David Leonhardt's Is College Worth It?

1130 Words3 Pages

College, college, college. The word constantly thrown at students as they approach the end of their high school career. No doubt, it brings about a great deal of stress and money, but the return through higher paying jobs and successful futures is adequate compensation. College degrees are becoming increasingly vital for attaining higher-tier jobs and securing one’s future; attending college should most definitely be encouraged among incoming high school graduates. College induces a return of future investments due to the higher wages from superior jobs. Higher paying jobs have consistently proven to lead to higher returns. For example, in a study completed in David Leonhardt’s article, “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Says,” Americans …show more content…

Catherine Rampell, author of “College Graduates Fare Well in Jobs Market, Even Through Recession,” stressed that college is equivalent to an investment that returns 15.2% a year. For the average investment, this meaurement is considerably high and is undoubtedly worth the significant cost. As the economy becomes more technologically sophisticated, the demand for higher education is growing, therefore resulting in an exponential growth of college students. Leonhardt indicates that “the big economic returns goes to people with a four-year degrees.” With college graduates dominating the market and earnings, choosing whether or not to attend college is a no-brainer. It guarantees a much better chance of living out of poverty, and serves as a reliable ticket to the middle class. Moreover, college is beneficial in long term planning with the retirement advantage in addition to the money return. Nick McCrea’s article, “College Gets You Dollars, But What Else?” proclaims people who attended college have a 72% better chance of obtaining a retirement plan. The immense long-term return the investment brings justifies that college is worth it and should be widely encouraged among young …show more content…

Opponents argue that college is too expensive and is unnecessary, but that is clearly not the case. As David Leonhardt mentioned previously, the higher earrings from the better jobs of college graduates makes college worth negative half a million dollars. The amount of people acquiring college degrees is substantially accumulating, and employers are requiring degrees more and more. In addition, the life benefits that McCrea highlighted, such as successful marriages and retirement plans, serve as further incentives to choose college as the path to the future. The ample evidence makes it undeniable; college is much more than worth the cost. Moving forward, all Americans should strongly consider attending college--the ticket to

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