Paying for college: how much are degrees worth? (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Kierran Peterson
BBC Echo Chambers

It's back to school time in the US. That may spell panic for parents of young children realising they are way behind on saving for university fees, which can over four years run on par with the cost of a new home.

As parents pinch their pennies, economists and academics are at odds over whether a four-year degree is even worth such a princely sum.

Two employees of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are offering some potentially good news for prospective students and their parents.

Writing for the New York Fed's blog, Liberty Street Economics' Jaison R Abel and Richard Deitz claim that the value of an average US university degree has been hovering around an all-time high for more than a decade. And the amount of time an average student spends paying off their school debt is at least half of what it was in the 1970s.

But they also point out that the value of a college degree may be so high only because the alternatives are so bleak.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-29070437

[phil89]

1. Depends on how one

defines worth.

[cloudbase]

2. So much depends on the college and the degree.

If one looks at it from a return on investment point, an engineering degree from someplace like Caltech, while very expensive, will be worth a whole lot more than a degree in communications from a place like Sam Houston State.

[Earth_First]

3. Trade Schools probably offer the best rate of return on education...

At 35 I still consider it as a near mid-life career change.

Friends and acquaintances of mine who made that decision ten or more years ago have found themselves in much better positions than I with a 4-year degree which in my career field is unused.

For me to make a career change into my degree field, I would at a minimum require a master's degree program in which a trade school would far surpass the economic gains within the first three years...

My advice to a high school junior in this day and age: find a trade school which best suits your interests.

It's the only way out any longer...

[indie9197]

4. That is the most pointless article I have read since this morning when I read Yahoo News.

Evidently there is a lack of good English and Journalism professors out there. Try making a statement and backing it up.

"And the amount of time an average student spends paying off their school debt is at least half of what it was in the 1970s'

??? Huh ???