Prior to recent years, college was seen as a luxury for the upper class, and not the normal path for the average American. The majority of Americans graduated high school and went straight to the work force with the ability to find a well-paying job without a degree.  Within the past few decades, a post high school degree has become the new normal for American students.  From 2000 to 2015 alone, the number of 18-24 year old’s attending college rose from 27.3 million to 31.2 million (NCES).  This shows that within just a 15-year time frame, the average amount of 18- 24 year old’s attending college in the United states has increased by 3.9 million, or 5%.  Along with the large average college attendance increase, the average college tuition cost has exponentially increased as well.  According the United States Department of Education, the average tuition cost has more than doubled in the past 3 decades, even after adjusted for inflation.  This leaves the majority of American’s questioning whether college is worth the cost.  According to data, despite the increased average cost of tuition, the benefits of college are far more important to the average American citizen.

In 2012, the average American that takes out student loans graduates college with $27,000 of debt, which is more than double what the average was in 1992 (US Department of Education).  Even after changes the Obama administration put into place, the maximum Pell Grant offered to students in need covers only 30 % of the total cost needed to attend all four years of college for a Bachelor’s degree (US Department of Education).  According the US Department of Education, this is the lowest proportion of Pell Grant coverage in history, and is less than half of what the average coverage was in 1980.  So why does data suggest college is still worth the cost?  The US Department of Education claims that, “College graduates with a Bachelor’s degree typically earn 66 percent more than those with only a high school diploma; and are also far less likely to face unemployment” And that, “Over the course of a lifetime, the average worker with a Bachelor’s degree will earn approximately $1 million more than a worker without a post-secondary education.”  This means that students who complete college and receive a minimum of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree, on average, earn 66% (or $1 million) more in lifetime earnings than someone who goes straight into the work force after high school.  While college is becoming more expensive over time, the US Department of Education still believes that it is an essential part of becoming economically successful in life. 

Along with the increased average lifetime earnings, jobs are becoming less interested in non-college-degree workers, and are increasing the requirements to apply for a job position.  By 2020, it is estimated that two-thirds of all job openings in America will require some form of higher education (US Department of Education).  Chad Brooks, Senior Writer at Business News Daily, states that a recent study from CareerBuilder, an organization dedicated to helping citizens find jobs and build a successful career, states that 38% of organizations have raised their educational requirements over the past five years (Brooks).  This is an increase from the previous 32% the previous year, and shows that many hiring organizations are no longer interested in the high school graduate, and are beginning to only search for college degree holders to fill their job openings.  Brooks also finds that CareerBuilder’s research shows 41% of employers are now hiring college degree holders to fill jobs previously occupied by non-college degree holders; This is an increase from the previous year’s 37% (Brooks).  This shows that not only are job requirements for new job openings are increasing around the nation, but non-degree workers are no longer guaranteed their job positions they have been working in for years.  If not for the 66% increased average lifetime earnings received due to a college degree, job security and placement should be a large factor for paying for a degree. 

Another benefit to receiving a minimum of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree would be the increased rehireablility rates in America.  In the United States alone, jobs are constantly being created and destroyed. It is cited that, “10% of jobs are lost every year, but roughly a different 10% is also created.” (Desai, et. al. 2).  This shows that there is a constant loss of jobs and unemployment, but also a constant creation of jobs.  That 10% of jobs lost, leave many unemployed works, of which have to search and apply for a new job.  Of those unemployed workers searching for a new job, the college-degree holders will have a much easier time being rehired than those that are not degree holders.  A recent study conducted found that “job losers with higher levels of education have higher post-displacement employment rates and are more likely to be reemployed full-time” (Riddell and Song 2).  This means that college degree holders who have had a job but became unemployed, have been found to have a greater chance of being rehired at another organization, than someone who does not have a college degree. Riddell and Song later go on to state, “Based on 1980 Census data, graduating from college increases the probability of full-time re-employment by over 40 percentage points for those unemployed for more than 8 weeks in the previous year.  An additional year of schooling increases the probability of full-time re-employment by 6 to 7 percentage points.” (Riddell and Song 3).  What the authors are stating is that a college degree causes its holder to have a 40% better chance of finding a second job after 8 weeks of unemployment, than a non-degree holder has.  Additionally, for each year of school after receiving a 4-year Bachelor’s degree, increases their chances of finding a new job by 6 to 7%.  In a recent scholarly article, “Is College Worth the Money?” by Aatum Desai, Sameer Gir, and Adam Nohl, the authors state, “Since the world is continuously making rapid technological advancements that shift the size and disposition of the labor market, the threat of unemployment and the necessary development of soft skills are realities for employees in certain industries.  The researchers state that based on past papers of a similar topic, they can hypothesize that greater levels of education lead to a greater incidence of reemployment after losing a job.” (Desai, et. al. 2).  The authors feel that the continuous technological advancements in the world have a large effect on the job market and unemployment rate in the United States.  The authors believe they can hypothesis that greater levels on education will result in a greater chance of reemployment, despite many jobs being overtaken by technology. So, receiving a college degree is not just to help receive a higher pay scale and better employment chance, but also to act as a safety net incase a job is lost due to technology. 

