Attending College Benefits

Attending college is a decision every high school graduate must face. Some feel as though college develops skills that are necessary to be successful in the workforce, while others feel as though the rising costs of tuition and high interest rates on student loans make it a lousy investment. Attending college is worth the financial burden because the benefits far out weigh the costs.
Surprisingly during a time of rising tuition and steeper loan rates, the opportunity cost of attending college is becoming smaller. The average wage for an individual without a college degree has steadily decreased since the 1970s. Meaning that the amount of income one would gain if they didn’t attend college is getting smaller each year, thus the opportunity

cost is lowering.
Even though the price of college is going up, the government attempts to make college more accessible to every student with grants, scholarships, and loans. By granting and loaning money to students, attending college is much more feasible. Grants, loans, and scholarships drastically reduce the opportunity cost because it makes attending college cheaper and it is easier to repay a smaller debt when one graduates.
The opportunity cost of forgoing college can be widened even further by choice of major. Obtaining a degree that requires technical training yield higher returns. Increased salary for people with these majors make the opportunity cost of not attending college larger because, statistically, these majors pay more and with more income one can erase their college debts much faster.