Is college really worth it? It has long been seen as a rite of passage, and seen (though not necessarily correctly) as something that’s a necessary step for success in all sorts of careers. But you don’t have to skim the headlines too often to know this: a college education can be quite expensive. So what do I do? you may be asking yourself, is college worth it, or is it overrated? Good question—let’s talk about it.
Why do people go to college?
People go to college for all kinds of reasons: College graduates have tended to have greater career stability, lower rates of unemployment, higher job satisfaction, and (sometimes) more of a chance to impact their communities. People can also go to college for deeply personal reasons—for instance, you might come from a family where no one has gone to college, and you’re trying to break the mold by being the first to do it. Or maybe the opposite is true—maybe you come from a family where everyone has gone to college, and it’s just kinda something you’re supposed to do.
No matter your background, most people who go to college think it will help them launch a career in something. And then there’s the allure of the social aspect. College can offer students an opportunity to live independently and make new connections.
Should I go to college?
That depends on your goals. If you want to pursue a specific career that requires a college degree, then you should probably consider applying. But you don’t necessarily have to know what you want to study, or even what career path you’re interested in, for college to be a good idea. Maybe you’re interested in going to college so you can figure that stuff out. Or maybe a career isn’t even on your mind, but you’re interested in learning for the sake of learning, and see a four year school as a chance to dive deep into topics you love. That’s great, but going to college shouldn’t be something you do on a whim.
Getting a four year degree is a big decision, and one’s that largely personal. If you are thinking about going to college, you’ll want to be sure you’ve given your motivations serious consideration.
There’s one especially important aspect you should consider seriously: cost.
How much does college cost?
Going to college is a financial commitment, and it’s important to wrap your head around potential expenses before committing to a school. According to the College Board, the median cost of Tuition and Fees and Room and Board is $40,550 for out-of-state students at four-year public universities ($23,250 for in-state students). The cost of going to a four year private school is a bit more, with median tuition, fees, and room and board summing up to $53,430.
To be clear, that’s the cost for a single year at a four-year school. Multiply those numbers by four to get a sense of how much of an investment a college education can be.
So yes, going to college can cost quite a bit of money. Does it make sense for you? Is higher education really worth it? Let’s look at some pros and cons.
3 pros of going to college: reasons college is worth it
1. On average, College graduates make more money
We’ve already talked about how expensive college is, but know this: on average, people who get a four year degree make more money over the course of their lives than people who don’t. Forbes notes that the median salary for 25 - 34 year olds with only a high school degree is $36,000. What’s that same age group make once they get a bachelor's degree? $59,600. Think about that. That’s nearly $14,000 more per year.
(Though a heads up that if income is one of your primary goals, different degrees tend to have different average income levels.)
2. Say hello to your instant professional network
In high school, the concept of “networking” might not yet be relevant to you. But as you advance in your career, making connections through networking generally becomes a necessity when looking for a job. Like it or not, the tired refrain of “who you know” being as important as (or maybe more important than) “what you know” has some truth to it. Surveys suggest that those with a college degree have more close connections in their lives than those without one. It’s not hard to imagine why the college experience lends itself to that finding…
If you go to a four year school, maybe you live in a dorm with a bunch of other people, all bonded by the idea that you decided to go to the same school. Maybe you strike up a conversation with someone sitting next to you in class, or forge connections with others in a club or on a sports team.
College is rife with opportunities to connect with others, and once you graduate, those connections can stick with you. So when you find that super awesome job posting online, you might be glad to see that that guy you sat next to in Psych 101, for example, also works at that company.
3. Opportunities abound for personal growth and self-discovery
This one’s a bit trickier to quantify, but it’s perhaps one of the most exciting things about college for potential applicants. At many schools, there's just simply so much you can do.
The University of Michigan, for example, has 1,600 registered clubs for students to join. UCLA has 1,200. Even smaller schools like Kenyon offer over 100 student organizations. The sheer number of things to get involved with at a four year school just isn’t something people experience in other contexts of life; you may not realize how passionate you are about knitting until your college roommate drags you to the serenity of Knitting Club.
But apart from student clubs and organizations, you’ll also have access to opportunities that let you explore what you want to do professionally. Many colleges have career centers that can help you get summer internships doing work you find interesting. So even if you go into college not quite sure what you want to do for a career yet, you can use the resources your school provides to help get some guidance.
3 cons of going to college: Reasons college isn’t worth the cost
1. It’s likely that you’ll have some debT
Roughly 70% of people getting a bachelor’s degree graduate with some level of debt from student loans. The average amount of money borrowed to get a degree? $30,000. For some students, taking on some debt to fund their education is worthwhile, but this may not be the case for you.
Here are some factors to consider: on average, people with a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field (like engineering or computer science) make around $65.000 - $75,000 out of college. People with a humanities degree tend to average about $50,000 straight out of college. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a humanities degree if that’s truly what’s important to you. But taking on a lot of debt to do so is probably going to be a lot tougher than it would be for someone making $25k more per year
If you’re not quite sure how you’ll pay off those loans once you do graduate, then you may want to consider alternatives to a four year degree.
