college is not necessary essay

College Reality Check

Why College isn’t Necessary to be Successful

As much as 94% of politicians, business leaders and stinking rich people in the US all went to college. But then there are also outstanding individuals without degrees.

Case in point: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Mark Zuckerberg. Because of this, you might be wondering if college is really key to reaping success.

In general, succeeding without going to college is possible. After all, not all employers require degrees, and not all college graduates are employed. However, in some instances, the absence of a college degree can hinder benefits such as more career opportunities and higher lifetime earnings.

Want to be rich someday but torn between earning a degree and chasing success right away?

By the time you get to the end of this article, you will learn some of the reasons why attending college isn’t necessary to be successful.

But since there are two sides of the same coin, you will also come across some of the perks that come with earning a college degree — just to make sure that you know what options are available for you.

7 Reasons Why College Is Not Required to Succeed

Going to College Does Not Guarantee a Job

Many graduating high school students assume that spending four to six years in college to work on an undergraduate degree guarantees them a college diploma and a job.

Based on recent data , around 5.4% of recent college graduates had no jobs.

Other than a job, there is one more thing that finishing college can’t guarantee: a job in a field related to one’s degree. As a matter of fact, based on an online survey, 25.5% of college graduates say they were unable to find a job in their field.

Alaska governor dropped college degree requirements for most state jobs. College is not necessary for other states, e.g. Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Utah, because it’s getting harder to find qualified workers. THE HILL

On the other hand, 38.6% said they were not using their college degrees in their current job positions.

For most degree holders, it usually takes three to six months after college graduation before they get a job — it may be longer for those who are not persevering enough to get employed or whose majors are not that in demand.

Not All Careers Require a College Degree

As much as 36% of all available jobs do not require education beyond high school. So, in other words, a little more than one-third of job positions that need to be filled can be filled by those who have no college degrees.

But it doesn’t necessarily mean that degree holders will not attempt to get their hands on those available job positions — about 41% of recent college graduates are underemployed in that they are working in jobs that don’t require the titles they earned spending years in college after high school.

No worries, says US News!

According to the popular college ranking site, the following are some of the best jobs for high school graduates as well as the median annual salary for each one of them:

Keep in mind, however, that some of the jobs mentioned above (and some of those that were not included, too) may require candidates to undergo training to get a certification.

Some Employers Prefer Skills to Degrees

Did you know that, on average, employers take a look at resumes for six to seven seconds only?

However, the amount of time employers spend on checking out resumes can vary from one company to the other and depend on factors such as the number of applicants and the job title.

No matter the case, the point is that your resume should be able to impress the potential employer in front of you in no time. And it should also include all relevant skills. For most employers, college education and the skill set are of equal importance. But in the absence of a degree, having phenomenal skills may help you land that job.

Besides, many employers themselves agree that having a degree does not necessarily mean that an applicant will be any better at the job than someone who didn’t go to college.

There are Many Alternatives to Going to College

According to a survey , as many as 94% of participating parents said they expect their children to attend college right after graduating from high school.

Worry not if you are absolutely sure that college is not for you and don’t want to break the heart of your folks either. It’s for a fact that there are many other ways to acquire the knowledge and skills you will need to have a bright future other than spending the next four to six years of your life on a traditional campus.

The following are some of the most wonderful alternatives to college:

• Vocational school. Also sometimes referred to as a career school or trade school, a vocational school is a place where students learn skills specific to certain jobs.
• Technical school. Many believe that technical schools and community colleges are the same. However, a technical school is more on industry-specific courses, like business, engineering and construction.
• Online professional certificates. Some professional certificates available online are free, while others come with a price tag. Most of them can help make you eligible for entry-level jobs.
• Boot camps. In this digital age, coding boot camps are popular among job seekers who wish to work as computer programmers in no time — there are also boot camps available for various fields.
• Job training program. There are jobs that require candidates to undergo a short training program that can be completed in just a few weeks or a couple of months before they could start working.
• Fellowship or apprenticeship. Some careers available for people with a high school diploma require learning under the hands of an expert, such as electrical work or construction.
• Military. Joining the military is a great way to learn real-life skills and travel, too. While enriching your skill set and life experience, it also gives you the opportunity to be noble and serve your country.
• Volunteer. Like being in the military, volunteering also makes it possible for you to gain an assortment of skills. It also enables you to discover the things you are passionate about.

College Degree isn’t Mandatory to Start Business

There is one thing the majority of college graduates are busy with right after earning their degrees. And it’s none other than finding a boss who will employ and pay them.

But why look for a boss who will, well, boss you around when you can be the boss instead?

When starting a business, there are many different steps you will have to take before you are able to sell a product or offer a service.

Some of them include registering your money-making venture’s name, applying for a federal tax ID number, obtaining permits and licenses, opening a business bank account, and getting insurance.

Luckily for someone who prefers to not go to college, having a degree is not one of the must-haves. Needless to say, you can establish your own business even without a degree.

It’s just funny that college degree holders could be working for entrepreneurs who didn’t go to college!

However, it’s important to note that many business owners have a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).

Also, some degrees or majors can give you the knowledge and skills vital for navigating the world of business and keeping your venture running like a well-oiled machine.

But then again, there are founders, CEOs and business tycoons that have no college degrees — just check out the next reason why college isn’t necessary to be successful!

Plenty of Successful People Have No Degrees

According to a Fortune article , as much as 30% of all billionaires on the planet did not finish college.

While the figure makes it obvious that a vast majority of mega-rich people have degrees, it also makes it clear that you can have all the money in the world even without going to college.

That device you are using, social media you are posting on, TV show you are watching, music you are singing to or hamburger you are eating could be a courtesy of someone who did not graduate from college.

Here are some of the most successful college degree-less people and their net worth:

However, please keep in mind that not going to college in order to be successful is not the rule — for many people, earning a degree is the way to go, and the highly successful individuals mentioned above are exceptions to the rule.

And to increase your chances of succeeding big time, too, even without a degree, it’s a must to possess the qualities that many self-made millionaires and billionaires share, which, luckily, you can acquire and master even without spending four to six years of your life at a college or university. Some of these must-have qualities include:

• People skills
• Determination
• Self-confidence
• Competitiveness
• Big-picture thinking

Not All College Students Know What They Want

At most colleges and universities, students are expected or required to declare a major by the end of their sophomore year. This is usually for a couple of reasons.

First, to give first- and second-year students enough time to get some general education courses out of the way.

Second, to give students the opportunity to explore electives.

Needless to say, school administrators acknowledge the fact that it’s not unlikely for many fresh high school graduates to have no idea which career path they would like to take.

True enough, at least 80% of all college students change majors at least once before they graduate.

According to David Kirp, a public policy professor at the University of California at Berkeley and author of the 2019 book The College Dropout Scandal, some students drop out of college because of money problems, while others simply realize the fact that college isn’t right for them.

Some high school graduates are 100% certain that they don’t want to go to college. But then there are also those who are still in the process of mulling over as to whether or not they would get a degree.

If you are one of them and you want more time to decide, here’s a suggestion: take a gap year.

On The Other Hand, Here are 6 Reasons to Go To College

It’s no secret that college offers an assortment of professional, financial, and personal benefits.

However, it can do more harm than good for those who can’t pay for a degree or have their hearts set on pursuing other things. Deciding whether or not to go to college is personal and circumstantial.

There are various reasons why attending college isn’t always the answer to having a successful life. However, many different reasons why a degree is vital to enjoying success exist, too:

• Better employability. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the employment rate for college degree holders aged 25 to 34 years old is 86%.
• More job choices. Northeastern University, which is #49 in National Universities by US News, says that there are 57% more job opportunities available for college graduates than non-college graduates.
• Higher lifetime earnings. People with a bachelor’s degree, says the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, have average lifetime earnings of $2.3 million — $1.3 million for high school graduates.
• Better work performance. More educated employees tend to be better at their jobs than less-educated ones. It isn’t surprising since college helps introduce and hone various traits valuable in the workplace.
• More satisfying lives. College degree holders tend to be happier. As a matter of fact, there are fewer cases of depression and suicide in communities whose residents are well-educated.
• Longer life expectancy. Based on a CNBC article , degree holders could expect to live 48.2 years out of a possible 50. Meanwhile, those without degrees could expect to live 45.1 years.

Many base one’s level of success on the job title and salary level.

