# data[].attributes.body
people who graduate can get way more money then someone with a average income (Document B)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's here - senior year of high school. You've felt like you've been through so much to get to this point in your education. In fact, it's been about twelve years of schooling! Senior year is supposed to be easy enough - most of the hard work is already over.

But if you are like 68% of students, you are planning to apply to colleges this fall. But between applications, stress, the price tag, and completely turning your life upside down, is college worth it?

Maybe you would be better off to find a job that could help you support yourself now.

Actually, getting a college degree is more valuable than ever before! Going to college can set you up for economic stability and even a healthy and happy life.

1. Lower Unemployment Rate

According to a New York Times article, college graduates have an unemployment rate of 2.3% compared to the overall unemployment rate of 4.6%. In fact, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce found that more than 95% of all the new jobs created after the Great Recession went to workers with at least some college experience.

Essentially, jobs for less educated people will typically require less problem-solving and creativity than jobs that require a college degree. So, in a turbulent economy, jobs done by non-college graduates are easy to outsource to other countries or even computerize unlike jobs that require a higher level of education.

2. Higher Income

Apart from job security, there is a significant difference between the average income of someone with a college degree and without a college degree. In 2017, college graduates earned $1,173 weekly versus $712 for high school graduates; that's 40% more for the graduates over the non-graduates.

This is why college is worth it!

3. Company Perks

Having a more crucial, often higher-end job has its perks beyond just money. In their 2016 edition of Education Pays, the CollegeBoard notes that college graduates are also more likely to be able to afford their employer's retirement plan than only high school graduates.

They are also more likely to be covered by their company's health insurance.

4. Healthier Lives

Speaking of health, college graduates are actually more likely to lead healthier lives. The CollegeBoard also found that poverty, smoking, and obesity rates decrease as education increases.

College graduates also exercise more than non-college graduates. This has long-term effects as well since their life expectancy is 7 years longer at 25 than that of people who have never gone to college.

5. Job Satisfaction

A 2013 study found that job satisfaction increased with level of education. They found that 53% of people between 25 to 32 with a bachelor's degree or higher were very satisfied with their job, compared to only 37% of those who had a high school diploma or less.

6. Happiness

Job satisfaction also correlates with happiness. A higher proportion of people who are satisfied with their jobs report being very happy with their lives than those who are less satisfied with their jobs.

According to a 2008 study by the CollegeBoard, 44% of the people who said that they were very satisfied with their jobs said that they were very happy unlike the 15% who were very happy and dissatisfied with their jobs. So, college graduates tend to be happier than non-graduates.

7. Families and Communities

Even your love life can benefit from a college education!

67.2% of people with a bachelor's degree are married and only 12.4% are divorced or separated. Compare this to 55.4% of people with just a high school diploma who are married and 20% of whom are divorced or separated.

Their children also tend to partake in educational activities with other family members more than their counterparts. College graduates are also more actively involved in their communities by volunteering and voting than those who don't have a college degree.

Is a College Education Worth It?

Clearly going to college is important so that you can earn an education in the area that you are most passionate about-but remember that there are a lot of other reasons you should go!

Going to college gives you a higher chance of having job and economic stability and a healthier and happier life. Getting that college degree can really set you up for a much better life than the alternative!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's here - senior year of high school. You've felt like you've been through so much to get to this point in your education. In fact, it's been about twelve years of schooling! Senior year is supposed to be easy enough - most of the hard work is already over.

# data[].attributes.body
only a few jobs require a high school diploma but most of the high paying jobs require one to have a degree (Document C)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
History of College Education
The American debate over whether a college education is worth it began when the colonists arrived from Europe and founded "New College" (later renamed Harvard University) in 1636. In spring 2023, there were over 17 million college students in the United States, and over 43 million borrowers owe a collective $1.75 trillion in total student debt.

Colonial America produced nine colleges that still operate: Harvard University (1636), the College of William & Mary (1693), Yale University (1701), Princeton University (1746), Columbia University (1754), Brown University (1764), Dartmouth College (1769), Rutgers University (1766), and the University of Pennsylvania (1740 or 1749). These universities were funded by the colony or England and usually catered to a specific religious denomination such as Congregational or Presbyterian (Puritan). Primary and secondary school systems were not yet established so "college students" were sometimes boys as young as fourteen or fifteen years old and were admitted to receive preparatory education with the assumption that they would matriculate to college-level courses

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

Jobs increasingly require college degrees and college allows students to explore careers and earn better job placements.

