Higher education’s reputation has suffered greatly from the widespread attention to the soaring cost of college and the declining returns to a college education. Remedying these two issues is going to be very, very difficult because (1) the return to college has not declined, and (2) the cost of college has not risen for years. It’s tough to fix problems that don’t exist.
The truth is not any secret. In fact, Brookings has nailed the facts on the return to college here and the facts on the cost of college here, here, and here. There’s also a good piece on the general impression left by the media compared to the facts by Robert Kelchen. And the College Board has an insightful report on the most recent prices, along with trends over time. Here, I concentrate on providing some pictures to help make these facts obvious to everyone.
It’s probably not surprising to be told that, on average, people with a bachelor’s degree earn more than those with a high school diploma.
