What’s a college degree worth anyway?
Kaylee McGhee White
One positive trend in America’s culture is the declining value of higher education among young adults.
Perhaps they’ve looked at the price tag of a college degree and realized the debt isn’t worth the slight salary bump that diplomas statistically guarantee. Or maybe they’ve seen the viral examples of their peers shouting down opposing viewpoints and decided they’d rather not spend four years surrounded by intolerant maniacs.
Whatever their reasoning, more than 56% no longer believe college is worth the cost, according to a new Wall Street Journal survey. That’s a significant shift from 2013, when 53% of respondents were highly supportive of higher education and only 40% were not.
Enrollment statistics confirm this trend. College applications have declined steadily over the last decade, whereas interest in alternative paths, such as apprenticeships and trade schools, have sharply increased.
This isn’t to say college is always a bad idea or that higher education has lost all value. Indeed, education is a worthy pursuit and a good in and of itself when pursued correctly.
The problem in America’s higher education system is that universities have largely abandoned the intent and purpose of education, to train young minds to better understand the world and their role in it, in pursuit of ideological conformity. In today’s universities, for example, you’re more likely to take a gender studies course than one on the humanities. In fact, several colleges have dropped their humanities majors altogether, claiming students would be better off with more practical options that prepare them for future careers. And what could be more practical than gender studies?
It’s no wonder so many young adults see higher education as worthless. Education is meant to enrich and challenge the learner. Instead, we’re stuck with a system that rejects ideological diversity and operates with only its own financial enrichment in mind. Unless something significant changes on college campuses, the public is far better off without them.