Research Blog 7 My Case

My case is to explore the cost benefit analysis of attending college for the average student who must take out loans.  Many factors go into this decision like a student’s previous performance in school, their choice of major and which university are they going to attend.  While not all cases are the same I have found that for the average student it is still beneficial to get a college degree, however, if tuition continues to increase as they have been it may soon be so detrimental to the young graduates finance that it is no longer worth the degree.  The debate centered on my proposal does not focus solely on the monetary aspect of college but also the intangibles such as the networking opportunities, becoming a more well-rounded individual and social benefits from having a prestigious career.  In other words, people always ask what you do and not how much you make.  There are also intangibles against going to college such as the saturation of the graduate market leading to an increase in underemployment leaving young adults with high aspirations in unsatisfying careers.  Much of the research I have found points to college still being a good investment as graduates have a lower unemployment rate and on average make significantly more money per year, especially when comparing workers in the same field.  The benefits become prevalent once an individual reaches their 30s and has a set career path.  For example, a manager with only a high school degree makes on average 50k a year while someone with a bachelors makes just under 80k and someone with a graduates degree makes close to 90k according to the 2010 current population survey.  This result can be found in many other fields to various extremes.  A degree also reduces the risk of unemployment and according to the Bureau of labor statistics unemployment of adults ages 22 to 27 who had less than a BA had a 15% unemployment rate compared to a 6% for those with a BA. 

Details that would be useful to know are the average payments that are made on student loans and how much additional interest is paid on top of the loan once someone is done paying off their student loans.  This would help aid me in my counter argument where I can compare how much of the increased salary would be used to pay off the student loans and where this leaves the remaining salary in comparison to someone with only a high school degree.

Some of the sources included in making this case are , Aspiring Adults Adrift ( a book written by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa) along with the journal Making College Worth It: A Review of the Returns to Higher Education and Do the Benefits of College still Outweigh the Costs?.  The last two sources can be found on Rutgers Libraries.