Everyone knows that the cost of college has risen significantly since 1980. While the cost has gone up by a factor of 8.3x, it doesn’t necessarily mean that college is no longer worth it. I wanted to dive into the numbers to see exactly how much extra income you would need to make for college to be worth it financially.
One of the things I love about the Money Guys is that they remind us to "bedazzle our basic lives" and make memories, but I haven't heard them apply that to the college experience. The college counselor at my high school encouraged me to have a four year experience living on a campus. This did, indeed, maximize my life experience from 18 to 22. My daughter recently left for college and I read an article that said that one of the greatest benefits for lower income students is the people they will meet at a four year college. This was true for me, as I met many people with what Robert Kiyosaki would call "Rich Dads" while I had grown up with a "Poor (college professor) Dad." What I learned from these friends' examples allowed me to grow my wealth over my working years in spite of getting a "low return" degree in a subject that I loved and working in a low income field. My daughter opted for a competitive in-state college ($30k per year - because of our net worth) over a private school ($90k per year), and I believe the value of the life experience and increased financial potential at that price point is a balance well worth investing in.
#2 on the list usually has graduated from the Navy’s Nuke power school. While not college, I had friends at the Naval Academy who transferred from Nuke school to USNA because they thought it might be easier. 😜
Great article! I love that it comes from the neutral perspective and lets the data speak for itself. And acknowledges that you should pick the path that is best for the individual. Success will follow you either way if you apply yourself and remain disciplined with financial decisions.
The relationships are helpful to understand, though I don't think many 18-22 year olds are in a position to invest $26k per year. It's hard to determine how the opportunity costs map onto the messiness of life.
They used to say college graduates make 1M more over their career than non-college graduates. I am sure this is still somewhat true. This is a much larger number than the 629,500 needed to earn over the course of a career that you mention.
One of the things I love about the Money Guys is that they remind us to "bedazzle our basic lives" and make memories, but I haven't heard them apply that to the college experience. The college counselor at my high school encouraged me to have a four year experience living on a campus. This did, indeed, maximize my life experience from 18 to 22. My daughter recently left for college and I read an article that said that one of the greatest benefits for lower income students is the people they will meet at a four year college. This was true for me, as I met many people with what Robert Kiyosaki would call "Rich Dads" while I had grown up with a "Poor (college professor) Dad." What I learned from these friends' examples allowed me to grow my wealth over my working years in spite of getting a "low return" degree in a subject that I loved and working in a low income field. My daughter opted for a competitive in-state college ($30k per year - because of our net worth) over a private school ($90k per year), and I believe the value of the life experience and increased financial potential at that price point is a balance well worth investing in.
#2 on the list usually has graduated from the Navy’s Nuke power school. While not college, I had friends at the Naval Academy who transferred from Nuke school to USNA because they thought it might be easier. 😜
Great article! I love that it comes from the neutral perspective and lets the data speak for itself. And acknowledges that you should pick the path that is best for the individual. Success will follow you either way if you apply yourself and remain disciplined with financial decisions.
The relationships are helpful to understand, though I don't think many 18-22 year olds are in a position to invest $26k per year. It's hard to determine how the opportunity costs map onto the messiness of life.
They used to say college graduates make 1M more over their career than non-college graduates. I am sure this is still somewhat true. This is a much larger number than the 629,500 needed to earn over the course of a career that you mention.