If your ultimate goal is to land the job of your dreams and you are on the fence as to whether or not earning a college degree could make it come true, consider the following factors before coming up with a decision:

• Industry. Certain industries, because of the knowledge base as well as soft and hard skills warranted, prefer to employ individuals with undergraduate degrees. Some common examples include engineering, technology, business and healthcare. In some sectors, as a matter of fact, having a graduate degree is a requirement.
• Skills and experience valued. There are some useful skills and life experiences you can acquire in college. But then there are also those that college can’t teach. Having an idea of the types of skills, soft and hard alike, and experience your target company deems important lets you determine which step to take after high school.
• Workforce size. Based on a Harvard Business School study , in large organizations, such as those with over 10,000 employees, experience is more important than a degree 44% of the time. And if a job position is hard to fill, it’s not unlikely for employers to overlook the absence of a degree if the applicant has sufficient experience.
• Long-term career plan. Most of those without a college degree get hired in an entry-level position. It’s true that loyalty and performance matter when it comes to getting a job promotion. However, in many instances, climbing the career ladder entails meeting certain qualifications, such as having a college degree.

Just Before You Try to Pursue Success

Different people define success differently. Depending on your perception of it, success can be anything from learning something new, overcoming a fear, helping others, having a high-paying job to being one’s own boss.

Graduating from high school and wondering if applying to colleges and universities will take you a step closer to being a successful person?

Yes, earning a college degree can help you reap success. However, it doesn’t mean that skipping college will make you a failure — you can have no college education and still be a smashing success!

Above, we talked about some of the reasons why college isn’t necessary to be successful.

It’s completely up to you to decide if chasing your dreams instead of earning a degree right after high school suits you more. But whether or not you have a college diploma, you need to exhibit the likes of determination, self-reliance, passion, flexibility, optimism and patience in order to attain success the way you define it.

I graduated with BA in Nursing and $36,000 in student loan debt from the UCF. After a decade in the workforce, I went back to school to obtain my MBA from UMGC.

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Not Every Student Should Go to College. And That’s OK

• Share article

Forty years ago 32 percent of counselors and teachers advised all students to go to college. Just 10 years later, in 1990, that percentage had doubled with roughly two-thirds of educators recommending college for all. Despite a recent surge in popularity for career and technical education, signs indicate that the college recommendation trend has increased over the last generation.

All that college-going advice may do harm in ways most adults in the lives of teenagers hadn’t realized. Research we conducted over the past several years suggests that a “college for all” message causes far too many students from all demographics to make choices that result in failure.

Instead of forcing college on students, educators would do better to encourage them to consider more than one pathway into a good life. Some pathways will include college now or later and some not. Educators also have a responsibility to help create those pathways, and students’ choices rather than their backgrounds should determine which they take.

Students who attend college for extrinsic reasons suffer poor outcomes.

In our research, we collected and analyzed more than 200 stories from students about their postsecondary education choices and surveyed over 1,000 more students to understand what caused them to enroll in college, both two- and four-year institutions, as well as some coding bootcamps and shorter graduate programs. Our participants were roughly representative of the population of students that attend college in the United States across gender, racial, and ethnic lines. Forty-six percent were first-generation college students, meaning neither of their parents had completed a bachelor’s degree. Eighteen percent had at least one child, and 60 percent lived in households with incomes that placed them in the bottom three socio-economic quintiles.

We learned that a significant number of students from all backgrounds enroll in college to do what’s expected of them or to help them get away from a bad circumstance in their lives. These students go to college not because they want the college experience or because of what college will help them obtain. In other words, they are motivated by external factors not internal goals. They choose college because it is a socially acceptable answer to what they are doing next.

Students who attend college for extrinsic reasons suffer poor outcomes. According to our research, 74 percent of those who attended college to “do what was expected of them” dropped out or transferred. Of those who went to college “to get away,” over half had left the school they were attending without a degree at the time we talked to them.

One student we talked to, who was the first in her family to attend college, chose college to get away from a bad relationship with her stepdad. She enrolled in a college three hours away from home—even though it didn’t have the courses of study in which she was interested. Once there, she took a heavier-than-usual course load first semester, partied hard, and found herself on academic probation.

Things improved a little second semester, but the improvement was not enough to justify the money she was spending on tuition, she thought. She still struggled with time management and a nagging sense that she didn’t know why she was enrolled. So with $40,000 in federal and private student loans outstanding, she dropped out, returned home, mended things with her family, and started to find jobs to help pay off the debt.

Too many students go to college not knowing what they want to get out of it or how to make it work for them. Committing to a four-year school and taking on lots of debt when they lack passion and focus for the endeavor is risky, particularly given the grim college completion and student debt statistics.

Over 40 percent of first-time, full-time students who started college in the fall of 2012 failed to graduate from four-year programs within six years, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Non-completers not only lose out on the benefits of a college degree, but also face increased debt without increased earnings. Non-completers have a three-fold higher risk of default than completers, according to the Center for American Progress.

Instead of adding to the pressure around college, which parents often fuel, high school educators should be the first line of defense for students who might benefit more from another path. Yes, educators must avoid the low expectations that direct students away from college because of their family’s income, their race, or their ethnicity. Instead, they should encourage all students to reflect on their goals and explore more than one pathway to purpose and success.

One way to help is through courses that are now emerging to give students structured opportunities to discover what drives them. But high schools should go further. They must counter the narrowing of the curriculum over the last couple decades caused by an overemphasis on test results and the decrease in career and technical education pathways in many schools. Extracurricular activities, experiential learning, and opportunities to build relationships with adults outside of school through real-world projects can help students discover their strengths and interests. Rather than marginalize these opportunities, schools should integrate them into every student’s program.

Our research in no way implies that college is a one-time decision. Just because college isn’t the right step now

for a student doesn’t mean it will never be the right step. College and, more to the point, education can help bring a lifetime of happiness, as studies have documented . But that education has to be at the right time and in the right circumstance.

If students aren’t yet ready, then taking a gap year can be a smart move. The stereotype of rich kids gallivanting around Europe is outmoded. An increasing number of programs offer gap-year experiences with financial aid so that all students can partake of them. Counselors and teachers should help students explore these opportunities, which are filled with immersive activities that help students learn about themselves and, in many cases, earn money through holding a series of jobs. This can make a gap year considerably more affordable than college.

Far better than a monolithic college-for-all vision is for individuals to know where they are in their lives, what they want, and how to articulate it. Only then can we ensure that education delivers on its promise of helping people build their passions, fulfill their human potential, and live a lifetime of productive struggle and happiness.

A version of this article appeared in the March 11, 2020 edition of Education Week as The Danger of ‘College for All’

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Is a College Education Worth It?

• History of College Education

The American debate over whether a  college education  is worth it began when the colonists arrived from Europe and founded “New College” (later renamed  Harvard University ) in 1636. In spring 2023, there were over 17 million college students in the United States, and over 43 million borrowers owe a collective $1.75 trillion in total student debt. 

Colonial America produced nine colleges that still operate: Harvard University (1636), the College of William & Mary (1693),  Yale University  (1701),  Princeton University  (1746),  Columbia University  (1754),  Brown University  (1764),  Dartmouth College  (1769),  Rutgers University  (1766), and the  University of Pennsylvania  (1740 or 1749). These universities were funded by the colony or England and usually catered to a specific religious denomination such as Congregational or Presbyterian (Puritan). Primary and secondary school systems were not yet established so “college students” were sometimes boys as young as fourteen or fifteen years old and were admitted to receive preparatory education with the assumption that they would matriculate to college-level courses

