Good points, StickerShock. This is a highly personal decision and also has to do with all the reasons why a student decides to go on to college in the first place. These days the soaring COA is obviously an important issue and, even with financial aid packages, there will come a point at which many families will just decide that they have arrived at the point of diminishing returns. This is precisely why many public state universities use current statistics to emphasize the economic-financial benefit, or eventual payback, of attending any college as one of the major drawing cards to attract applicants away from top private elites. While Ivy and Stanford grads (etc.) may have a recruiting advantage for some high paying fields, such as law, elite universities, notably Princeton, advise strongly against attending if your primary aim is simply future economic gain.
This is taken from the University of North Texas website.
Quote:
Why Go To College?
The big payback
The competitive advantage is yours if you choose to graduate from college. Experts who have researched the performance and job success of college graduates have concluded that, nationwide, college graduates with a bachelor's degree earn about 80 percent more per year than those who only complete high school. In fact, those whose education stops with a high school diploma may see their real wages decline over time...
As you outline your future, spend time considering what you want to do with your life. As with any major purchase, you'll want to be a wise consumer: Look at the choices, compare prices, think about what's important to you and go for the best quality your money can buy. College doesn't guarantee happiness and success, but it does help you make the best of your own life.
* The average four-year college education at a public university
in Texas (in-state tuition and fees) costs about $17,500, less than the cost of the average new car.
* The annual income for a person with a bachelor’s degree is nearly twice that of someone with a high school diploma.
* You'll get more mileage out of a college education than you will from a used car, and that four-year education will likely enable you to buy a new car or two and many other things in your lifetime. In making the decision of whether - and where - to attend college, you and your parents should consider those four years as a lifetime investment, not just as annual expenses for job training.
|
http://www.unt.edu/pais/howtochoose/why.htm