The Value of Higher Education

Have you inordinately thought about why saving for their childrens college education is same an important part of every parents financial plans? Why do so many of them take heavy loans just to put their kids through college?

Its understandable that parents do it whereas they have the best interests of their children at passion. They want to peep their children succeed in life, and consider a college education fundamental to that success.

But why does our government pass out out so much money every year in financial aid for college students? How do they feasibly benefit from spending billions of dollars in grants, scholarships, and loans, for something that seems to contribute just to an individuals personal development?

Its for the value of higher education goes far beyond personal benefits. In addition to contributing to a persons express development, higher education also helps in nation building.

According to a study conducted by College Board in 2004 on trends in higher education, college has both individual and societal benefits. Unfortunately, not enough effort has been made to spread awareness about the value of higher education to the society at large.

Benefits of Higher Education: Individual and Societal

The debate about the value of higher education is probably as old as college itself. We have all had animated living - room and classroom discussions about the benefits of higher education to us as individuals. So, in addition to the personal benefits that college has for individuals, its important to also focus on the societal benefits of higher education.

For an individual, college education has the potential to impact her personal, professional, financial, and social well - being. Study after study has been conducted to demonstrate that higher education can lead to higher earnings.

The U. S. Department of Labor ( DOL ), in its 2010 survey, established that professionals with some sort of college education have higher weekly earnings as compared to those who have no post - secondary education. In fact, the higher an individuals level of education, the higher his income. Naturally, professional or graduate degree programshave higher earning potential as compared to bachelors or associates programs.

In terms of employment opportunities, college graduates also generally fare much better than their high school counterparts. The DOL survey showed an inverse relationship between higher education and unemployment rates. The rate of unemployment among high school graduates was 10. 3 percent in 2010, as compared to just 5. 4 percent among those who held a bachelors degree, and 4 percent among those who had completed graduate degree programs. 1

Not just the number of employment opportunities, but even the nature of jobs available to individuals improves with college education. A number of white - collar jobs, even entry - level ones, are available to college graduates only. Those with no post - secondary education, on the other hand, may get stuck in an endless cycle of minimum wage and low - skill jobs.

On a personal level, college education can build self - confidence and enhance an individuals position in her community. Plus, some of the bonds formed in college can last a lifetime and can contribute to a persons overall happiness quotient.

As for the societal benefits of higher education, some of the facts revealed by the College Board study may actually come as a surprise.

Because college education can lead to lower levels of unemployment and poverty, it can result in higher tax revenues and lower dependence on social benefits.

Those who go to college are believed to be better members of society, which is demonstrated by their contributions to their community through volunteer work, blood donation, voting in elections, etc.

College graduates are also less likely to be perpetrators of crime and have lower incarceration rates as compared to those who have never been to college.

And finally, believe it or not, college education leads to lower smoking rates. That may be because college grads have a higher sense of personal health and well - being.

Sources:

1. http: / / www. bls. gov / emp / ep_chart_001. htm

Value Added Education Via An Online College Degree

If you consider the cost involved with earning a college degree from a traditional college and broke it down by way of hour thence you will wearisome find that your college degree has cost you a comic amount. If again consider the cost per hour instantly relevant to the lectures that you sat in where you learned obliteration while doing your college degree thence you will habitual look at that college degree in disgust when you think of the cost in terms of your time and money. This is why an online college degree is stock the smartest option in regards to the hour versus value cost of receipt a college education.

For you work on your online college degree in the time that you have spare meaning you dont actually have to work on it full time then you can really see where the credit of this system lies. To the credit of the traditional college education system, they push people pretty hard to ensure that they get through the course. On a lighter note, that doesnt excuse the lectures that you have likely attended hour after hour for days on end where you have not really learned anything. The traditional college degree credit ( where this is specific to what you have learned ) per hour cost of undertaking the course may seem high compared to that of doing the course online.

If you are going back to earn a second college degree then doing it online is the way to go as you can utilize the qualification earned from your first degree to earn money and possibly pay for the degree that is relevant to the field you want to move into. So it is not all bad every cloud has a silver lining. Doing college course online to earn that second degree also means you only need to do an hour or two worth of work a day to get the credit for the course. You might also look at which units you have already taken in your first course that can be transferred to your new degree to lower the cost of the course.

It can cost a lot less to earn a college degree online. You will still receive credit for the course in much the same manner that you would in a traditional setting. You wont need to focus on the course as much as you would if you were doing it internally ( an hour or two a day should suffice ) and the degree will be just as good as that earned in a traditional college setting.

What is the Real Value of a College Education Without the Academic Hype and Justification

Have you exceptionally wondered what the real value of a college education is these days? There is of course an sound value of college, and that is whatever the colleges are charging, and the students are enthusiastic to pay. But I ask you why are people prepared to pay so much for college? One instigation is possibly is now they aren ' t paying for it, that is to judge their parents are paying for it, the government is paying for it, the kids are on a scholarship, or me as a taxpayer is guaranteeing a student loan, which may never be repaid.

Forasmuch as, the actual palpable value of a college education is not what it appears to be, and it is not the high cost that the universities and colleges of this great nation are charging currently. Academia is in a bubble, and it is operating using government funding, tax payer ' s money, and misrepresentational marketing. Let me explain.

You see, college entrance counselors always telling the parents and students that they place 85 % of their graduating class in Fortune 500 companies making over $50, 000 a year. Now then, the numbers vary from school to school, and year - to - year, but that ' s basically the line of reasoning they give. They also say that over your lifetime you will make 1. 5 to 2 million dollars more in salary or earnings than you would if you didn ' t have a college education, on average, obviously that ' s not the case for everybody.

Nevertheless, if we look at the job market recently, the unemployment rate was quite high, and although employers were more apt to hire someone with a college degree, many of those folks who had graduated from college were still paying student loans, and they had no job. Is it false advertising, is it a forward - looking statement, or is it just fraudulent marketing? It ' s hard to say, but that ' s what ' s happening.

Not long ago, an individual who wished to join our think tank explained that he was just entering college, but he wasn ' t sure if it made sense for him. And he was wondering what the real value of academic credentials would be in the real world, or why they should even be required to join a think tank. This is a reasonable question, and it got me to thinking, hence this article.

Indeed, I told him; " we should have a conversation, you and I, about the " real value " of academia, because there are + ' s and - ' s to college, " the reason being that folks with too much college cannot think outside the box, and folks with not enough college didn ' t have enough knowledge to make good decisions, or stand out in scientific, engineering, or innovative decision - making.

Does that mean someone with no college is all is lesser? No, in some regards, folks who look at what college has to offer can see that the cost versus what you get doesn ' t really make sense for everyone. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this.