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1 Jobs increasingly require college degrees and college allows students to explore careers and earn better job placements. Only 34% of American jobs required a high school diploma or less in 2017, compared to 72% in the 1970s. During the recession between Dec. 2007 and Jan. 2010, jobs requiring college degrees grew by 187,000, while jobs requiring some college or an associate’s degree fell by 1.75 million and jobs requiring a high school degree or less fell by 5.6 million. According to researchers at Georgetown University, 99% of job growth (or 11.5 million of 11.6 million jobs) between 2010 and 2016 went to workers with associate’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees or graduate degrees. [ 13 ] [ 104 ] [ 105 ] Colleges offer career services, internships, job shadowing, job fairs, and volunteer opportunities in addition to a wide variety of courses that may provide a career direction. Over 80% of college students complete internships before graduation, giving them valuable employment experience before entering the job market. Colleges provide networking value. [ 27 ] Harvard Business School estimates that 65 to 85% of jobs are acquired through networking. College students can join fraternities and sororities, clubs, and teams as well as participate in a variety of social functions to meet new people and network with possible business connections. Internships offered through colleges often lead to mentors or useful contacts within a student’s preferred field. Many colleges offer social media workshops, networking tips, career-related consultation, and alumni networks. [ 30 ] [ 31 ] Meanwhile, college graduates have more and better employment opportunities. 85.2% of college freshmen said they attended college to “be able to get a better job.” The unemployment rate for Americans over 25 with a bachelor’s degree was 1.9% in Dec. 2019, compared to 2.7% for those with some college or associate’s degrees, 3.7% for high school graduates, and 5.2% for high school drop-outs. Underemployment, meaning insufficient work, is lower for college grads (6.2%) as compared to high school-only graduates (12.9%) and people without a high school diploma (18.7%). 58% of college graduates and people with some college or associate’s degrees reported being “very satisfied” with their jobs compared to 50% of high school graduates and 40% of people without a high school diploma. [ 11 ] [ 101 ] [ 106 ] [ 116 ] Thus, college graduates make more money. The average college graduate makes $570,000 more than the average high school graduate over a lifetime. Career earnings for college graduates are 71% to 136% higher than those of high school graduates. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York calculated a 14% rate of return on a bachelor’s degree, which constitutes a good investment. College graduates earn an average of $78,000, a 75% wage premium over the average $45,000 annual earnings for workers with only a high school diploma. 85% of Forbes’ America’s 400 Richest People list were college grads. [ 12 ] [ 122 ] [ 126 ] [ 128 ] And, because college graduates are more likely to have better jobs with better salaries, they are also more likely to have health insurance and retirement plans. 70% of college graduates had access to employer-provided health insurance compared to 50% of high school graduates in 2008. 70% of college graduates 25 years old and older had access to retirement plans in 2008 compared to 65% of associate’s degree holders, 55% of high school graduates, and 30% of people who did not complete high school. [ 11 ] [ 15 ] All of that means a college education has a high return as an investment. Return on investment (ROI) is calculated by dividing the gain from an investment (here the money earned as a result of a college degree) by the cost of the investment (the money spent on a college degree). A college degree has a return of 15% per year as an investment, larger than the stock market (6.8%) and housing (0.4%). Completing some college, but not earning a degree, resulted in a 9.1% return on investment. If a student spent $17,860 (the average cost of tuition and room and board in 2012-2013 for four years at a public university), that student could expect a 15% return of $2,679 each year. According to a 2011 Pew Research survey, 86% of college graduates believed college was a good personal investment. [ 8 ] [ 25 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ] Read More

Pro 2 Because they learn interpersonal and other skills in college, graduates are more productive as members of society. Students have the opportunity to interact with other students and faculty, to join student organizations and clubs, and to take part in discussions and debates. According to Arthur Chickering’s “Seven Vectors” student development theory, “developing mature interpersonal relationships” is one of the seven stages students progress through as they attend college. Students ranked “interpersonal skills” as the most important skill used in their daily lives in a survey of 11,000 college students. Vivek Wadhwa, technology entrepreneur and scholar, states, “American children party [in college]. But you know something, by partying, they learn social skills. They learn how to interact with each other…They develop skills which make them innovative. Americans are the most innovative people in the world because of the education system.” [ 7 ] [ 16 ] [ 18 ] Students live, go to classes, and socialize with other students from around the world and learn from professors with a variety of expertise. The community of people on a college campus means students are likely to make diverse friends and business connections, and, potentially, find a spouse or mate. Access to a variety of people allows college students to learn about different cultures, religions, and personalities they may have not been exposed to in their hometowns, which broadens their knowledge and perspective. 70.7% of college freshmen in 2015 said they expected to socialize with someone of another racial or ethnic group while in college, while 59.1% said college would help improve their understanding of other countries and cultures. [ 106 ] Henry Bienan, President Emeritus of Northwestern University, argues that a college education results in “greater productivity, lower crime, better health, [and] better citizenship for more educated people.” A 2009 study found 16 to 24 year old high school drop-outs were 63% more likely to be incarcerated than those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, from Sep. 2008 to Sep. 2009, 43% of college graduates did volunteer work compared to 19% of high school graduates and 27% of adults in general. [11] In 2005, college graduates were more likely to have donated blood in the past year (9%) than people with some college (6%), high school graduates (4%), and people who did not complete high school (2%). [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] College graduates attract higher-paying employers to their communities. A 1% increase in college graduates in a community increases the wages of workers without a high school diploma by 1.9% and the wages of high school graduates by 1.6%. [ 21 ] Finally, people who do not go to college are more likely to be unemployed and, therefore, place undue financial strain on society, making a college degree worth it to taxpayers. Young people “not engaged in employment/education or training,” AKA NEET, are more likely to receive welfare than youth in general, they are more likely to commit crimes, and they are more likely to receive public health care, all costing the government extra money. In total, each NEET youth between the ages of 16 and 25 impose a $51,350 financial burden on society per year, and after the person is 25 he or she will impose a financial burden of $699,770. The total cost of 6.7% of the US population being NEET youth is $4.75 trillion, which is comparable to half of the US public debt. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] College graduates have lower poverty rates due to their lower unemployment rates. The 2008 poverty rate for bachelor’s degree holders was 4%, compared to a 12% poverty rate for high school graduates. In 2005, married couples with bachelor’s degrees were least likely to be below the poverty line (1.8%) compared to 2.7% of associate’s degree holders, 4.6% of couples with some college, and 7.1% of high school graduates. According to the US Census Bureau, 1% of college graduates participated in social support programs like Medicaid, National School Lunch Program, and food stamps compared to 8% of high school graduates in 2008. [ 11 ] [ 21 ] Read More

Pro 3 College graduates and their children are healthier and live longer. 83% of college graduates reported being in excellent health, while 73% of high school graduates reported the same. A University of Southern California study found that adults over 65 with college degrees spent more years with “good cognition” and fewer years suffering from dementia than adults who did not complete high school. In 2008, 20% of all adults were smokers, while 9% of college graduates were smokers. 63% of 25 to 34 year old college graduates reported exercising vigorously at least once a week compared to 37% of high school graduates. College degrees were linked to lower blood pressure in a 30-year peer-reviewed study and lower levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) by a Carnegie Mellon Psychology department study. In 2008, 23% of college graduates aged 35 to 44 years old were obese compared to 37% of high school graduates. College graduates, on average, live six years longer than high school graduates. [ 11 ] [ 15 ] [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 120 ] A medical journal study from 1970 to 2009 shows college graduates had lower infant mortality rates than high school graduates. Mothers with only a high school education are 31% more likely to give birth to a low-birth-weight baby than a woman with a college degree. Children aged 2 to 5 years old in households headed by college graduates have a 6% obesity rate compared to 14% for children in households headed by high school graduates. 18% more children aged 3 to 5 years old with mothers who have a bachelor’s degree could recognize all letters compared to children of high school graduates. In 2010, 59% of children in elementary and middle school with at least one college graduate for a parent participated in after-school activities like sports, arts, and scouting compared to 27% for high school graduate parents. [ 11 ] [ 15 ] [ 21 ] Read More

Con 1 College is not a guarantee of a job or better life. Many college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require college degrees. According to the Department of Labor, as many as 17 million college graduates work in positions that do not require a college education. 1 in 3 college graduates had a job that required a high school diploma or less in 2012. More than 16,000 parking lot attendants, 83,000 bartenders, 115,000 janitors and 15% of taxi drivers have bachelor’s degrees. College graduates with jobs that do not require college degrees earn 30-40% less per week than those who work in jobs requiring college degrees. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 40 ] Too many students earning degrees has diluted the value of a bachelor’s degree. Rita McGrath, Associate Professor at Columbia Business School, stated “Having a bachelor’s used to be more rare and candidates with the degree could therefore be more choosy and were more expensive to hire. Today, that is no longer the case.” A high unemployment rate shifts the supply and demand to the employers’ favor and has made master’s degrees the “new bachelor’s degrees.” According to James Altucher, venture capitalist and finance writer, “college graduates hire only college graduates, creating a closed system that permits schools to charge exorbitant prices and forces students to take on crippling debt.” [ 68 ] [ 69 ] College degrees also do not guarantee learning or job preparation. Many students graduate from college with little understanding of math, reading, civics, or economics. In 2011, 35% of students enrolled in college reported they studied 5 hours or less per week and there was a 50% decline in the number of hours a student studied and prepared for classes compared to a few decades ago. 36% of students demonstrated no significant improvement on Collegiate Learning Assessments after 4 years of college. In 2013 56% of employers thought half or fewer of college graduates had the skills and knowledge to advance within their companies. 30% of college graduates felt college did not prepare them well for employment, specifically in terms of technical and quantitative reasoning skills. A Pew Research survey found that 57% of Americans felt higher education did not provide students with good value compared to the money spent. [ 25 ] [ 56 ] [ 57 ] [ 58 ] [ 59 ] [ 60 ] The market glut and lack of job preparation, means many recent college graduates are un- or underemployed. The unemployment rate for recent college graduates (4.0%) exceeded the average for all workers, including those without a degree (3.6%) in 2019. The underemployment rate was 34% for all college graduates and 41.1% for recent grads. The underemployment (insufficient work) rate for college graduates in 2015 was 6.2% overall: 5.2% for white graduates, 8.4% for Hispanic graduates, and 9.7% for black graduates. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 44% of recent college graduates were underemployed in 2012. [ 42 ] [ 101 ] [ 129 ] Under- or un-employement also translates into fewer workplace benefits. In 2013, 68.9% of employed new college graduates did not receive health insurance through their employers and, in 2011, 27.2% received retirement coverage (down from 41.5% in 2000). [ 41 ] The total cost of going to college means more than tuition, fees, and books; it also includes an opportunity cost which equals at least four years of missed wages and advancements from a full-time job–about $49,000 for a 4-year degree and $20,000 for a 2-year degree. [ 8 ] Read More

