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David Leonhardt's Is College Worth It?

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In the last decade, students and parents alike have begun to question the effectiveness of receiving a college education. Stories of students graduating college with outstanding student loans, being unable to find a job, or feeling overqualified for a position continually increase. In the same manner, the number of students apprehensive about refraining from entering the workforce for an additional four years while simultaneously spending thousands of dollars for an education that in the end may not assure them a job with an adequate income, increases. The issue then is to determine whether or not the cost of college is worth the outcome. Journalist David Leonhardt, in his article “Is College Worth It? Clearly New Data Say,” argues, through the use of statistical data, that from both a financial and economical perspective, that pursuing a higher education is beneficial. Leonhardt provides data from the Economic Policy Institute that states that, “Americans with four-year college degrees [made] 98% more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” Furthermore, on average, college graduates make “about $32.60” an hour while the average wage for those who did not pursue higher education is “about $16.50.” The disparity in wages should be a sufficient reason for pursuing a higher education. Yet, Leonhardt concedes that there is and will always be a percentage of graduates that will be unsuccessful in finding employment. According to Leonhardt, this unfortunate

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