Is Higher Education Worth the price

 Is Higher Education Worth the price

When thinking about the cost of higher education and whether it is worth it, I decided to look at it from the view of what I’m getting in the long run. The cost of college is high, however, when I think of what I have gained and still stand to gain by continuing my education, I find that the cost is worth it for me personally. When applying for a job, most of the worthwhile positions have a degree as the minimum requirement to get the interview.  College is worth it if you take full advantage of the opportunity it can provide. Because I went to a 2-year school, I learned how to network, work in a group, and use the resources available to my advantage. I was able to get an internship that I otherwise would not have access to. That internship then opened the door for the career I currently have. Had I not attended that community college, I would not be where I am today.

This module was eye opening for me in several aspects. What had the most impact on my view was the documentary. I had no idea that so many colleges were so luxurious. When I was looking at colleges in high school, I envisioned going to a state college, specifically Penn state. I wanted to live on campus, work and earn my degree to make my family proud. I did not know that there was so much that went into making a college attractive to potential students. The Ivory Tower talked about how college is more about ‘prestige vs education’ these schools spend millions on the campus to create an atmosphere of fun and party to cater to out of state students that do not rely on financial aid. It was said that out of state enrollment increased doubly in the past 20 years and those students pay double the in-state tuition. They highlighted the luxury student housing at ASU. Students living in condominiums and partying non-stop. The price of college went up 120%from 1980 to 2010. With colleges competing for who has the best amenities, the students are the ones paying the price with rising tuition.

With college being a 420billion-dollar industry, I like the ideas that Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus proposed in their article ‘Higher education? How colleges are failing our kids and what can we do about it?’ they suggested replacing tenure with multiyear contracts. I like this idea because when professors are tenured some not all become complacent. If they don’t have love for the profession and they are tenured, there is no incentive to learn new ways to teach and engage students. Being under a contract that is contingent on performance would light a fire that would yield better results.  

The New Liberal Arts article was quite interesting. I understood early on when I embarked on my higher education journey that liberal arts was an important major for students like myself who did not yet have a clear career path. My parents wanted me to go into medicine, the moment I realized it wasn’t for me, I changed to liberal arts. Such a degree allows you to explore more, and it teaches one to communicate, work in groups and overall navigate in a world full of people. I believe that having a liberal arts degree shows open-mindedness, shows one is unafraid to open themselves up to different levels of knowledge. 

So far in my pursuit of higher education I have not had to take out any loans. Most people are not able to say that. This is the result of being poor honestly. I do not have the assets or the income that would disqualify me from getting full financial aid. Although I am not paying monetarily for my higher education, I do pay in other ways. I pay with my time, my physical and mental health. I have lost out on quality time with my family, I have lost sleep and have not taken care of myself the way I should all in the pursuit of a degree. I have lost friends and have distanced myself from those who I feel are a discouragement and not supportive of my goals. A college education is an investment for me. When you invest you put in and put in and my not see a return for years, but when the payout comes it comes big. That is the way I’m viewing the cost of higher education. If I had to pay out of pocket for my education believe I would take out the loans and risk it because I am very focused on the end goal. I know exactly what I’m working towards, and I am willing to pay the price for it.  

Any college education is valuable. For myself, coming to college was a big sacrifice. I am not a traditional student, never was. I’ve always worked full time and attended school fulltime as I could. Although school is very expensive, for me personally, a higher education is worth the price. Not only is higher education a personal goal for me it is also a ladder that I am using to better my life financially. I look at it as an investment in my retirement and investment in my child’s future.