Con 2 Student loan debt is crippling for college graduates, their families, and society. Tuition has risen quicker than income, making college unaffordable for many and forcing students to take out loans. A Mar. 2017 study found that 14% of community college students were homeless and 51% had housing insecurity issues (inability to pay rent or utilities, for example), while 33% experienced food insecurity (lack of access to or ability to pay for “nutritionally adequate and safe foods”), though 58% of the students were employed and 42% received federal Pell Grants. From the 1986-1987 school year to the 2016-2017 school year, the average cost of one year of college (including room and board) increased for 4-year private schools (109.6%) and 4-year public schools (125.7%), while median family income only increased 10.0% between 1986 and 2015. From the 1976-1977 school year to the 2016-2017 school year, annual tuition rates rose for community colleges (173.1%), 4-year public colleges (271.2%), and private 4-year colleges (213.5%). [ 111 ] [ 112 ] [ 113 ] In spring 2023, there were over 17 million college students in the United States, and over 43 million borrowers owe a collective $1.75 trillion in total student debt. 45% of people with student loan debt say college was not worth it. 10% of students graduate with over $40,000 in debt and about 1% have $100,000 in debt. In Feb. 2018, undergraduate college graduates had an average of $37,172 in loan debt. According to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, approximately 60% of college graduates have student loan debt balances equal to 60% of their annual income. Missing late for loan payments leads to lower credit scores and additional fees, worsening the debt problem. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] [ 107 ] [ 123 ] [ 133 ] [ 134 ] Further, student loan debt often forces college graduates to live with their parents and delay marriage, financial independence, and other adult milestones. 20% of millennials are homeowners, and most millennials say their student debt has delayed home ownership by seven years on average. Student loan borrowers delayed saving for retirement (41%), car purchases (40%), home purchases (29%), and marriage (15%). Fewer than 50% of women and 30% of men had passed the “transition to adulthood” milestones by age 30 (finishing school, moving out of their parents’ homes, being financially independent, marrying, and having children); in 1960, 77% of women and 65% of men had completed these milestones by age 30. [ 38 ] [ 39 ] [ 121 ] Student debt also overwhelms many seniors. Whether they co-signed for a child or grandchild’s education, or took out loans for their own educations, in 2012 there were 6.9 million student loan borrowers aged 50 and over who collectively owed $155 billion with individual average balances between $19,521 and $23,820. Of the 6.9 million borrowers, 24.7% were more than 90 days delinquent in payments. Almost 119,000 of older borrowers in default were having a portion of their Social Security payments garnished by the US government in 2012. [ 51 ] [ 52 ] Student loan debt may not be forgiven in bankruptcy and may not have the same borrower protections as other consumer debt. A study found 60% of people attempting to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy were unsuccessful. Medical, legal, credit card, loan, and even gambling debt can immediately be discharged in bankruptcy, but getting student loan debt discharged is much more difficult and rare. Private student loans often do not have the same protections as federal loans like income-based repayments, discharges upon death, or military deferments. [ 61 ] [ 70 ] [ 71 ] College graduates aren’t the only ones overwhelmed by debt. Many students do not graduate and waste their own and their government’s money. About 19% of students who enroll in college do not return for the second year. Students who drop out during the first year of college cost states $1.3 billion and the federal government $300 million per year in wasted student grant programs and government appropriations for colleges. Overall, 41% of students at four-year colleges and universities did not graduate within six years: 41% at public schools, 34% at private non-profits, and 77% at private for-profits. Students who did not graduate within six years accounted for $3.8 billion in lost income, $566 million in lost federal income taxes, and $164 million in lost state income taxes in one year. [ 50 ] [ 117 ] Finally, student debt could cause another financial crisis. As of 2012 student loan debt was over $1 trillion dollars, and more than 850,000 student loans were in default. According to the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, student loans are “beginning to have the same effect” on the economy that the housing bubble and crash created. Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, PhD, agrees that the student loan debt crisis “is a vicious cycle of bad lending policies eerily similar to the causes of the subprime mortgage crisis.” On Feb. 3, 2012, an advisory council to the Federal Reserve also warned that the growth in student debt “has parallels to the housing crisis.” As of Jan. 2013, the rate of default on student loans hit 15.1%–a nearly 22% increase since 2007. [ 61 ] [ 62 ] [ 63 ] [ 64 ] [ 65 ] Read More

Con 3 Many people would be better served learning a trade or pursuing work right out of high school. Trade professions are necessary for society to function, require less than four years of training, and often pay above average wages. The high number of young adults choosing college over learning a trade has created a ‘skills gap’ in the US and there is now a shortage of ‘middle-skill’ trade workers like machinists, electricians, plumbers, and construction workers. One survey of US manufacturers found that 67% reported a “moderate to severe shortage of talent.” “Middle-skill” jobs represent half of all jobs in the US that pay middle-class wages. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “middle-skill” jobs will make up 45% of projected job openings through 2014, but as of 2012 only 25% of the workforce had the skills to fill those jobs. [ 53 ] [ 54 ] [ 55 ] Many people succeed without college degrees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 30 projected fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate’s degree, six require a bachelor’s degree, and six require graduate degrees. The following successful people either never enrolled in college or never completed their college degrees: Richard Branson, founder and chairman of the Virgin Group; Charles Culpepper, owner and CEO of Coca Cola; Ellen Degeneres, comedian and actress; Michael Dell, founder of Dell, Inc.; Walt Disney, Disney Corporation founder; Bill Gates, Microsoft founder; Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple; Wolfgang Puck, chef and restaurateur; Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple; Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook. [ 43 ] [ 44 ] Read More

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Student Opinion

Should Everyone Go to College?

By Natalie Proulx

• Jan. 16, 2019

What do you plan to do after high school? Do you plan to go to college, take a gap year, start a training program, begin working or something else?

Do your parents, classmates and teachers support your plan? Have they helped guide you toward your post-high school goals? Or have you mostly had to figure them out on your own?

In “ The Misguided Priorities of Our Educational System ,” Oren Cass writes that the United States spends a disproportionate amount on college-bound students and much less on those who seek an alternative path:

Consider two high school seniors — one who exhibits strong academic talent and one who does not. For one, December marks the homestretch of a yearslong effort, intensively supported by his school, to prepare the perfect college application. For the other, December is just another month on the path to, well, whatever might come after graduation. The former will likely proceed steadily toward a bachelor’s degree; the latter is unlikely to finish college if he enrolls at all. To whom does our education system owe what? That second student, to be clear, has done nothing wrong. He probably clawed his way through his town’s standard college-oriented curriculum, though it neither targeted his interests and abilities nor prepared him for work force success. Looking ahead, he faces a labor market in which he may need to work harder than his college-bound counterpart for lower pay, with fewer options and slower advancement. Yet we celebrate the first student and lavish taxpayer funds on his education. To the second student, we offer little beyond a sympathetic “Sorry.” Our education system has become one of our nation’s most regressive institutions. After high school graduation, the first student can access more than $10,000 annually in public funds to support his college experience. Federal funding for higher education has grown by 133 percent in the past 30 years; combined with tax breaks , loan subsidies and state-level funding , the annual total exceeds $150 billion. That funding will cover not only genuine instructional costs, but also state-of-the-art gyms, psychiatric and career counseling services, and whatever social programming the student-life bureaucracy can conceive. At Ohio State, students living off campus get free fire alarms . The second graduate likely gets nothing. Annual federal funding for a non-college, vocational pathway, at both the high school and postsecondary levels, totals $1 billion . Certainly, he will need to buy his own fire alarm.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

— Do you think everyone should go to college? Or should our society offer students more alternatives to higher education? Why?

— Is what Mr. Cass describes in this Op-Ed article true in your school? Is it mostly focused on preparing students for college — by, for example, emphasizing academic achievement, providing college counselors, offering trips to college campuses and giving application help? Is there any support for students who don’t plan to attend college? Or are they mostly on their own in figuring out what they will do after high school?

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Is a college degree necessary? Essay

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Introduction

Argument against college degrees, a case for college degrees.

