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College Degree and Economy Minkyung Jung Ball State University

Because tuition fee becomes higher and higher, many college students struggle to pay tuition fee. Because of an economic crisis, however, it is becoming harder and harder to find a job even after getting a college degree. So many students and parents can’t decide whether college degree is worth or not. New numbers compiled by a federal agency reveal that tuition continues to creep up as an average four-year for-profit private institution cost nearly $37,000 between the 2009-10 school years. This price tag includes tuition, room and board, books and supplies. Four-year, not-for-profit centers of learning cost slightly less as they charged just over $34,000 during the same period, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Colleges and universities reported a 5.2- to 6.6-percent increase in average inflation-adjusted tuition and required fees between the 2007-08 and 2009-10 school years. Public schools cost comparatively less as four-year institutions charged an average of approximately $18,600 for in-state students and $27,700 for out-of-state students. However, they reported a tuition increase rate of 7.5 percent, a steeper uptick compared to private schools. According to the NCES, two-year public schools cost $12,000 for in-state and $14,400 for out-of-state students in 2009-10. Over the same period, average annual tuition at two-year private schools came to about $29,500. Because of high tuition fee, students have to rely on loans. College costs are rising fast, as are student debt loads. It makes student to become a debtor right after they graduate. The typical student accumulates $20,000-$25,000 in student loans. For those that are not fortunate enough to find a generous college or earn scholarships, the total is much higher. Some students graduate with $35,000 and even $60,000 in debt with student loans for a four-year degree. There are many students who can’t find jobs after studying harder with this amount of money or debt. But there are still many people who would not minimize the burdens of debt and the sacrifices people make for education. Studies have tried to get a fix on what more schooling adds. Some studies looked at twins and found the better-educated sibling fared better. In 2001, a college graduate was likely to earn 96% more than a high school graduate. Today in 2008, a college graduate is likely to earn 90% more than a high school graduate. In addition, graduates who are hired can expect to earn less than they would in a strong economy, which will affect their future wages. Numbers for this year haven't been released, but in past recessions, employers paid as much as 6 percent less, said Peter Orazem, an economist at Iowa State University. Locally, college officials have also noticed a difference in the job market, although they don't expect to have employment figures for at least two years. They say more students sought help this year from career resource centers on campus. Seniors flooded spring job fairs, which, in most cases, drew fewer employers. Despite recent high-profile layoffs of bankers, accountants and other highly educated workers, college graduates are faring much better than the labor force as a whole. For December, their unemployment rate was 3.7 percent, compared with 7.2 percent for everyone regardless of academic pedigree. The reason is simple: A degree usually leads to higher-paying, more stable jobs. And if that job goes away, a highly educated worker can always take a step down the career ladder. The 3.9 percent unemployment record in 1983 for college grads compared with an overall jobless rate of 10.4 percent. Though the Labor Department lacks comparable figures for college graduates before 1992, other department data suggest the jobless rate for grads peaked around 3.9 percent in 1983. The spread is there in good times, too. Since 1992, the jobless rate for college grads has hovered near 2 percent. It's risen as high as 3.4 percent in 1992 and as low as 1.5 percent during the dot-com boom in 2000. By contrast, the jobless rate for high-school dropouts rose as high as 12.2 percent in 1992. The lowest it ever got was 5.8 percent in 1999, and it hit 10.9 percent last month. College grads also earn more. When workers graduate from high school, their average wage jumps about 32 percent, from $11.38 to $15.01 an hour. If they attend college but don't get a degree, their wages rise about 13 percent. But if they graduate, their average hourly wage leaps 77 percent to $26.51 an hour. Getting an advanced degree boosts earnings 27 percent, to $33.57, according to a 2008 study from the Economic Policy Institute. And the Census Bureau offers these after-tax median incomes of people 25 years or older in 2008: High school degree, nearly $33,800; some college, but no degree, nearly $39,700; bachelor's degree, $55,600. It also should be noted that the salary gap between high school and college degrees is still growing. Educators and politicians - President Barack Obama included - preach loudly and frequently that everyone should seek some college. In speech after speech, you hear that college graduates make at least $1 million more in their lifetimes than those who quit after high school. In 2007, Sandy Baum, a professor of economics at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., studied the value of a degree for the College Board. Her research - which factored for inflation and left out advanced degrees and their higher earning power - found that someone with a bachelor of arts degree plus 40 years of earnings came closer to earning $550,000 more, on average, in today's dollars. Still, Baum said that college was easily worth the cost. Plus the recession has laid bare another factor to consider. "Even in this economy, the number of unemployed college graduates is half that of the unemployed who did not go to college," she said. As the nation's high school seniors begin the process of applying to college, many cash-strapped students and parents are no doubt asking themselves whether the return on investment will be worth it.  Higher education remains the most rewarding investment they are likely to make in their lifetimes. The percentage of college-educated people in the U.S. population is still growing. In 2008, 29 percent of adults 25 and older had bachelor's degrees, a 5 percent increase from 1998. Now comes the freshman wave of 2009, the largest in history for many colleges and universities. Less-expensive community colleges are filled to bursting. The problem whether college degree is worth or not is up to person. Some of that is because of ambition, some because of population growth. Some people are going to college to be retrained. Others see the classroom as a place to wait out the economic storm.

<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; display: block; line-height: 200%; margin: auto 0cm; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: center;">References <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"> |slrl','');|Barry Glassner (2010),, USA Today <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Mara Rose Williams(2010), Is a college degree still worth it? ECONOMY: Recession has some questioning costs and benefits of higher education, McClatchy Newspapers

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Sheena Dooley(2009), Only 19.7% of 2009 college graduates have found jobs since commencement Now What? Degrees still help, but tough economy makes employers seek more from applicants than new degree, Quad-City Times, The (IA)

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: left;">Bill Roberts(2009), New college brings new opportunities, Idaho Statesman, The (Boise, ID)


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