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Despite Cost Concerns, Most Recent High-School Grads Say College Is Worth It

August 30, 2011, 10:01 am

By Beckie Supiano

More than half of the students who graduated from high school in the Class of 2010 and went on to college say affording it has been challenging, and 56 percent of those who did not enroll in college cite its cost as a reason, according to a new report Still, 86 percent of the high-school graduates believe getting a college degree is worth it.

The report, “One Year Out: Findings From a National Survey Among Members of the High-School Graduating Class of 2010,” was conducted by Hart Research Associates for the College Board. The report, released on Tuesday, is based on a survey of a representative sample of 1,507 respondents who graduated from high school in 2010.

More than 80 percent of the respondents who had not enrolled in college indicated that they planned to complete a degree down the road, while about a third of such students said they had been able to find a good job with a high-school diploma.

And even as they face a tough job market, two-thirds of respondents were very or somewhat optimistic about the future prospects for their generation.

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  • graced

    My concern is that these technologies diminish the meaning of being physically present to family, friends, or colleagues. I witness this daily as students and faculty walk across campus, often side by side, while talking and texting, or walk around in their heads, iPod-oblivious to the physical realities around them.

  • ucc_business

    The article doesn’t mention using computers for education’s core business – student learning.  Software is now available from companies like Knewton and Grockit to provide content and formative assessment and student collaboration in a Mobile, 24/7 environment. Adaptive/Collaborative Learning will change and greatly improve learning and the results.  It will attack college’s biggest problems, retention and graduation rates, particularly for community colleges and for the under-prepared students.

  • profkevans

    It could be possible that quite the opposite occurs; a more widening instead of narrowing of circles in which true debates and dialogues can begin? 

  • http://unicq.net/ Huijia Phua

    Completely agree. That’s why a couple of us international students studying in the US set up a community site to reach out and help our fellow prospective students learn about studying and life here in general. In time, we hope to facilitate communications between college officials and students on our platform. Appreciate everyone’s kind support for our student-driven initiative here: unicq.net

  • rwejd

    What else can they say? There are few alternatives for high school students – even gifted ones – to pursue education and personal fulfillment other than via the stepping stone of a university education.

    We need to be looking very hard at developing learning scenarios that are essentially co-op in nature, between the workplace and university.

  • brianesh73

    Granted, I like the broad base of a traditional university education, and think students tracked directly into vocationally oriented opportunities might miss it.  But, you’re right there at least need to be better vocationally oriented options. 

  • fortysomethingprof

    86% of those who graduated from high school _last year_ think getting a college degree is worth it?  How would they know?

  • gahnett

    Yes, I agree with fortysomethingprof.

    The poll asks the attendees that have yet to be the primary payees.  Ask them in five years if it was worth it or ask the parents who are footing the bill.

  • dailyreader

    Maybe this small summary is incomplete but I can’t help but wonder why they would ask high school graduates if going to college was worth it.  And of those who didn’t 80% plan to do it later.  Well, naturally they would. 

  • dwheelermd

    I think “criminal species” can easily be blamed on the writer, and will not reflect badly on the scientist. Thanks for the alert on the ESA meeting! –David Wheeler

  • msuttles

    First year criminology students, or second year depending on the classes and professors, know that criminal profiling points to those who get arrested, not to who the criminals are.

    This would have been a great article all by itself without attempting to reinvigorate near-ancient positivist thought that argues deviance and crime are intrinsic. Comparing humans to the natural world, which was a main element to rationalize positivist thought in the early 1800s, can, and did, only lead to criminal labeling.

    This article, sadly, will give the established order all the ammunition they need to revitalize outdated, and logically deficient, criminology theories.

    The author has a great article here on natural science; I wish he would have left it that way rather than comparing two opposite worlds. I can practically guarantee that I will hear of this from one of my students once the corporate media gets wind of it. FYI, I actually had to correct one of my students once who tried to pass off the Stockholm syndrome as a scholarly theory of criminal behavior. But then that’s why we’re here, to teach.

    Overall informative article dwheeler, but social science could do without the criminology camparison to the natural world. I guess in hind sight I should be grateful though, now we’ll have more discussion.

    My best regards,
    Morris

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