Colleges offer career services, internships, job shadowing, job fairs, and volunteer opportunities in addition to a wide variety of courses that may provide a career direction. Over 80% of college students complete internships before graduation, giving them valuable employment experience before entering the job market. Colleges provide networking value.

Meanwhile, college graduates have more and better employment opportunities. 85.2% of college freshmen said they attended college to "be able to get a better job." The unemployment rate for Americans over 25 with a bachelor's degree was 1.9% in Dec. 2019, compared to 2.7% for those with some college or associate's degrees, 3.7% for high school graduates, and 5.2% for high school drop-outs. Underemployment, meaning insufficient work, is lower for college grads (6.2%) as compared to high school-only graduates (12.9%) and people without a high school diploma (18.7%). 58% of college graduates and people with some college or associate's degrees reported being "very satisfied" with their jobs compared to 50% of high school graduates and 40% of people without a high school diploma.

Thus, college graduates make more money. The average college graduate makes $570,000 more than the average high school graduate over a lifetime. Career earnings for college graduates are 71% to 136% higher than those of high school graduates. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York calculated a 14% rate of return on a bachelor's degree, which constitutes a good investment. College graduates earn an average of $78,000, a 75% wage premium over the average $45,000 annual earnings for workers with only a high school diploma. 85% of Forbes' America's 400 Richest People list were college grads.

All of that means a college education has a high return as an investment. Return on investment (ROI) is calculated by dividing the gain from an investment (here the money earned as a result of a college degree) by the cost of the investment (the money spent on a college degree). A college degree has a return of 15% per year as an investment, larger than the stock market (6.8%) and housing (0.4%). Completing some college, but not earning a degree, resulted in a 9.1% return on investment. If a student spent $17,860 (the average cost of tuition and room and board in 2012-2013 for four years at a public university), that student could expect a 15% return of $2,679 each year. According to a 2011 Pew Research survey, 86% of college graduates believed college was a good personal investment.
Read More

Pro 2

Because they learn interpersonal and other skills in college, graduates are more productive as members of society.

Students have the opportunity to interact with other students and faculty, to join student organizations and clubs, and to take part in discussions and debates. According to Arthur Chickering's "Seven Vectors" student development theory, "developing mature interpersonal relationships" is one of the seven stages students progress through as they attend college. Students ranked "interpersonal skills" as the most important skill used in their daily lives in a survey of 11,000 college students. Vivek Wadhwa, technology entrepreneur and scholar, states, "American children party [in college]. But you know something, by partying, they learn social skills. They learn how to interact with each other...They develop skills which make them innovative. Americans are the most innovative people in the world because of the education system." [ 7] [ 16] [ 18]

Students live, go to classes, and socialize with other students from around the world and learn from professors with a variety of expertise. The community of people on a college campus means students are likely to make diverse friends and business connections, and, potentially, find a spouse or mate. Access to a variety of people allows college students to learn about different cultures, religions, and personalities they may have not been exposed to in their hometowns, which broadens their knowledge and perspective. 70.7% of college freshmen in 2015 said they expected to socialize with someone of another racial or ethnic group while in college, while 59.1% said college would help improve their understanding of other countries and cultures.

College graduates attract higher-paying employers to their communities. A 1% increase in college graduates in a community increases the wages of workers without a high school diploma by 1.9% and the wages of high school graduates by 1.6%.
Read More

Pro 3

College graduates and their children are healthier and live longer.

83% of college graduates reported being in excellent health, while 73% of high school graduates reported the same. A University of Southern California study found that adults over 65 with college degrees spent more years with "good cognition" and fewer years suffering from dementia than adults who did not complete high school. In 2008, 20% of all adults were smokers, while 9% of college graduates were smokers. 63% of 25 to 34 year old college graduates reported exercising vigorously at least once a week compared to 37% of high school graduates. College degrees were linked to lower blood pressure in a 30-year peer-reviewed study and lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) by a Carnegie Mellon Psychology department study. In 2008, 23% of college graduates aged 35 to 44 years old were obese compared to 37% of high school graduates. College graduates, on average, live six years longer than high school graduates.

