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Higher Education: Is It Worth the Cost Essays

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Higher Education: Is It worth the Cost
Margit Brackin
Athens State University

Abstract

Studies show that students who get a college education attain a larger range of benefits, including higher wages. Likewise society derives benefits from the citizens who have access to college education. There is the societal benefit of more taxes being paid in to the government. Also a benefit to society is the fact that there are fewer persons incarcerated that have a college degree. The unequal rates of involvement in college education among different sectors of the United States society should be a concern to both individuals and government officials at all levels of the government.

Higher Education: Is It worth the Cost Benefits from …show more content…

There is a general census that higher wages and a college education are co-existent. It is believed that attending college is a qualification for being able to live a more comfortable lifestyle. (Baum & Payea, 2004). It is logical to ask if a college education is worth the expenditure, with the rising rate of tuition. Although with the aid of the grants and scholarships that are available, many students do not have to pay a lot out of pocket. It has been found that after 11 years the higher wages received by a college graduate return not only the cost of the college education but also for the four years of not being in the work force. Although it could take more or less than the eleven years previously mentioned, the fact is that over the lifetime of a typical college graduate, the pay off from the investment is worth the cost. (Baum, Ma, Payea, 2010). Of course there are other positive results from getting a degree than just the better wages. The enrichment of the lives of the student as well as those they live and work with. There is the knowledge that is obtained along with the higher self-esteem that the student receives. This is passed on to others in the life of the student in the way the person behaves both at work and at home. Of course these are really intangible benefits, you cannot easily measure these things in terms of money, yet they are the benefits, non-the-less from a higher education. (Baum, Ma, Payea, 2010). All too often the

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