The educational system of a society is fundamental for the development and ultimate advancement of the entire community. Governments all over the world have acknowledged that educational policies can have a significant impact on economic and social outcomes of their citizens. It is for this reason that so much emphasis is placed on the educational process by all the relevant stakeholders.

Over the past few decades, there have been considerable drives towards having more students attain college education. The current Obama regime has especially prioritized on having even more students graduate from college.

To achieve this, more effort has been put towards encouraging students to go to college which is advertised as being the key to a high paying job and as such a brighter future. Such sentiments completely ignore the importance that vocational training has to our economy and society at large. This paper sets out to argue that while the benefits of a college education are monumental to the society, a college degree is not necessary for all students.

The importance of vocational training in school cannot be understated for it is though such training that skilled blue collar workers are produced. These professionals such as mechanics, welders and carpenters to name but a few do not require a college education to be adept at their jobs. As such, insisting that everyone enroll in college would result in such professions lacking new apprentices. This would result in a situation whereby our society ran out of skilled blue collar workers.

Sadly, the united states is moving towards such a state where the demand for skilled blue collar workers far exceeds the supply. Such a society would be dysfunctional for these professionals play a very important role in not only the country’s economy but also the everyday functioning of our lives.

Different students have different ambitions and not all of them can be fulfilled though a college education. As such, while college education is important, it should not be focused on at the expense of other forms of education. Some students do not require a college education to gain the skills they need to make a living in future and be productive members of the society.

This is a fact that other prosperous Western countries have taken into consideration by implementing systems that demonstrate that college education can be focused on without neglecting vocational training.

The two track system that these countries have implemented has proved to be a success since students who do not fit into the college category have taken up the trades system. Such a system is beneficial to all classes of students regardless of their profession of choice.

Insisting that college degrees are a necessity for all students results in truancy and dropping out of school by some students who feel that the education is not relevant in their lives. Such students therefore view college education as a waste of time and are not receptive to it.

It the same were exposed to vocational training or other forms of education which gave them practical skills that they could apply to make a living, it is perceivable that the same students would be more receptive to the education system.

College education is therefore not universally necessary since different people possess different skills and aspirations and while college may help some people fulfill their dreams, it may impede the fulfillment of the dreams of other students.

College education and by extension a college degree is also greatly beneficial to the country. College education results in the creation of experts who are required in certain fields such as engineering, biology and medicine to name but a few. These are important members of the society and they can engage in research work which results in great inventions which benefit the society as a whole.

In addition to this, the work that is done by these professionals gives our nation an edge over other nations. Also, people who have a college education can be used as expatriates in other nations therefore benefiting our economy even further.

This paper set out to argue that a college education is not necessary for all the students. To reinforce this assertion, this paper has demonstrated that there are many professions which require skills and proficiency that one cannot gain through a college education.

This being the case, having every student go to college would result in a lack of skilled personnel to fill in these important jobs without which the society cannot function properly. Also, the paper had shown that some people deem college education as irrelevant and as such, forcing them to go through college results in them being truants and causing trouble.

However, the paper has shown that college education is necessary since it provides professionals who play a critical role in society. From this paper, it can be stated that while a college degree is beneficial and necessary for some students, it is not necessary for all students and as such it should not be emphasized on at the expense of vocational education.

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IvyPanda. (2018, May 17). Is a college degree necessary? https://ivypanda.com/essays/is-a-college-degree-necessary/

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IvyPanda . 2018. "Is a college degree necessary?" May 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/is-a-college-degree-necessary/.

1. IvyPanda . "Is a college degree necessary?" May 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/is-a-college-degree-necessary/.

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Why College Isn't (And Shouldn't Have to Be) For Everyone

Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy, University of California at Berkeley; author, 'Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few''

I know a high school senior who's so worried about whether she'll be accepted at the college of her choice she can't sleep.

The parent of another senior tells me he stands at the mailbox for an hour every day waiting for a hoped-for acceptance letter to arrive.

Parents are also uptight. I've heard of some who have stopped socializing with other parents of children competing for admission to the same university.

Competition for places top-brand colleges is absurdly intense.

With inequality at record levels and almost all the economic gains going to the top, there's more pressure than ever to get the golden ring.

A degree from a prestigious university can open doors to elite business schools and law schools -- and to jobs paying hundreds of thousands, if not millions, a year.

So parents who can afford it are paying grotesque sums to give their kids an edge.

They "enhance" their kid's resumes with such things as bassoon lessons, trips to preserve the wildlife in Botswana, internships at the Atlantic Monthly.

They hire test preparation coaches. They arrange for consultants to help their children write compelling essays on college applications.

They make generous contributions to the elite colleges they once attended, to which their kids are applying -- colleges that give extra points to "legacies" and even more to those from wealthy families that donate tons of money.

You might call this affirmative action for the rich.

The same intensifying competition is affecting mid-range colleges and universities that are doing everything they can to burnish their own brands -- competing with other mid-range institutions to enlarge their applicant pools, attract good students, and inch upward on the U.S. News college rankings.

Every college president wants to increase the ratio of applications to admissions, thereby becoming more elite.

Excuse me, but this is nuts.

The biggest absurdity is that a four-year college degree has become the only gateway into the American middle class.

But not every young person is suited to four years of college. They may be bright and ambitious but they won't get much out of it. They'd rather be doing something else, like making money or painting murals.

They feel compelled to go to college because they've been told over and over that a college degree is necessary.

Yet if they start college and then drop out, they feel like total failures.

Even if they get the degree, they're stuck with a huge bill -- and may be paying down their student debt for years.

And all too often the jobs they land after graduating don't pay enough to make the degree worthwhile.

Last year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York , 46 percent of recent college graduates were in jobs that don't even require a college degree.

The biggest frauds are for-profit colleges that are raking in money even as their students drop out in droves, and whose diplomas are barely worth the ink-jets they're printed on.

America clings to the conceit that four years of college are necessary for everyone, and looks down its nose at people who don't have college degrees.

This has to stop. Young people need an alternative. That alternative should be a world-class system of vocational-technical education.

A four-year college degree isn't necessary for many of tomorrow's good jobs.

For example, the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories.

And people who can upgrade the software embedded in almost every gadget you buy.

Today it's even hard to find a skilled plumber or electrician.

Yet the vocational and technical education now available to young Americans is typically underfunded and inadequate. And too often denigrated as being for "losers."

These programs should be creating winners.

Germany -- whose median wage (after taxes and transfers) is higher than ours -- gives many of its young people world-class technical skills that have made Germany a world leader in fields such as precision manufacturing.

A world-class technical education doesn't have to mean young people's fates are determined when they're fourteen.

Instead, rising high-school seniors could be given the option of entering a program that extends a year or two beyond high school and ends with a diploma acknowledging their technical expertise.

Community colleges -- the under-appreciated crown jewels of America's feeble attempts at equal opportunity -- could be developing these curricula. Businesses could be advising on the technical skills they'll need, and promising jobs to young people who complete their degrees with good grades.

Government could be investing enough money to make these programs thrive. (And raising taxes on top incomes enough to temper the wild competition for admission to elite colleges that grease the way to those top incomes.)

Instead, we continue to push most of our young people through a single funnel called a four-year college education -- a funnel so narrow it's causing applicants and their parents excessive stress and worry about "getting in;" that's too often ill suited and unnecessary, and far too expensive; and that can cause college dropouts to feel like failures for the rest of their lives.

It's time to give up the idea that every young person has to go to college, and start offering high-school seniors an alternative route into the middle class.

ROBERT B. REICH's film "Inequality for All" is now available on DVD and blu-ray, and on Netflix. Watch the trailer below:

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Is College Worth It: The Benefits of College Education

• Categories: College College Tuition Why Is College Important

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Words: 1396 |

Published: Jan 28, 2021

Words: 1396 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Why Is College Worth It? (Essay)

Works cited.

• Archibald, R., & Feldman, D. (2006). Graduation Rates and Accountability: Regressional Discontinuity Estimates of the Impact of Merit Aid on College Persistence. Journal of Human Resources, 41(4), 669-700.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021). Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm
• College Board. (2021). Trends in College Pricing 2021. https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/trends-college-pricing-2021-full-report.pdf
• Deil-Amen, R., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2003). The unintended consequences of merit aid: The impact on college access and choice. Journal of Higher Education, 74(4), 365-391.
• Deming, D. J., Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2012). The value of postsecondary credentials in the labor market: An educational perspective. American Economic Review, 102(4), 463-468.
• Federal Student Aid. (n.d.). FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. U.S. Department of Education. https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa
• Finnie, R., & Mueller, R. E. (2019). The financial returns from post-secondary education: A literature review. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 49(1), 22-44.
• Hout, M. (2012). Social and economic returns to college education in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 38, 379-400.
• Jackson, C. K., Johnson, R. C., & Persico, C. (2016). The effects of school spending on educational and economic outcomes: Evidence from school finance reforms. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 131(1), 157-218.
• Perna, L. W. (2010). Understanding the working college student. ASHE Higher Education Report, 35(3), 1-131.

