The Value of Higher Education

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In the United States attending a four year university has become a standard for many young adults. It has presumably become this way because in the current economy more and more jobs require a college degree. This is due to the increase of fields that need higher education as well as attending a university becoming more accessible to the masses thanks to financial aid. Financial aid opened the floodgates for college graduation, giving many people opportunities never previously offered to them, but that’s all it is, opportunity. Attending school has left many students with crippling student loan debt with only the opportunity to get a job in a market where the chances of getting a one are constantly diminishing. What about those who do manage do get a job and go on to maintain a career, what happens to them? Are they ever able pay off their loans? Definitely, those who pay off their loans even go on to make substantially more money than they previously would have, if they would not have attended a university. This brings many people to the question, “What’s the worth of higher education?” People have many different answers, some being higher than others, and some being lower than others, but this job market has reached such a point that more and more Americans are changing their views whilst others are coming up with their solutions.
The largest argument for why college is not worth it is because the price it cost to attend college leaves many young adults financially crippled. From the year 2003 the amount of 25-year-olds with student loan debt has shot up from 25% to 43%, with the average loan balance of over $20,000. This is a 91% increase from 2003’s average loan balance. The average student also graduates with ove...

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...uates felt that college didn’t prepare them good enough for employment, especially in their technical reasoning abilities. Also a 2011 survey found that 57% of Americans felt higher education was not worth the money spent.
Not every high school student figures out what they want to do by the age of 18, many go to college and are given to opportunity to figure it out there by using the vast amount of resources given to them, including job fairs and internships. In fact, over 80% of students complete an internship before they graduate, giving them experience. These internships are usually only give experience for high-skilled jobs, jobs that are similar to most jobs that college students go to school for. This leaves a need for “middle-skill” trades, such as electricians. In a 2011 survey, 67% of US manufacturers report a “moderate to severe shortage of talent,”

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