Is going to college still worth it? Both the monetary and educational value of a college education have been disputed amongst many Americans in recent news. 

According to The New York Times, in the last decade, the percentage of young adults in America who believe that a college education is vital to having a successful career has dropped from 73% to 41%. Additionally, they cite that nearly half of American parents would prefer that their children not enroll in a four-year university. 

One possible cause for this drastic decline is the increasing price tag that accompanies a college-level degree. The Education Data Initiative (EDI) reported that the average cost of tuition and fees at public four year colleges has risen 179.2% in the last 20 years. 

The New York Times cited Temple University Professor Douglas Webber’s findings. In his study, he researched the expected wealth benefits for those with a four-year college-level degree. He found that students who take out loans in order to attend college are likely to work a job with a salary that does not efficiently pay off those debts. 

Webber said, “At $50,000 a year in college costs, your odds are no better than a coin flip: Maybe you’ll wind up with more than the typical high school grad, but you’re just as likely to wind up with less.” In the simplest terms, if a student is forced to spend a large sum of their post-graduate salary on student loan debt, they tend to fare no better than their counterparts who had bypassed a college degree altogether. 

The Chronicle of Education, on the other hand, attributes lowering interest in higher education to what is taught in these institutions. According to their survey conducted among readers in 2023 they said, “Most people, whether they have a four-year degree or not, would advise others to pursue one … Yet many don’t think institutions do a great job educating their students.” 

Those more encouraging of college-level degrees are often people who have reaped the benefits of higher income jobs and can easily pay off student loans, or those who did not have to take out loans in the first place. Langer Research Associates found that 88% of higher earners — those with a household income greater than $100,000 per year — believe that the cost of college is worth it. This group of supporters drops to 63% among graduates with a household income less than $50,000.

English Teacher Julian Morris shares a hesitation about the perceived necessity of a college degree for future success. “A lot of work does not require $120,000 in debt to get a degree to think how colleges want you to think,” said Morris. 

Morris also stressed the importance of having more conversations about post-high school graduate opportunities. “We just have to have more of the option of trade and work programs,” he said.

Morris believes there is still much to be gained from continuing your academic career post-graduation in any form. “It’s less about education, per se,” he said. “It’s more about the fact that you are growing up and at an age where you’re probably more capable of using your education.”

Gabe France ‘24 said, “[I have considered] living in a really beautiful place like the Japanese mountains with a ton of my own food and being self-sufficient.” 

One drawback for France, though, is the fear of having limited options if he were to not continue on to college. “Would I get bored of [that life]? Probably. And then what are my future options? Coming from that? Not that much,” he said. France remains set on attending a four-year university, he said, “​​I’d rather go to college now and then if I want to homestead later, I have the option to go either way.”

College Counselor Lauren Gersick amplified the unique combination of varied backgrounds and perspectives students can learn from on a college campus. “Encountering other learners, with varied backgrounds and personal histories, in a commitment to collective meaning-making, is a less quantitative but enduring benefit of college,” said Gersick. “The personal development and professional opportunity that a college degree offers is difficult to find in other avenues.”