After high school, there are many options people can choose such as going to college, pursuing a technical career, starting a career, or enlisting in the military. While recently college has been the most popular choice for high school graduates, the amount that chose college has declined from its peak in 2009 (70% of students choosing college) down to 60% in 2023.
One of the causes for this is that fewer people believe that earning a college degree is worth it. A March 2023 survey results say that only 42% of Americans believe college is worth the price as compared to 10 years prior, in March of 2013, 60% of people believed college was worth it as an investment.
The most likely reason for the decrease in college attendance is that it is getting more and more expensive by the year, with the cost of college going up by almost 5,000 a year since 2009.
With the increase in pricing for college, the increase in debt has gone up nationally by a little more than 10,000 since 2010. The increased debt can leave many students very stressed, especially, if they come from a low-income family. To help people with paying for their education, many different programs and scholarships can help with the debt.
Although college costs a lot of money and can put you in a lot of debt when you graduate, it is still worth it with college graduates on average earning almost 52,000 dollars a year compared to 28,000 being the average starting salary for people who didn’t go to college. Also, college graduates earn 2.8 million on average for their careers, while people who do not attend earn on average 1.6 million throughout their careers.
Another big reason college is so important is it offers better job security with there not being as many jobs available for people, who are high school graduates without degrees. The unemployment rate for college graduates is less than half of what it is for people, who didn’t attend university at 7.6%, while it is 3.5% for those who graduated university.
Obtaining a college degree can provide you with specialized skills and knowledge that are very valuable in the workforce. Most people’s brains do not fully develop until the age of 25, so going to college can help develop:
- critical thinking and problem-solving skills,
- communication skills, technical skills,
- leadership skills,
- adaptability, and cultural competency.
These skills will help you be successful in what you do and become a vital part of any team.
Some people will say that college is not worth the price anymore, and that is not true, with people having much more and greater opportunities as compared to someone who does not attend college.
