Running head: IS COLLEGE WORTH THE MONEY

Is Going to College Worth the Money?

Andrew P. Gustafson

Nevada State College

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Is Going to College Worth the Money?

Nelson Mandela once said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use

to change the world.” Thirty-nine percent of the people in this world were not fortunate

enough to receive any kind of formal education. Education is a huge difference maker in

people's lives, and higher education is just as important as state required education. People

who go to college and receive at least a bachelor's degree end up making more money, have a

higher employment rate, and also receive better benefits.

Discussion

The debate about whether or not to go to college is not a new phenomenon. For years

people have debated whether or not it is worth spending thousands of dollars getting a college

degree when they could instead go right from high school to working. However, the benefits of

receiving a college degree immensely outweigh the costs of going to college. Education is a

huge difference maker in people's lives. And higher education is just as important. Going to

college is a huge time commitment and costs a lot of money. However if everybody is going you

have to figure there is a reason that they are spending so much time and money on it. There are

a number of reasons why people should go to college.

Benefits of Receiving a College Degree

The first ever college established in America was Harvard University. It was founded in 1636.

College has been around for a very long time. So has the debate about whether the benefits of

going to college outweigh the costs enough to justify going to college. There are however many

benefits that outweigh the costs. There are aspects such as social life and easier access to meet
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new people who share your interests. However the three main benefits of going to college are

increased salaries, higher employment rates, better employee benefits.

Increased Salaries

Money runs the world. Money is the single most important thing in all decisions made

around the world. Everything is impacted by money. And it is most people's goal in life to be as

successful as they can and get as much money as they can. Getting a college degree is crucial to

making as much money as you possibly can. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a

government run agency that produce some of America's most sensitive and economic

information. The BLS reported in 2018 “Americans with a bachelor's degree have median

weekly earnings of $1,173, compared to just $712 a week for those who have a high school

diploma.” (US Department of Labor 2018) Making $461 more a week is a huge number. This

shows just how valuable it is to go to college to get a degree. According to a report done by

Steve Farkas is currently the assistant dean for the University of Wyoming's College of business.

He has tons of knowledge in the field of economics and was very qualified to release his

research report titled Hiring and Higher Education: Business Executives Talk about the Costs

and Benefits of College, in which he stated; “Men with graduate degrees earn $1.5 million more

in median lifetime earnings than high school graduates. Women with graduate degrees earn

$1.1 million more.” (Farkas). Making this much more money in a lifetime again shows just how

valuable it is to go to college. Making this much more money will not only make your life a lot

more comfortable but will also help set up your family's future and help your children, the

future of the world, live more comfortably as well.

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Employment Rates

Finding a job is not always as straightforward as one might expect. About five percent of

Americans are currently unemployed. Going to college, however, can make finding a job much

easier. The US Department of Labor, is a cabinet-level department of the U.S. federal

government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment

insurance benefits, reemployment services, and some economic statistics they released a

report in 2015 about unemployment in America in which they stated “six percent of people

with no college degree are currently unemployed while only two point eight pecent of people

with a bachelor's degree are unemployed.” (US Department of Labor 2015). This may seem like

a small difference as compared to the larger salary difference. However, in reality this is still a

very important figure and the three point two percent shows how much easier it is to get a job

when you have a college degree versus when you only have a high school diploma. The facts

are pretty clear and simple if you have a college degree it is way easier to find a job then if you

don't have one. This is another reason that proves the importance of going to college.

Employee Benefits

Nobody wants to work somewhere where the benefits are not good. People are

motivated to work when they have better benefits and a higher likelihood of getting a

promotion. According to an article written by Clive R Belfield who is a professor of economics at

Queens College, City University of New York. He received his PhD in economics from the

University of Exeter in England, and Thomas Bailey who is currently the eleventh President of

Teachers College at Columbia University and the George & Abby O’Neill Professor of Economics

& Education.“People that graduate college have a higher chance of receiving a promotion then
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people who did not graduate highschool.” (Belfield, Clive R, and Thomas Bailey.). Plain and

simple it is not hard to understand that it is a major benefit and can make it easier for your

career to take off if you attend college. Not only are people with a college degree are more

likely to get promoted but they also tend to have better employee benefits. According to a

study done by David Edelson at The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU),

where Edelson is APLU’s Director of Public Affairs where he is responsible for the associations

online presence he stated that; “Bachelor’s degree holders are forty-seven percent more likely

to have health insurance provided through their job and their employers contribute seventy

four percent more to their health coverage.” (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities).

This again proves how valuable a college degree can be. Accidents happen all the time and

medical bills are ridiculously expensive, so having health insurance provided is crucial to saving

money. These employee benefits show once again how important going to college really is.

Conclusions and Future Study

In order to gain a complete understanding of the debate on whether going to college is

worth it is necessary to consider all factors of going to college. For a future study it would be

helpful to look at more of the employee benefits and also more of the social benefits that are

associated with going to college. However, it is very clear that the pros of going to college

heavily outweigh the cons. Former President Barack Obama once said in a Move-in day speech

at the University of New York “A higher education is the single best investment you can make in

your future.” (Obama). As the debate rages on it will be very important to analyze and study all

the benefits as well as costs of going to college. People need to stop being afraid of college and

student loan debts and realize how beneficial going to college is.
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References

Farkas, S., Committee for Economic Development, and Public Agenda. "Hiring and

Higher Education: Business Executives Talk about the Costs and Benefits of

College." Committee for Economic Development (2011): Committee for Economic

Development, 2011. Web.

Edelson, David. “How Does a College Degree Improve Graduates' Employment and Earnings

Potential?” Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities, 7 Oct. 2016,

www.aplu.org/projects-and-initiatives/college-costs-tuition-and-financial-

aid/publicuvalues/employment-earnings.html.

Belfield, Clive R, and Thomas Bailey. "The Benefits of Attending Community

College: A Review of the Evidence." Community College Review 39.1 (2011): 46-

68.Web.

“Social Security Administration.” Research Summary: Education and Lifetime Earnings,

www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/research-summaries/education-earnings.html.

“Earnings.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 22 Nov. 2019,

www.bls.gov/cps/earnings.htm.

Obama at UB - University at Buffalo, 13 Dec. 2013,

www.buffalo.edu/home/feature_story/obama-speech.html.