there are many scholarship opportunities available to make up for a lot, if not most of the cost of college. The people who say college is too expensive have not tried there hardest to get most of the payment off of their hands. If you get good grades or exceed in extracurricular, such as art, music, or sports, than you pay less. These people just don’t work hard enough and somehow think that things should be handed to them. A college education will help you throughout life, and if you have one you will most likely get a good enough job to pay off any of the remaining fees or debt from college over time.
However, the promise of money after college doesn’t sound so good when you realize that student loan debt is shocking for college graduates. One cannot disregard that student debt could lead to another financial crisis. Even though you have a college education that does not automatically make you rich, you must continue to work. The idea of a college education isn’t to finish and expect everything to fall into place, it is to prepare you for the real world and set you up to be as successful as you possibly can. Others say that while you are in college, stress can lead to health problems and other negative consequences. However, if you are never introduced to stress how could you possibly be able to deal with anything that happens in real life.
No one likes stress, but it is a necessary part of life. In addition, many people with college degrees are employed in jobs that don’t even require a college degree. In fact one out of three college graduates have jobs that only require a high school degree. This just proves that more jobs are requiring people to have a college education now than they ever did before. Tuition is such a large cost in the majority of schools in America.
Tuition increased 130% for private schools and 131.4% in public schools since 1982, whereas middle family income increased only 10.9%. In order to be fully positive that the money that you spend for college is completely worth it is by simply showing you what it will do to help you in your future. When you go to college you expect that it will get you a great, well paying job as soon as you get out, however that is not always the case, in fact, 3.
6% of college graduates are unemployed. This seems like something that will defiantly keep you out of college, but the rate of people who do get jobs after a college education is much higher than people right out of high school, with just a high school diploma. 7.5% of people are unemployed with only a high school diploma. That is more than double the amount of people unemployed after getting a college degree. The unemployment rates by education level in 2012 are as follows: less than a high school diploma, 12.
4; high school diploma, 8.3; some college but no degree, 7.7; associate degree, 6.2; bachelor’s degree, 4.5; master’s degree, 3.
5; doctoral degree, 2.5; and professional degree, 2.1. Getting a college degree automatically increases your chances of getting a job, it does not guarantee it but what in life is ever guaranteed. Debt, debt, and more debt is all people can think about in all of the years leading up to and during college. The average debt load for the class of 2012 was $29,400.
College is expensive; there is just no way to deny that. Nevertheless look at what you are paying for. Earlier you saw how many more people have better paying jobs just by going to college; however this is not the only benefit. Many people forget all about the benefits you receive from these higher paying jobs. You are more likely to have health insurance and retirement plans and lower poverty rates.
By keeping these in mind, think back to see if the money you will spend on college doesn’t ultimately make its way back in your pockets plus more. The amount of jobs that need a college degree is increasing every year. 63 percent of all job openings by 2018 will require workers with at least some college education (Projection of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, Georgetown University, 2010). By the time teens get out of college this percentage will only increase. This proves that a college education is most defiantly needed and worth the price.
