Q: On the Internet and in the news recently I have noticed that a lot of people are saying that college is not worth it anymore and that the opportunity cost for school is just not worth it as it once was. I am a college senior and am excited to graduate and hopefully get a better job than I currently have. I believe that my 5 or so years in college have not been a wasted and that I have learned how to learn.
Just yesterday I watched a 1-hour documentary about how college degrees are useless because everyone has one and we all end up with mountains of debt with low paying jobs that don’t allow us to realistically pay back the debt. The sad thing that I noticed about this documentary was that I was agreeing with it. Not all of it but many of the statements seemed to be true to me. My real question today is what is the real value of a college education? Is even graduate school really worth it anymore?
A: The world in which we live provides ever-greater rewards those who can make high-stakes judgments. At the same time, rising costs for the necessities of life, such as health care, heighten the importance of making a living with our minds and not just with our hands. Thus, education is becoming simultaneously more valuable and more essential.
We are blessed to be led by prophets who have spoken about the importance of getting as much education as we can. But they have also taught us to avoid excessive debt. The answer, then, is to prayerfully seek affordable education that prepares us to make good decisions about matters of importance. Each of us must be our own “general contractor” in constructing that kind of education. A college student who builds a degree with high-stakes judgments in mind, in reasonable time and without excessive debt, will be glad for the investment. The same is true of graduate study. There is no reason to fear if we diligently follow prophetic direction.
Is College Worth the Cost?
Q: On the Internet and in the news recently I have noticed that a lot of people are saying that college is not worth it anymore and that the opportunity cost for school is just not worth it as it once was. I am a college senior and am excited to graduate and hopefully get a better job than I currently have. I believe that my 5 or so years in college have not been a wasted and that I have learned how to learn.
Just yesterday I watched a 1-hour documentary about how college degrees are useless because everyone has one and we all end up with mountains of debt with low paying jobs that don’t allow us to realistically pay back the debt. The sad thing that I noticed about this documentary was that I was agreeing with it. Not all of it but many of the statements seemed to be true to me. My real question today is what is the real value of a college education? Is even graduate school really worth it anymore?
A: The world in which we live provides ever-greater rewards those who can make high-stakes judgments. At the same time, rising costs for the necessities of life, such as health care, heighten the importance of making a living with our minds and not just with our hands. Thus, education is becoming simultaneously more valuable and more essential.