Besides the economic and monetary benefits that 4-year Bachelor degree holders receive, many non-monetary benefits occur also.  In Kathleen Porter’s book, The Value of a College Degree, Kathleen refers to a Carnegie Foundation report and states, “non-monetary individual benefits of higher education include the tendency for postsecondary students to become more open-minded, more cultured, more rational, more consistent and less authoritarian; these benefits are also passed along to succeeding generations” (Porter 2).  Both Porter and the Carnegie Foundation believe that students who go on to complete a postsecondary education benefit in multiple non-monetary ways.  They believe that degree holders act in a more open-minded and rational way, while also being more cultured and less authoritarian.  These traits are beneficial to all humans who strive to become successful in life and work, and allow them to act in a much more professional way.  With jobs already becoming increasingly more difficult to apply for, having well taught and professional manners certainly helps place degree-holding applicants above the non-degree applicants.  Porter later goes on to state that “college attendance has been shown to "decrease prejudice, enhance knowledge of world affairs and enhance social status" while increasing economic and job security for those who earn Bachelor's degrees” (Porter 3).  Porter also claims that, “Research has also consistently shown a positive correlation between completion of higher education and good health, not only for oneself, but also for one's children.” (Porter 3).  Both of these quotes show that receiving a college degree not only positively affects the student, but the world around them.  Completing a higher education provides economic and social benefits, including decreased prejudice and better knowledge of the world, along with enhanced social status. A college degree also does not benefit the student and their peers around them, but also their future children to. If the parent is successful, wealthy, and highly educated, then the offspring will grow up in a healthy and educated home. By growing up in such an environment, the offspring will more than likely reciprocate their parent’s lifestyle and pursue high education also.   This reciprocation will create a domino effect, causing more and more children to go to college and receive a degree. Theoretically, this will create a new standard of living for the United States, and 4-year degree’s will no longer hold the same benefits they do now. 

Pursing postsecondary education benefits everybody, regardless of one’s ethnicity or gender, but this does not mean each race or gender benefit the same. In Jennifer Lewis’ “By How Much Does a College Degree Affect Earnings?” Lewis states in the beginning of her article that “The Cost of obtaining a college degree is high and knowing what factors will affect an individual’s earnings are very important when deciding if college would be a good investment. Research has shown that college may not only increase one’s earnings, but it leaves college graduates better prepared for the labor market.” This means that college degree’s do in fact benefit everyone, and it is good to know what you are investing in before you start. Lewis explores the average earnings of multiple races, gender, and relationship status, in order to see the effects of a college degree on every group. In Lewis research, she concludes that males with a college degree, on average, earn 46.3 % more than females with a college degree (Lewis 62). Lewis also claims that “individuals who are married and their spouse is present tend to earn 17 percent more than a single individual. A divorced individual makes approximately 13.8 percent more and a widowed individual makes 22.2 percent more on average than a single individual.” This means that married couples tend to make 17% more than a single individual, divorced couples make approximately 13.8% more than a single individual, and a widow makes about 22.2% more than a single individual. Later on, Lewis discovers that Black individuals make on average 11.6% less than white individuals, while other races averaged 16% less. Regardless of the fact that each group researched was all degree holding individuals, certain ethnic groups made less than others. With each group researched, it was still found that receiving a college degree was much worth the cost in the end.

