Is College Worth It?

 

"Preston Cooper writing for the Journal's website:

In a report for the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity, I calculated the return on investment for nearly 30,000 different bachelor's degree programs. I estimated the median lifetime earnings for graduates of each program . . ., and subtracted tuition costs and the wages missed while enrolled. I then compared that number with a scenario in which those students didn't attend college, using the earnings of high-school graduates as a baseline and then adjusting for demographics, cognitive ability and family background. As a result I was able to compare the net boost in lifetime earnings students got from each college degree.

The results show that 28% of bachelor's degrees, weighted by enrollment, do not have a net positive return. . . . Though students often obsess over where they get in, their majors have the most sway over their future earnings. Programs in engineering, computer science, economics and nursing all yield a high return, often increasing their students' net lifetime earnings by $500,000 or more. But a majority of programs in art, music, philosophy and psychology leave their average students financially worse off.

Some students defy the averages. Not every engineering graduate will earn a six-figure salary, and some music majors will get rich. It's impossible to predict how demand for various skills-and hence the salaries for the associated majors-will shift. But the currently available data can still give prospective students a decent idea of their prospects.

One of the nation's highest-return programs is the computer-science major at Harvard University. This degree has an expected value of over $3 million. But attending the nation's most elite school is no guarantee of financial security. Harvard's ethnic and gender studies program leaves its students worse off by around $47,000 on average, according to my estimates.

Moreover, what a student sees on his tuition bill is rarely the full cost of his education. Almost all colleges, public and private alike, subsidize their undergraduates' education to some extent. If we add these costs to those paid by students, the share of bachelor's degree programs with negative returns rises to 37%." [1]

Of course, people with a university degree live longer because they have better understanding of complex health issues. In general, university education develops critical thinking, so we make fewer mistakes in life, and life satisfaction is sometimes higher as a result. But universities that peel huge sums of money from students (from students themselves, or from taxpayers) should make sure that the monetary benefits of a university education match these huge costs. The role of the state is to force universities to do so. 

1. Notable Quotable: Is College Worth It?
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 06 Nov 2021: A.13.