Nicholas James
Before doing research I felt college may have been a mistake but then I found that the importance of continuing education after high school is for a better opportunity at desired careers also to exceed or meet the qualifications for those careers. Even though tuition and student loan debt is rising, going to college is still a great decision. A college degree leads to substantial earnings in the labor market compared to those without a college degree. The average college graduate earns seventy-eight thousand dollars per year compared to the forty-five thousand dollars for those with only a high school diploma which is a thirty-three thousand dollar difference.
Further research shows that without a college degree a child born into a family in the lowest quintile has a forty-five percent chance of remaining in that quintile as an adult. Whereas a low-income individual with a college degree could just as easily land in any income quintile-including the highest. I think going to college was a great idea but I do believe I should have stayed in my home state because college is more affordable for in-state students. Which could also help with the price of college.
Children born in the lowest quintile who do earn a college degree have only a sixteen percent chance of remaining in the lowest quintile and a nineteen percent chance of breaking into the top quintile. In other words, a child born in the lowest quintile which receives his or her degree has a greater chance of breaking into the highest quintile than staying in the lowest quintile.
Work citations
Friedman, Zack. “Is College Worth It?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 13 June 2019, http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2019/06/13/is-college-worth-it/#22215862778d.
“Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education.” Thirteen Economic Facts about Social Mobility and the Role of Education | The Hamilton Project, 18 Feb. 2020, www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/thirteen_economic_facts_social_mobility_education/.
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