The Value of a College Degree

For many families, the idea that higher education for themselves or their children will automatically improve their social or economic status is a common one. In many situations this can be the case, however it is not universal. Additionally, many factors come into play when analyzing how intergenerational mobility does or does not occur. Some of these factors include existing social class, field of study, undergraduate vs. advanced degrees, race or gender, selection of institution, and parental resources. The general hypothesis of this study is “Is a College Degree Still the Great Equalizer?”

This issue was the source of study by Florencia Torche at New York University. Using different cohort groups and conducting various survey methods, this study was able measure the effects of certain college degrees (i.e. bachelors vs. advanced degrees, field of study, etc.) as they relate to various aspects of intergenerational mobility such as social class mobility, occupational status mobility, earnings mobility, and family income mobility. In addition, current data was compared with previously studied data from earlier studies (1965-2005) of this issue in order to measure current trends in intergenerational mobility among populations holding college degrees.

In many cases, access to a college education is largely dependent on parental resources. This is not to say that those families without the necessary resources cannot send their children to college. Students who demonstrate higher performance in secondary schools (high school) can have access to college based on merit. However, the greater a family’s resources, the more likely it is that a family can send their child to an upper-class institution not based on merit, but simply due to...

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...ergenerational mobility. The author of this study, Florencia Torche, used a wide variety of statistical data to prove this point, which added to its degree of accuracy and validity. Of course, different levels of economic mobility are directly related to different levels of schooling, fields of practice, and many other factors as discussed in this piece, however one can be confident that with the appropriate motivation, schooling, and hard work, a college education is a very worthwhile endeavor and has the ability to directly affect intergenerational mobility.

References

Torche, F. (2011). Is a college degree still the great equalizer? Intergenerational mobility across levels of schooling in the United States. Americal Journal of Sociology, Vol. 117, No. 3 (November 2011), pp. 763–807 Retrieved on 27/10/2013 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/661904.