Despite all of the evidence supporting students to pursue higher education and complete college for a minimum of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree, many Americans argue college isn’t worth the cost anymore. According to Jeffery Selingo at the Washington Post, just 38 percent of students who have graduated college in the past decade strongly agree that their higher education was worth the cost (Selingo). Selingo later argues that in recent years, the benefit of receiving a 4-year Bachelor’s degree has rapidly decreased. Selingo also states “The average wage of workers with a Bachelor’s degree has declined 10 percent in the first part of this century, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.” This means that degree holding employees are no longer making what they used to, and are actually working for a 10% wage cut. Jeffery Selingo later says that a recent study found, “the majority of students who received financial aid at 15 percent of American four-year colleges ended up earning less than $25,000 a year a decade after they enrolled.”  This means that most of the students who received loans in order to help pay for college and get a degree, are now making less than $25,000 a year. If the average student debt is $27 thousand, then paying back the loans are nearly impossible. A recent NBC news report focuses on college graduates that received their degrees and are now working in low paying jobs, struggling to pay off their student debts. One student graduated college with a Master’s degree in Policy Research last year, and even graduated Summa Cum Laude, yet works as a waitress for low pay. The student claims she has applied to hundreds of jobs, just has been denied due to being “Over qualified for her position.” She alone has over $70 thousand in student debt, and is struggling greatly to pay it off. The news report states that last year the average salary for 4-year Bachelor’s degree holders was $48 thousand, yet 25% earned less than that (around $27 thousand). This shows that 1 out of 4 Bachelor’s degree holders are making on average $21 thousand less than the normal salary for their education level. This $27 thousand is only $2 thousand more than the average high school graduate that went straight into the work force (NBC). These statistics show a discouraging decrease in the average salary for Bachelor’s degree holders, and is the basis of why many American’s believe college is no longer worth the cost it takes to attend and receive a degree. 

While many American’s are facing hardship when trying to find jobs, the average American will still benefit from completing a minimum of 4 years in order to receive at least a Bachelor’s degree. In fact, the same NBC new report that was displaying evidence against paying for a college degree, later states, “For the vast majority of people, college is worth it” (NBC). NBC later states that experts claim future students should weigh the risk of paying for college with the reward they could possibly receive by having a degree. (NBC) This means that students should look into the average salaries and job hiring rates of their specific degree, and then compare that the cost they will have to actually attend college and receive their degree. Jeffery Selingo believes that despite his previous findings, college students are no longer going to college because they want to further their education, rather students are hemorrhaging their bank accounts to receive a mediocre degree that places them in lower waged jobs.  Selingo also believes that receiving a college degree no longer places an individual ahead for job placements, but rather places them in the vast majority. This means that college is necessary to even apply for a job, because without a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, you are below the majority of applicants and are likely to not be hired. So, for the vast majority of college students, their reward and benefits far outweigh their risk and cost of attendance.

In conclusion, while the average college tuition price has exponentially increased over the past 3 decades, the benefits of receiving a minimum of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree far outweighs it. On average, college degree holders make 66% more than non-degree holders of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree, which is equivalent to $1 million more. If the national average student debt is only $27 thousand, then the time to pay off student debts is minimal. 41% more jobs are now requiring a minimum of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree to even apply, which means all non-degree holders miss out on those jobs. This increase in educational requirements alone shows the importance of going to college and receiving a degree. Also, everybody benefits from going to college, whether it’s a married couple, single couple, white individual, etc. The benefits to receiving a college degree are far more than just economic status. College degrees provide better social status, open-mindedness, and world knowledge. College degrees also benefit not only the degree holder, but the whole world itself by lower the amount of prejudice. Degree holder’s children also benefit from their parent’s level of higher education and wealth. So, the answer to whether college really is the worth the cost to receive a degree, is yes; The benefits of a degree far outweigh the cost of attendance. 
