By: Trent Burkowsky

As the seniors here at Woodland are deciding what their futures entail, the majority looks to college. But does college give you as big of a return as the investment it takes to go there? 

To start I asked two students what their opinion was: one not attending college the other attending college. Woodland Senior not attending college Aidan Kane says “Yes, college is.” And Woodland Senior Clara Sweetland who is attending college says “she doesn’t know it can benefit some people but it’s not for everyone.”

According to the University of the People, college is a scam. First based on a study 44% of undergraduate students “are not able to identify the industry they want to work in once they graduate. Therefore, we can assume that most people choose to go to college simply because it’s what ‘everyone is doing’ and what everyone in society has done before them.” About 44% of kids choose college when not knowing what they are going to do. 

There are four main reasons the article states that make college a scam. One accessibility to the internet. It states that “ we can essentially look up anything we want with a few strokes at the keyboard. People can access all kinds of information with the internet.” Although being a good argument it also says that not everything can be learned online. Some degrees require hands-on learning to develop needed skills. 

The second reason is the cost and the loans that come with it. From 2019-2020 (not including extra expenses or scholarship) the average cost of school ranged from $10,116 for in-state public schools to $50,000 for out-of-state private schools for one year. About 65% of undergraduate degrees are enough for job entry. The other 35% need a Bachelor’s degree for you to be able to be enough for job entry. Meaning after spending anywhere from $40,464 to $200,000 some will still have to seek further education to get a job in the field they chose. 

Thirdly, according to the University of the people depending on what you may want to do the work field is changing “today, some of the world’s biggest companies — like Google, Apple, and Netflix — no longer require their employees to have a college degree, mostly due to the fact that people are able to self-educate the necessary skills, while their employer can fill in any gaps with training and mentoring.”
The final reason is that colleges have extra expenses. Every student has to pay for room and board and books. From the same study  students pay around $15,000 a year in extra expenses. 

On the other hand many say college is not a scam. United Negro College Fund (UNCF) says college is not a scam and gave reasons why. First, they acknowledge students but say “  U.S. workers aged 25 to 34 without a bachelor’s degree have experienced notable earnings growth over the past decade after decades of declining wages.” Meaning although student tuition is high, graduated students are making more. Young people with college degrees are finding higher salaries giving them opportunities to pay off those loans.

Another reason is that “Four-year college graduates (58%) are significantly more likely than those without a degree (26%) to say their education was extremely helpful in equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed to secure a well-paying job,” UNCF says, which is shown in salary. Someone with a college degree makes $1,432 a week, while someone with a high school diploma makes $853–the benefits of college outweighs the cost of it. 

To see what opinions at Woodland are, the people helping you decide your future is a good place to start. 

Guidance Counselor Alyssa Kabusk is one of the ones at Woodland whose job is to help you figure out your future. She says college is a scam. 

“I’m going to shock you and say in some cases I agree,” said Kabusk. “For a certain kid or student, college is a scam. It’s not for everyone.”

She then went on to give credit to trade schools, workforce and military for what they offer. She also noted they don’t incur the same amount of debt as college 

“ I’m still paying off my student loans but I love my job, and I think that’s the case for a lot of educators,” said Kabusk. “But if you ask a doctor like an anesthesiologist who is making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, it’s probably worth it for them.” 

Since 44% of undergraduate students are not able to identify the industry they want to work in once they graduate, Kabusk knows a smarter way than most kids take. 

“ If you don’t know what to do there is nothing wrong with taking time to figure it out. The only problem with that is kids get comfortable, and then never go,” said Kabusk. “Sometimes it works out and gets you your dream job but sometimes it doesn’t. A good choice for these students is community college.” 

She agrees with the research found about how education is valuable but not the price it is now. “The education you’re getting is worth it, but not for the price you’re paying for it,” 

And Kane and Sweetland agree. “ I still think it’s a scam, but it depends on what you’re doing. For most people it’s not needed,” said Kane;  “It’s not for everyone,” said Sweetland. “but if it makes sense for the student, then you should go.”

At the end of the day the decision is for the individual student. If a student puts themselves in the best position in high school–gets scholarships and knows what they want to pursue college–is not a scam. When the student doesn’t get money from their dream schools or doesn’t know what they want to pursue, community college that leads to a big school is the perfect choice. Finally, if school doesn’t make sense for you, going into the trades, military or workforce is your best bet and will make just as good a living.