Should I go to college?

Over the past few decades, college enrollment has been rapidly increasing. In an age when everyone seems to go on to college after high school, one must consider the pros and cons of an expensive college education in the larger scheme of things. With the cumulative student debt in America amounting to $1.6 trillion, there is serious potential for falling into a debt trap if your debt starts becoming a burden. Therefore, you must first consider if your career of interest requires a college degree, and if it does, you should perform a cost-benefit analysis on the value you might potentially get from your degree. 

Career Choice

Your career choice can significantly determine if a college degree will provide you with value or not. In fact, some professions might favor vocational school certifications over traditional four-year college degrees. You might qualify for technical fields in manufacturing, engineering and even nursing through a vocational degree. In addition, due to a recent executive order, hiring by the federal government is starting to become more skills-focused instead of credentials-focused. Private employers like Apple and JP Morgan are also taking steps to reduce credential-based hiring practices. Therefore, consider researching your career of interest, and the typical qualifications required for the job. If most people in the field have degrees, chances are that you might need one as well. 

The Cost Of College

It is a well-known fact that college education can be extremely expensive and more often than not, can leave students with lingering debt that is hard to get rid of. Therefore, you must consider the different choices when it comes to getting a degree. The most expensive option is usually a private university education. A college like the University of Southern California can charge up to $57,000 per year in tuition alone. In this case, if you manage to get decent financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans, it might be worth the potential benefits that come with the degree. However, if you are going to graduate with thousands of dollars in debt with a major that does not have good employment prospects, a college degree might not be the best option. However, you must also keep in mind that alternative options exist. 

If private universities are too expensive, you should consider public universities. Some public colleges are extremely prestigious and can provide a solid education for a fraction of the cost of private education. In addition, in-state residents get further discounts on tuition at most state universities. 

Finally, you can consider community college as an option. You can study for two years at community colleges for an extremely low price and then transfer to a traditional university to finish the last two years of education. With this route, you pay around half the cost of a four-year degree. 

While analyzing the costs of your education, you might want to consider the employment prospects after college and how fast you will be able to pay back any debt you took on. For instance, it is a fact that on average STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) graduates have higher starting salaries compared to humanities graduates. With this in mind, you can also factor in other aspects of specific colleges like career resources and alumni networks to gauge whether that hefty price tag is really worth it.