Will College Pay Off? is the title of a recent
book by Wharton Business School Professor Peter Cappelli on college costs,
graduation rates, and job placement. As
college tuition costs continue to significantly outpace inflation year after
year, this question has become a hot topic. The answer is complex and
difficult to assess. Skimming through
the book, I encountered troubling statistics about U.S. college graduation
rates—currently at about 60%--and the fact that Americans lead the world in
spending for college degrees.
Historically
and continuing today, college graduates earn more on average than those without
a college degree, but according to some studies, that gap is narrowing. Many critics and parents ask: is the
ROI—Return on Investment—worth it?
(For
more discussion of the trends in college costs and job placement, see this
week’s New Yorker’s discussion of
Cappelli’s analysis in “College Calculus: What’s the Real Value of Higher
Education?” September 7, 2015 issue. )
Although
I don’t believe it’s possible to assign a monetary value on a college degree, I
understand many families who are reluctant to pay such a high cost for their
daughter’s or son’s undergraduate degree.
Aside
from evaluating a college or universities career services and internship
possibilities, how can applicants determine whether or not attending a particular
school will help them establish a viable career afterwards?
Here
are some databases you might use to infer the ROI and job placement of schools
on your son’s or daughter’s college list:
--Collegerealitycheck.com:
compares average net price and graduation rates of up to 5 colleges at a time.
--PayScale.com:
ranks colleges that graduate highest earners--but this is skewed toward
institutions
--TheWhite House College Affordability and Transparency Center College Scorecard: gives
college costs, graduation rate, median borrowing, and employment information
for some colleges.
--PrincetonReview.com: after searching for a particular college, check under the career
tab to see the school's graduation rates, ROI and and ROE (Return on Education)
rating by the Review. These are certainly not exact figures but might
give you a basis for comparison among different schools.