2. Your chosen career may not require that you get a four-year degree
If you already know that work in the trades interests you, a college degree may not be a worthwhile investment. There are roughly 30 million jobs in the United States right now that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. And with an increasing shortage of skilled trade workers, these kinds of jobs are in increasing demand.
But can I make decent money doing that kind of work? You may be asking. Well, consider these median salaries:
Carpenter: $48,260
Plumber: $59,880
Electrical Lineworker: $78,310
Notice that some of those are just as good or better than starting salaries for some degrees.
3. You may not be ready to attend college
College can be an opportunity to explore all kinds of exciting opportunities, but depending on what else is going on in your life, it may not yet be the best option for you. Many people experience some sort of emotional or mental health distress over the course of their four years in college, and not everyone’s in a space where they can handle that right after graduating from high school.
A survey from the JED Foundation showed that over 60% of respondents (all college students) wished they were more emotionally prepared for the demands of a college education. For many young people, the pressure to do well in high school to get into college can make them overlook some of the common realities people inevitably face when they actually attend a four year school:
If you’re attending a residential school, this may be the first time you’ve lived away from support systems at home—that can be harder than many people expect
Classes may get hard (and will definitely be harder than what you’ve experienced in high school), and you may struggle to deal with the academic pressure
If something difficult happens back home, it may be hard for you to be physically distant from your loved ones while you’re at college
Being clear on where you stand emotionally and mentally before making the jump to college is a worthwhile consideration. If you think that you’re not yet in a space where you can grapple with the stressors of higher education, you may benefit from holding off attending college until things change for you.
Is college for everyone? Alternatives to college
So if you’ve decided that college is not for you, or that you’re willing to entertain alternatives, you might be asking yourself, okay, so if not college… then what? Sometimes it can feel like there’s no other option besides going to college, particularly if you’re coming from a community where it feels like everyone around you is planning on getting a four year degree. But you do have other options:
Trade Schools. So maybe you saw those salaries above for plumbers, electrical lineworkers, and carpenters, and were curious about how to pursue those kinds of careers. Many of those skilled labor jobs don’t require four year degrees, but instead require you to do some training at a trade school. The good news about those schools is that they often cost a lot less than four-year degree programs, and they take a lot less than four years (electrical lineworker programs, for example, take an average of 18 weeks to complete).
Bootcamps. You might find the trade school promise of practical training alluring, knowing that you want to gain skills in a matter of weeks, not years, and you don’t want to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to gain those skills. But maybe careers like carpentry and plumbing aren’t your thing. So is there an option for you? Well, you might consider looking into bootcamps. Bootcamps are intensive learning programs that promise to give you practical skills in fields like data analytics, UX, and computer coding. One of the most alluring things about these programs is that they can be accomplished in way less time than a four year degree. General Assembly, for example, promises to give bootcamp graduates practical training in a variety of fields in as few as 12 weeks.
Gap Year. Maybe you know that you want to do something to develop your skills and grow personally after high school, but you’re not yet quite sure what it is. If that’s the case, you might find a year to reflect and gain experiences helpful. If you have the means to do so, traveling and exploring other cultures and value systems can be a great way to gain perspective and insight on yourself and your aspirations.
But you don’t have to travel on a gap year. You could take a job in your local community to get some practical experience while earning some cash. Going into an experience like that, knowing that it’s just going to be for a year, can give you some peace of mind while you hone skills and reflect on what bigger-picture aspirations you have for your future.
Do you have to go to college?
In a word, no: a college degree is required for many careers, but clearly not all, and the job market may continue to shift to focus more on skills rather than degree. But you should definitely consider it. Particularly if your career aspirations might require you to have a bachelor’s degree. Though the number of jobs requiring four-year degrees has decreased over the past few years, 44% of job listings still required a bachelor’s degree in 2021.
But as we’ve talked about, there are lots of alternatives to college that enable you to enhance your career prospects.
Paying for college
So is higher education worth the cost? As we’ve shown, there’s no doubt that it’s a sizable investment, but know that there are ways to make it more affordable—the sticker price of tuition doesn’t tell the whole story of how much most people actually end up paying for school. A 2018 report showed that of all the students attending 4-year private colleges, 89% received some form of financial aid. This means that the vast majority of those students were not paying full tuition for their four-year degree.
So know that while the idea of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on anything can feel overwhelming, there are ways to make college more affordable. Check out our guide on paying for college for more information about this important consideration in the college search process.
Special thanks to Nick for writing this blog post.
Rather than candy, Nick (he/him) went searching for people’s vacuum cleaners when trick or treating. He’s since found other ways to help people clean, usually involving their essays (though he has great ideas on carpet maintenance, too). He earned a degree in Psychology from Bates College, where he rowed boats and acted in plays. Teaching high schoolers English for seven years taught him about the importance of presence and knitting sweaters. He sweats a lot, usually on purpose, and usually involving running shoes, a bike, or a rock climbing harness. His greatest fear? Heights. His greatest joys? Numerous, though shared laughter is up there.