A medical journal study from 1970 to 2009 shows college graduates had lower infant mortality rates than high school graduates. Mothers with only a high school education are 31% more likely to give birth to a low-birth-weight baby than a woman with a college degree. Children aged 2 to 5 years old in households headed by college graduates have a 6% obesity rate compared to 14% for children in households headed by high school graduates. 18% more children aged 3 to 5 years old with mothers who have a bachelor's degree could recognize all letters compared to children of high school graduates. In 2010, 59% of children in elementary and middle school with at least one college graduate for a parent participated in after-school activities like sports, arts, and scouting compared to 27% for high school graduate parents.
Read More

Con 1

College is not a guarantee of a job or better life.

College degrees also do not guarantee learning or job preparation. Many students graduate from college with little understanding of math, reading, civics, or economics. In 2011, 35% of students enrolled in college reported they studied 5 hours or less per week and there was a 50% decline in the number of hours a student studied and prepared for classes compared to a few decades ago. 36% of students demonstrated no significant improvement on Collegiate Learning Assessments after 4 years of college. In 2013 56% of employers thought half or fewer of college graduates had the skills and knowledge to advance within their companies. 30% of college graduates felt college did not prepare them well for employment, specifically in terms of technical and quantitative reasoning skills. A Pew Research survey found that 57% of Americans felt higher education did not provide students with good value compared to the money spent.

Under- or un-employement also translates into fewer workplace benefits. In 2013, 68.9% of employed new college graduates did not receive health insurance through their employers and, in 2011, 27.2% received retirement coverage (down from 41.5% in 2000).

The total cost of going to college means more than tuition, fees, and books; it also includes an opportunity cost which equals at least four years of missed wages and advancements from a full-time job-about $49,000 for a 4-year degree and $20,000 for a 2-year degree.
Read More

Con 2

Student loan debt is crippling for college graduates, their families, and society.

In spring 2023, there were over 17 million college students in the United States, and over 43 million borrowers owe a collective $1.75 trillion in total student debt. 45% of people with student loan debt say college was not worth it. 10% of students graduate with over $40,000 in debt and about 1% have $100,000 in debt. In Feb. 2018, undergraduate college graduates had an average of $37,172 in loan debt. According to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, approximately 60% of college graduates have student loan debt balances equal to 60% of their annual income. Missing late for loan payments leads to lower credit scores and additional fees, worsening the debt problem.

Finally, student debt could cause another financial crisis. As of 2012 student loan debt was over $1 trillion dollars, and more than 850,000 student loans were in default. According to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, student loans are "beginning to have the same effect" on the economy that the housing bubble and crash created. Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, PhD, agrees that the student loan debt crisis "is a vicious cycle of bad lending policies eerily similar to the causes of the subprime mortgage crisis." On Feb. 3, 2012, an advisory council to the Federal Reserve also warned that the growth in student debt "has parallels to the housing crisis." As of Jan. 2013, the rate of default on student loans hit 15.1%-a nearly 22% increase since 2007.
Read More

Con 3

Many people would be better served learning a trade or pursuing work right out of high school.
Read More

Did You Know?

1. 19.9 million students were enrolled in colleges and universities in 2019, compared to 13.5 million in 1990, 7.9 million in 1970, and 2.7 million in 1949.

2. The underemployment rate was 34% for all college graduates and 41.1% for recent grads in 2019.

3. One in three college graduates had a job that only required a high school diploma or less, including more than 16,000 parking lot attendants, 83,000 bartenders, and 115,000 janitors with bachelor's degrees.

4. College graduates earn an average of $78,000, a 75% wage premium over the average $45,000 annual earnings for workers with only a high school diploma.

5. The unemployment rate for Americans over 25 with a bachelor's degree was 1.9% in Dec. 2019, compared to 2.7% for those with some college or associate's degrees, 3.7% for high school graduates, and 5.2% for high school drop-outs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Proponents of college education say college graduates make more money. Opponents say student loan debt is crippling for college graduates.

# data[].attributes.body
one can start early and go to a community college for starters. then one can set a limit for themself for how much they can spend. one can have short term payments to pay off debt and be debt free.

# data[].attributes.body
I believe college is worth it because it helps out in the long run. Because it is a way for you to get more money. gives one more overall education. It can make one feel achieved when you get the degree.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why I Regret Going To College! - Is College Worth It For You?