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Is College Worth It? Not Necessarily, But a Higher Education Is

I just finished my first year of college at Harvard.

I would have been euphoric to learn this as a third grader, when my ambitions to attend a top college first sprung up. To me, college was the means to a high paying job, a stable career, and a contented life.

It seems that many others would disagree with my naivety.

Faith in our system of college education is falling. A recent study by the University of Chicago and The Wall Street Journal found that 56 percent of Americans feel that a four-year college degree isn’t worth it. High college tuitions, the competitiveness of obtaining a highly paying job, and long turnaround times for earning a degree may all be to blame.

But I view this study a bit more optimistically.

Americans may be losing faith in a traditional college education, but this says little about their faith in education as a whole. Instead, I believe this trend simply reflects an ongoing transition from formal education to novel forms of learning.

College is the ultimate formal educational opportunity, and many of the fields its graduates pursue, including medicine, academia, and law, require even further formal education. Though colleges may look different from each other, the way they operate is similar: Students must acquire certain levels of subject mastery and use it to meet academic and credit benchmarks to succeed.

However, there are many other avenues of acquiring this knowledge. The growth of open-access resources like Khan Academy has enabled educators to offer lessons that parallel ones you might find in an Ivy League classroom. Some popular Harvard classes, such as Stat110 and CS50, are in fact readily available on YouTube — some of them even with practice resources published online for the world to use.

Thus, a motivated enough student could obtain a Harvard-level education without actually setting foot on campus!

There is also something to be said about the distinction between education through action and education through theory. Harvard has some great exemplars among its dropouts: Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg. They evidently decided the constraints of a traditional college education couldn’t support their ambitions. Action suited them better. So why waste time and exorbitant sums of money on seemingly futile college courses?

Harvard’s liberal arts establishment might cringe at such a notion. Its goal is, of course, to develop a well-rounded understanding of the world we live in, “to navigate the world’s most complex issues, and address future innovations with unforeseen challenges.”

But, is this perspective worth its roughly $80,000 per year price tag?

This is where I might flip a coin.

Heads: Clearly, this is where I land. I’m not sure what my career will look like, and I am reliant on a college education for inspiration. Along with studying subjects like biology, chemistry and literature formally, I have gained new skills (for example, I can mount an ant on a paper chad for imaging) and intuitions that have fundamentally changed the way I think and view the world and my future in it.

My college education is also not limited to a classroom. I learn just as much from working with clubs, having spirited debates with friends in dining halls and library foyers, and writing for The Crimson. These experiences can’t be found on Khan Academy.

Tails: College may not be the best way to obtain specialized skill sets that some highly profitable and fulfilling careers require. Learning a trade, spending time honing coding skills, or dedicating one’s life to a sport are all careers for which a formal college education may be redundant and unnecessary.

Realistically, the prestige of a Harvard education opens doors to many careers — though it’s hard to distinguish the role played by a person’s own skills and that of their degree. Yet having a degree at all seems to matter. Many employers still prefer hiring college graduates, and college graduates still earn more on average than their counterparts.

However, as college remains inaccessible for many, educational institutions like Harvard must invest more resources into open-access educational tools, and we as a society must strengthen our system of K-12 education to set students up for successful careers right out of high school.

A formal college education may not be the right option for everyone. This shouldn’t discourage us; it should remind us to consider the myriad of ways education can empower and uplift.

Sandhya Kumar ’26, a Crimson Editorial Editor, lives in Winthrop House.

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Experts discuss whether college is still worth it

Subscribe to the center for economic security and opportunity newsletter, gabriela goodman gabriela goodman senior research assistant - economic studies , center for economic security and opportunity.

December 13, 2023

This is a summary of an event held on December 7, 2023. You can watch the full video of the event here .

Higher education has historically been seen as the most reliable path to economic mobility. However, with uncertainty around student loan programs, high sticker prices, and growing distrust in institutions, Americans are increasingly questioning whether college is still worth it.

On December 7, 2023, the Center for Economic Security and Opportunity (CESO) hosted a virtual panel moderated by Sarah Reber, a CESO senior fellow, to discuss the value of higher education and returns to obtaining a college degree. Below are some key takeaways.

Attitudes toward higher education have shifted.

Paul Tough, a contributing writer at the New York Times Magazine where he has written about these trends, started the discussion off by summarizing changing attitudes toward higher education: Ten years ago, 74% of young adults agreed that higher education is very important, down to only 41% today. This shifting perspective is manifesting in declining college enrollment, explained Tough. The number of U.S. undergraduates has declined to 15.5 million from 18 million in 2010.

Tough attributed this trend to two primary causes. First, trust in institutions is falling, and higher education is no exception. This is particularly the case among conservative voters who perceive colleges as pushing a liberal political agenda. Second, people are worried about the financial risk associated with high college costs and low completion rates.

Research suggests that average returns to college are still high.

David Deming, Harvard University Professor of Political Economy, explained that after increasing for decades, the college wage premium—the difference in average earnings between college graduates and non-college graduates—has plateaued, but remains around 65%. That is, the average four-year college graduate earns about 65% more than the average high school graduate.

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The panelists also discussed the cost of going to college, noting that financial aid is available for qualifying low-income students, though it is not always enough to make college affordable. Stephanie Cellini, George Washington University Professor of Public Policy and Economics, pointed out that while the average posted “sticker price” of college has been rising, the “net price”—what students pay after subtracting out financial assistance that doesn’t have to be repaid—is lower than the sticker price that receives so much attention. She notes that the average sticker price has actually been decreasing in recent years. (See a recent discussion of that trend here .) Still, Cellini emphasized that many students have to take out loans to afford college and then struggle to repay these loans.

Denisa Gándara, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at UT Austin, added that higher wages are not the only benefit of college attendance. For example, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that college graduates have better physical and mental health. Society also benefits when people go to college; college graduates tend to be more civically engaged, reported Gándara.

Returns vary by institution.

Cellini said that some colleges, particularly for-profit institutions, are riskier than others. For-profit colleges are generally more expensive than non-profit or public alternatives and don’t increase earnings as much. As a result, students who attend for-profit institutions tend to have higher debt and are more likely to default on their student loans. Gándara expanded on this point, saying that for-profit institutions enroll a disproportionate number of low-income, veteran, and older students. This disparity means that it is often students from more disadvantaged backgrounds that attend schools with lower returns.

Starting but not completing college can make students financially worse off.

Tough pointed out that about 40% of students who start college don’t complete their degree. These students often end up in a worse financial position than their peers who chose not to attend college in the first place.

Our college institutions are in desperate need of reform. David Deming, Harvard University Professor of Political Economy

Deming agreed that completion is too low and suggested that lack of resources at many colleges is a major part of the problem. Student support services are particularly important. As Gándara mentioned, public and other less well-funded schools enroll more low-income students—exactly the types of students who could benefit more from stronger support systems.

Community colleges have limitations but can be an affordable alternative to four-year institutions. 

Panelists pointed out the value of community colleges, an oftentimes more affordable option than traditional four-year colleges. Students can start at community college and transfer to a four-year college. However, as Deming noted, transferring from community college to a four-year college is not necessarily a smooth process. Additionally, he added that short-term programs often lead to shorter-term benefits and fewer transferable skills. Both Deming and Cellini touched on potential benefits of “stacking” credentials, meaning using multiple educational programs such as vocational training and traditional degrees to build a more comprehensive skillset and knowledge base.

Where do we go from here?

The panelists described a number of approaches to increasing the returns to college and improving college completion rates. Cellini mentioned initiatives to hold schools accountable for their students’ outcomes. Both Cellini and Tough proposed efforts to make information about financial aid and college choices more easily accessible and digestible, though Tough argued that some policy discussions have over-emphasized helping individual students navigate a too-complex system at the expense of more systematic change that would make higher education fairer. Deming suggested expanding government subsidies to make college more affordable. The panelists agreed that community colleges require more funding.

So, is college still worth it?

The consensus among the panelists: College is worth it for most people, with some caveats. Institution type and area of study both impact the returns to college, as do academic preparation and risks associated with not completing a degree. “The system is not fair,” Tough added.

There are actions society can take to make college pay off for more people. “Our college institutions are in desperate need of reform,” concluded Deming. As reiterated throughout the panel, the U.S. college system disadvantages low-income students, often leaving them with substantial debt while providing insufficient support systems to help them succeed.

The Brookings Institution is financed through the support of a diverse array of foundations, corporations, governments, individuals, as well as an endowment. A list of donors can be found in our annual reports published online  here . The findings, interpretations, and conclusions in this report are solely those of its author(s) and are not influenced by any donation.

