Getting In-Hock for Going to College, Is It Worth It?
It depends on the degree and the career you choose; we kind of already new this didn’t we? What we didn’t have wide access to, however, was the divergence in the actual costs versus the monetary benefits of the type of degree nor the difference the institution has on outcomes.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was recently quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying “The best way to attack the ever-rising cost of college is to drive real transparency,”. Watch out, the numbers are in, and they are revealing.
As an example, compare the following degrees from the University of Georgia: An accounting degree seems promising on a cost versus reward comparison.
How about comparing the same degree across several universities, you ask? Well, why not. The Wall Street Journal’s Dan Spector has created an interactive tool; available only through Journal – ugh, see the link below that does just that.
Getting a Business Administration degree from UGA leaves you $18,000 in debt but earns you $46,800 in your first year of employment, but Emory earns you nearly $73,000 in the first year but leaves you in debt to the tune of $20,250. If you can get into Emory and graduate with that specialty Emory is for you.
What’s a degree worth? Finally, we have a shot at figuring it out. Kudos to The Obama Administration who started the College Scorecard website, Mrs. DeVos for relentlessly pushing the project forward and getting the data, and the Trump administration for supporting the Education Department’s mission.
Our portfolios are exhibiting slightly higher levels of cash than in the recent past.
Carlos Dominguez – CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Portfolio Manager, RJFS
When you get a minute try out our risk discovery tool – tell your friends.
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/compare/
Note: Earnings data is measured roughly one year after graduation for students who graduated in the 2015 and 2016 school years. It excludes students who re-enrolled in college. Debt data reflects debt at graduation for students graduating in the 2016 and 2017 school years. All data is based on federal financial aid recipients. Figures may not be available for programs with small numbers of students.
Source: Education Department
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