It’s not easy to quantify how much a college degree is worth in dollars. While we know that college graduates make $830,000 more by retirement on average than their less-educated peers, that number can vary widely by individual, college, major and more.
And of course, there are many intangible benefits to going to college. But with costs topping $60,000 at some colleges and continuing to rise, more students and families are realizing they need to consider a college’s future value when determining where to invest their tuition dollars.
A new college-ranking system makes that easier by ranking colleges based on how much better off graduates are financially once they earn a degree.
We’ve stressed that a college degree is a good investment despite its high cost. Now, we know exactly how much it’s worth: an extra $830,000 in your pocket, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. College grads earn 61% more per year According to the study, college graduates earned on average about $20,050 (61%) more […]
With college tuition rising every year and student debt at an all-time high $1.2 trillion, it’s not surprising that students and families have begun to question whether college is actually worth the cost.
Most likely due to high costs, high school graduates are choosing to forgo college in favor of working. But at what cost?
Is a college degree worth the cost? Should everyone go to college? In the video below from CNN Money, “Freakomics” author and journalist Stephen Dubner answers these questions about higher education and offers his take on the rising cost of college. Dubner says that, overall, getting a college degree pays off over time. If, however, […]
It’s well-documented that student debt has grown rapidly over the past decade. The class of 2014 graduated with an average $33,000 in student loans per student, and the numbers will likely be event greater for next year’s class.
Given that student loan debt is increasing while salaries are declining, it’s not surprising that many young adults are struggling to accumulate wealth.
According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, it’s become increasingly difficult for young adults with student debt to save up enough money to buy a house, get married or start building their ‘nest egg.’
We work with many students who think that if they can just get into an elite college, their future prospects and lives will be better. But according to a new survey, this isn’t necessarily the case. In fact, it’s even possible that attending an elite college could make your life worse–if you take on significant […]
Choosing the right college can be tough. With over 3500 colleges in the United States, finding that perfect match–let alone paying for it–is no easy task.
The folks at PayScale have put together an interesting interactive map that shows the top colleges for different ethnic groups, along with their graduation rates, locations and returns on investment after 20 years.
And you thought undergraduate student loan debt was bad.
According to a new report by the New America Foundation, the median debt load for borrowers leaving school with a master’s, medical, law or doctoral degree was $57,600 in 2012–about twice the average amount today’s typical undergrad leaves college with.
This represents a 43% increase from 2004 to 2012 when adjusted for inflation.
One of the knocks against community colleges has been that students who complete two-year degrees are less likely to continue on and complete their bachelor’s degree than their peers at four-year colleges. This was confirmed back in 2009, when Bridget Terry Long and Michal Kurlaender found that students who initially began at community colleges were 14.5% less likely […]
We’ve discussed the benefits of attending college at length, but we’re always quick to point out that even though college degrees are a good investment in your future, it doesn’t mean they’re worth going hundreds of thousands of dollars into debt for.
This funny video from YouTube personality Ryan Higa shows the downsides of college for many students and graduates: underemployment, massive student loan debt, stress, and studying subjects that don’t apply to your future career.