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Home > Blog > Tips for Online Students > Do You Have to Go to College to Be Successful? The Answer: Yes and No.

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Do You Have to Go to College to Be Successful? The Answer: Yes and No.

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: August 13, 2019

Maybe you are steps away from graduating high school and looking for the answers for what to do next. Or perhaps you’ve been working for a few years and you are wondering if college is the next step for you. But first, you need to know if it’s worth your time and money. So honestly, do you have to go to college to be successful in life? The answer is yes…and no. Read on to find out why there’s no simple answer.

Is College Important for You to Be Successful?

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College is an important part of many people’s lifetime. It is an experience unlike any other one could have, but the important question is, is it important enough to spend all of that time and money?

There are many degrees that have a very high ROI. If the expected income you will make with your career choice is high, and the tuition for your program is affordable, then college will be well worth your while.

However, there are many careers that don’t pay well enough to make a degree worth it, and there are many career fields that you can enter without college. So you definitely need to make sure that your expected career is worth the investment.

Overall, college is important because it provides invaluable experiences, you gain important, life-long connections, and you can get further in your career and make a high income with most degrees.

Also, it is possible to graduate debt-free with University of the People , the world’s first accredited tuition-free university. So with University of the People, your degree will always be worthwhile no matter your path.

You Don’t Need a College Degree to Be Successful — Here’s Why

The truth is that a college degree is a required step of many careers, but not all. Decide what career you want first and check if a degree is needed. Even if a degree is not needed in the beginning, it may be required in order for you to move higher up within your company or field.

That being said, you can certainly be successful without a college degree — your skills and talents can get you hired. Find out exactly what skills are needed for your career path and work hard to excel in them. You will have to be determined, self-disciplined, and goal-oriented. In the end, both education and marketable skills are key. It’s up to you how you want to get that education and skills — through an institution, or on your own in the real world.

Finally, do employers really check degrees ? They sure do, if it’s important for them. For companies that require degrees, they may check your resume to find out if you really completed the accomplishments you put down. They will likely ask you about it in your interview as well.

However, many new companies today do not look at resumes during the hiring process. Instead, they will ask for written answers and a preliminary skills test during the application,and a more thorough and in-person skills test during the interview process. Your skillset, personality, and recommendations will go a long way for companies such as these.

Do You Really Need To Go To College? That Depends

There are three important factors when determining if you should go to college: the hiring manager or hiring process, the industry you are entering, and finally, your own definition of success.

1. Hiring Manager

For better or worse, there is an algorithm to hiring nowadays. Some companies have software that will discard resumes submitted with no degrees or irrelevant experience.

Some hiring managers are under pressure to produce the best applicants possible and will therefore choose college as a way to filter out some of their applicant pool.

Today, many companies have third-party hiring agencies that make money from finding qualified applicants for a position. Hiring managers and HR coordinators within these agencies will often filter out applicants without degrees in order to increase their chances of matching an applicant to a job. To find out if this is the case, check with the HR department at some big companies you would be interested in applying to get an idea of what to expect during the application process.

2. Industry

Some industries are more likely to require degrees, such as fields of psychology or hard sciences, whereas some areas are more heavily dependent on relevant skills — such as some areas of technology and business. Those looking to get into marketing, design, programming or content creation may not need a degree, but a good portfolio showcasing past projects will be crucial.

3. How You Define Success

Ultimately, it is up to you to determine how you define success for yourself. If you are able to start your own business, continue a family business, or start small in a company and move your way up without a degree, do you consider that success? Or will you always feel the need to have graduated from college no matter your career path? Do some self-reflection on how much a degree matters in your own definition of success for yourself.

Benefits of Having A Degree

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There are countless reasons why you really should go to college. One of the most common reasons why students attend college these days is for the opportunity for an increased income and a boost to the resume.

College grads, on average, make much more than those working with only a high-school diploma.

Employers really do look at your education as an important aspect of your resume and many companies won’t consider an applicant without a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. In addition, many companies offer higher entry-level salaries for a college degree. And if you study while you are working, you may be eligible for a salary increase once you graduate.

Plus, we can’t discount the college experience. As cheesy as it may sound, college really is a life-changing experience. The people you meet throughout college, even though an online degree will change your life forever. There are so many research opportunities, and project experience you will gain — not to mention all of the soft skills you develop from attending colleges such as time management, work-life balance, networking skills, and presentation and writing skills.

In addition to all that experience, college gives you a depth in your field that short programs, certificates , and work experience can’t offer. The college includes courses on theory and research that give you the expertise and confidence to do what you do in the real world. All of these courses, projects, exams, and group work will give you the critical thinking experience you need to enter the workforce competitively.

The easiest reason to go to college: Your career choice. There are just some career paths that necessitate a college degree and there is no getting out of it. Do your homework on the job and career you dream of and check entry requirements, as well as what it takes to move ahead in the field so you know full well if a degree is required.

These are all great reasons to go to college — but is it worth it? The truth is that there are so many online, flexible and low-cost options these days that you are almost certain to find a program that will be within your budget and time constraints. Pursuing a specialized undergraduate certificate program can be a potentially beneficial option. In the end, you need to decide for yourself if the program is worth your time and money.

If you are worried about whether your degree will be worth the investment, do some research on which degrees, majors, and colleges have a strong record of a high return on investment. Common majors with high ROIs include engineering, computer science, economics, physics, and finance.

A College Degree is Beneficial, But Not Always Required

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You don’t necessarily need to go to college to earn big. There are plenty of high-income earners who did not go to college, and many high-paying industries that welcome non-college graduates.

Start-ups in technology, for example, may be more interested in your skillset and potential than a degree. You can also start your own business in something you excel at, such as consulting, marketing, design, or freelance programming — all of which can pay well without a degree.

You also don’t need to go to college to become an expert in an area. Personal and professional experience, coupled with online resources can give you expertise in your field that a college degree cannot. In college, you don’t learn tenacity like you do from the fails and successes of real-life experiences.

In addition, your degree could be useless by the time you graduate. Take computer science, for example. The introductory programming course taken in freshman year of college will likely be irrelevant for a job four to five years later. Industries such as technology and science are always changing — a better way to learn and become successful in your field is to keep yourself updated on industry news.

Finally, the biggest reason people talk about not going to college: Student debt . Student debt is a real problem for almost all graduates. Many grads take many years to pay off student loans — if you leave college with large amounts of student loans, going to college might hurt you in the long term.

Education Comes in Many Forms

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You don’t have to attend college in order to get an education and preparation for a career. There are other options as well. But take note, some aren’t cheaper than college.

1. Trade Schools

Trade schools are schools for specific careers. There are applied-skills trade schools for automotive, plumbing, electrician, and aviation, for example. There are also healthcare trade schools for careers in medical technology, billing, and nursing. Other options include culinary schools, art schools, tech schools, and beauty schools.

2. Certifications

There are plenty of fields today that offer certificates in place of, or in addition to college degrees. Common certificates include project management, digital marketing, programming, teaching, information systems, and forensics examiner.

3. Real-Life Experiences

If you can start a good job and work your way up, or learn the skills you need and move on to your dream career, by all means, go for it! You will earn real experience and get paid while doing so. Just make sure you are doing a job that leads to what you ultimately want. Other opportunities that are not jobs but are real-life experiences include self-directed projects, volunteer work, and being on an executive board.

4. Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are ways for you to get real work experience while learning with the best in the business. You can get an apprenticeship in law, nursing, IT, and more. In a way, an apprenticeship is similar to a paid internship, but not associated with the school.

5. Military Experience

Military experience is another non-college route to go. The military can give you plenty of relevant experience to enter the workforce. Plus, if you decide to go to college later, you may be reimbursed for tuition. However, joining the military is a very serious decision and you will want to talk it over with loved ones, as well as take plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons.

How to Invest in Your Education

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Your education is an investment, so invest wisely. Do your homework when it comes to the school you plan to attend, and the major or degree you plan to graduate with. Some degrees and majors have higher or lower ROI, so make sure yours has a high ROI to make it worth your money.

Knowing your financing options is an important part of paying for your college degree. Do as much research into relevant scholarships that you can, and apply for them, no matter if the reward amount is large or small. The small scholarship amounts can really add up!

Make sure to fill out a yearly FAFSA to determine your eligibility for federal student aid. If you can, try to pay off some of the tuition while you are in school. Check out options for work-study, where you get paid and earn college credit while you work. See if you can also work for college credit, or TA for a class to offset tuition costs.

