As I sit here with enormous amounts of work on my shoulders and deadlines that creep up on me everyday, multiple times a day I sometimes question my reasoning for being in college and if it is actually worth it and come to the same realization everytime. Yes. College is completely worth the struggle, stress, anxiety, and money.
According to this article I found, going to college and successfully completing and earning your degree, college graduates have higher employment rates, larger salaries, and more job opportunities than high school graduates. Sure, we all know college is ridiculously expensive but in the long run, pays off and makes the debt you have leaving college worth it. According to this other article I found about 7 in 10 student (69%) go into student loan debt averaging about $28,000 in debt. That is actually a very scary thought and makes me question this college education even more.
According to the article college graduates, if they have a family later on in life, their kids are more likely to be healthy and more prepared for school in the future. Based on the statistics in the article from a Lancet Medical Journal showed that college graduate mothers had lower infant mortality rates than high school graduate mothers. Mothers, who are high school graduates are 31% more likely to birth a low-birth weight baby. Children with at least one college gradate parent, according to the statistics given in the article show that 59% of them participated in after school activities such as sports, preforming arts, and clubs. After reading that my kids will be better off in the long run really made me feel like I was getting an education here for something more than just myself. Raising a family and having your kids live a better life than you is what every parent wants and that is certainly what I want for my kids some day.
After reading more of the article according to the statistics they show, college graduates make on average $30,000 more per year than high school graduates. So, coming out of college with a degree and more job opportunities you could technically pay your student loan debt with just one year salary and still make just as much as a high school graduate for that one year. Granted I know most people don’t ever pay debts in full unless they’re making a lot of money and can afford to give a large sum of it up in bulk, but knowing that you make much more money and have more job opportunities entering the work force with a college degree is the reason why I keep working hard for my Penn State degree.
So what am I trying to say? College not only pays off for you money wise but also your health, job opportunities which makes it more of chance for you to be successful in life, and your kids future.
Griffin, I found this post really interesting because although the general consensus is that a child should always go to college after high school, a person rarely stops to consider why this is a good idea. I thought you did a great job incorporating a variety of sources and reasons in backing your claim, and thoroughly convinced me with evidence as to why this is a good idea. However, I have often pondered how “worth it” college is considering the high cost of attending. In many other countries, especially European ones, the cost of college is minuscule or even nonexistent, something that has caused many Americans to stop and rethink their choice to spend tens of thousands on their child’s education. I even have a few friends who have pursued their college education in Canada as a result of the expense. Here I found an interesting article that compares college access and affordability in the US versus the rest of the world. http://www.valuecolleges.com/collegecosts/
Griffin, I thought this was an interesting post. My original plan was to receive a scholarship to play NCAA hockey while attending college. During my Senior year, I received two major concussions and was unable to get a scholarship due to a large amount of time I was not able to play in front of college scouts. I was crushed because that is all I ever wanted to do. I contemplated going to college and maybe just moving to Europe to play professionally in a lower tier league. With the help of my parents, I had decided to attend Penn State and receive an education over competitive hockey. I can honestly say that choosing to attend college has been the best decision of my life. I have learned and matured so much over my years here at Penn State. Im sure I would have had a blast over in Europe, but I would not be receiving a quality education and therefore would be behind in life. i believe we share the same opinion on attending college, although, you should check out this article that I found that could put up a good argument on if college is worth it.
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/12/10/is-college-worth-it-goldman-sachs-says-not-so-much/