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22
July – September 2013
www.deltalivingmagazine.com
Photos by Michelle Sibria
By Walter Ruehlig
walter.ruehlig@gmail.com
C
ollege was long viewed
as a surefire ticket to
success. Today, though, a national
debate reaches even the cover of
Time Magazine as to whether
college is still proverbially going
to the bank, or, more likely, an act
of breaking the bank.
Consider the report card:
Only 55% of surveyed gradu-
ates thought college prepared
them for a job. One third car-
ried sheepskin debt, averaging
$27,000. Painfully, over the last
three decades, college costs have
outstripped inflation by 250%.
Average state schools cost $20-
25,000 yearly; private schools oft
double.
Nevertheless, squirm as we
should, college scores points.
Eighty six percent of graduates
liked going. Despite the folklore
of graduates languishing unem-
ployed in their parent’s basements,
college diploma unemployment is
half that of high school graduates.
Average lifetime salary of doctoral
grads is 3.3 million dollars, college
grads 2.3, and high school grads
1.3 million.
Strikingly,
the
average
$102,000 spent on school returns
15.2% annually as verses the 6.8 %
stock market return garnered over
the last sixty years. College, gen-
erally, still makes for sound dollars
and cents logic.
Inarguably, the Bill Gates, Ste-
ven Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg drop-
out stories show the space for
entrepreneurs. Then, too, some
find their niche in the military
and others thrive in blue collar
industry. Heck, last time I looked,
my auto mechanic charged me
$125 hourly and my plumbing
bill looked like it could be from
a lawyer.
My two kids enlighten. My
daughter had a devil of a time
scraping through high school, but
to the sobering astonishment of
her generationally-biased dad – a
lifetime educator – she has pros-
pered as a self-taught I.T. Director
for a medium-sized company. To
my redemption, she now admits
that college could have opened
more doors.
On the other hand, my son
thrived academically and is in a
field, environmental engineering,
where a degree is essential.
Ultimately, college is but one
option. Done wisely, it can work.
It sharpens market competitive-
ness, with the dividend of build-
ing critical mindsets and enriched
world views.
Be an intelligent end-user.
Build transferrable Advanced
Placement and community col-
lege credits; investigate multiple
schools, scholarships, grants and
work-study options. If your child
is directionally unsure, definitely
consider community college. It’s
potentially an economical road
for maturing and getting toes wet
experimenting directions.
I, myself, was a late bloomer.
The community college mod-
el worked for me. Yes, different
strokes for different folks.
Does College Make
Cents?
San Francisco State University
Photos by Michelle Sibrian