Finding financial success while you are in college is possible. Try starting a side business, either with yourself or with colleagues. If it goes well, you can pursue it further after graduation. There are plenty of student-friendly jobs available that are either part-time, flexible, online, or a combination of all three. Saving wherever you can will help you out big time in the long run. Try to eat in, stick to your budget, and use all the student discounts you can while you are in college.

Making tough decisions is a part of financial success in college. You might have to forgo a dream school if the price is too high, or you might opt to live at home during college to save money. These are tough decisions to make, but ultimately will help you financially in the long run.

You don’t have to be a part of the student debt crisis. If you attend a low-cost university, it is possible to work part-time throughout the school to pay off the tuition as you go. If you attend the University of the People, your classes will be tuition-free , almost guaranteeing that you graduate from college debt-free with a useful and in-demand degree.

Many Successful Leaders Don’t Have College Degrees

You don’t need a college degree to be successful — these leaders don’t have one!

• Steve Jobs: Steve Jobs went to Reed College for computing but dropped out after just one semester. After spending some time in India, he went on to build one of the most powerful and influential companies today: Apple.
• Richard Branson: As a dyslexic student, Branson didn’t have much success in school and dropped out of high school. He is now a billionaire, and the founder and CEO of Virgin Group.
• Dave Thomas: Founder and former CEO of Wendy’s, Thomas left high school to work for a restaurant in Indiana. He opened the first Wendy’s in 1969 and the rest is history!
• Michael Dell: Dell went to college because his parents wanted him to become a doctor. But during school, he started a side gig refurbishing computers that became so successful, he dropped out after one year.
• Rachael Ray: Believe it or not, Rachael Ray has no culinary training or any degree for that matter. She used her skills, personality, and tenacity to become the amazing food star that she is today.
• Henry Ford: Ford left his family’s farm at the age of 16 to move to Detroit and work as an apprentice in a machine shop. He has no formal schooling in engineering or business but went on to revolutionize the automotive and business world.
• John D. Rockefeller Sr.: Rockefeller, like many of his time, started working at the age of 16 with only some knowledge of bookkeeping. He is known as one of the richest Americans to ever live and founded one of the most successful companies in America, Standard Oil.
• Steven Spielberg: Spielberg was actually denied acceptance to film school twice. While attending another school, he started as an intern at Universal Studios and began his career that way. He eventually received an honorary degree, 35 years after first attending college.
• Mary Kay Ash: Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, started her company in 1963 at the age of 45 after decades of watching men get promoted instead of her. Before she started Mary Kay Cosmetics, she was a successful businesswoman much ahead of her time.

There are many factors that come into play when answering the question, “Do you have to go to college to be successful?”

In life, you create the opportunities to sharpen your skills and improve your talents, learn and explore different disciplines, and cultivate experiences. It is up to you to choose which path you will take to obtain those. Ultimately, you need to define your own success, and believe in yourself and your ability to succeed.

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Is College Worth It? Consider These Factors Before Enrolling

Expert Reviewed

Updated: Aug 12, 2024, 7:42am

Key Takeaways

• Public confidence in the value of higher education has waned, leaving many students wondering if college is worth the investment of time and money.
• Workers with four-year college degrees earn higher wages and experience lower levels of unemployment than those with only a high school diploma.
• Many professions demand a college degree, but some well-paying jobs only require an apprenticeship or vocational training.
• The average net cost of attending college is about $15,200 per year at public institutions and $29,700 at private, nonprofit colleges and universities.
• Thirty-eight percent of first-time, full-time college students borrow money to pay for college, with an average loan amount of $7,700 per academic year.

For decades in the U.S., a four-year degree has been seen as a ticket to a better life, associated with higher wages, better health and access to homeownership, to name a few benefits. But rising costs, mounting student debt, changing job requirements in some industries and new higher education alternatives have altered the equation, leaving many high schoolers and their parents wondering: Is college worth it?

College graduates still earn higher wages and have lower unemployment rates than workers with only a high school diploma. However, industries that don’t require a bachelor’s degree, like manufacturing, construction and hospitality, often pay well and see steady economic demand. Plus, many companies and even government organizations no longer require job candidates to hold college degrees.

Though some researchers claim the economic benefits of a college degree are diminishing, higher education is still undeniably valuable. But is college right for you? That depends on your financial priorities and professional goals. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of going to college.

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How To Determine Whether College Is Worth It

College is a great way to discover yourself: what you’re good at, what drives you, what you want to spend your life doing. Higher learning can provide opportunities to travel, research, build a professional network and connect with peers and mentors. But the cost is immense—often more than $100,000 for a four-year degree, depending on the institution.

If you’re on the fence about college, take the considerations discussed below into account. Also, compare the potential benefits and drawbacks of a four-year degree to alternative higher ed options, such as bootcamps , professional certificate programs and trade schools .

Factors To Consider

When determining whether you should go to college, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your career goals?
• Does the school you’re eyeing offer a strong program in your area of interest?
• How much would you pay for tuition and other expenses?

Next, assess what student loans and scholarships are available to you, and consider the level of debt you’ll face after graduation. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our rankings of the best private student loans , the best low-interest student loans and the best personal loans for students . We also list some of the best scholarship websites and search engines .

Finally, think about the salary you’ll likely earn in your desired profession and how quickly you’ll be able to repay your loans.

It might be wise to consider this decision as if you were your own life coach or mentor. How would you talk through this problem with someone in your shoes? College admission professionals, high school guidance counselors and mentors can also provide input to help you make an informed decision.

College Income and Wealth Premiums

Two key economic indicators to think about are income and wealth. “Income” here relates to your earnings from a job, while “wealth” refers to your net worth.

For decades, college graduates enjoyed higher earnings and greater wealth than individuals who did not graduate from college, creating so-called “college premiums” on both income and wealth. Though these premiums still exist, they’ve declined for recent graduates, according to economic research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis .

The college wealth premium is trending downward faster than the income premium due in part to the high cost of college.

The Cost of College

To examine the cost of college, we can start by looking at the total cost of attendance as collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

The total cost of attendance combines the cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies, room, board and other expenses. It does not account for scholarships or federal student aid awards such as grants, work-study programs and loans.

In 2022–23, the average total cost of attending a public, four-year institution was $27,100 for students living on campus. Attending a private, for-profit school averaged $33,600, or $58,600 for a private, nonprofit college. Bear in mind that tuition rates for public institutions were based on in-state enrollees; out-of-state students typically pay higher rates.

Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees have risen over the past decade at private nonprofit colleges and universities. However, it may surprise you to learn that at the same time, college costs actually decreased at public institutions and private for-profit schools, when adjusted for inflation.

NCES reports that In 2012–13, the average price of tuition and fees at private colleges stood at $37,600 a year (in constant 2022–23 dollars), rising to $40,700 in the 2022–23 school year—an increase of 8%. At public higher education institutions during the same period, tuition and fees fell from $10,400 to $9,800, and tuition and fees at for-profit private schools dropped from $21,100 to $18,200.

Net Cost of Attendance

Net price is the total cost of college—including tuition, supplies, housing and other expenses—minus grant and scholarship aid.

In the 2021–22 academic year, the average net price of attending a four-year college for first-time undergraduates was $15,200 at public institutions, $29,700 at private nonprofit schools and $24,400 at private, for-profit institutions, according to NCES.

So for a four-year bachelor’s degree, the average net cost of attendance for students residing on campus was approximately:

• $60,800 at public schools
• $97,600 at private, for-profit schools
• $118,800 at private, nonprofit schools

In other words, the cost of college can be steep even with financial aid taken into account.

Student Loans

The percentage of first-year undergraduates who take out student loans has decreased since 2010, according to NCES . Thirty-eight percent of first-time, full-time college students were awarded loans in 2020–21, compared with 50% in 2010–11. NCES noted a decrease across all controls for both two-year and four-year higher education institutions.

The average loan amount awarded has also decreased over the past decade. First-time, degree-seeking students received an average of $7,700 in 2020–21, compared to $8,400 in 2010–11, a decrease of 8%. Although borrowing rates have declined, student debt in the United States now totals around $1.75 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve .

In the 2021–22 academic year, 49% of students earning bachelor’s degrees from public, four-year institutions graduated with federal student loan debt, according to research from College Board . The average amount of debt per student was $20,700. Another 9% graduated with private loan debt averaging $34,600 per borrower.

At private institutions, degree seekers tend to borrow more; College Board found that among bachelor’s grads from private schools the average student loan debt was $22,200 for federal loan borrowers. For those who took out private loans and attended private schools, the average loan balance at graduation was $44,600.

To understand how effective students are at paying back their loans, NCES examined the class of 2015-16 four years after graduation, finding that the average federal student borrower still owed 78% of their original loan amount. The average percentage owed was particularly high among Pell Grant recipients: 85% of the original borrowed amount.

The Potential College Payoff

We’ve determined that college is expensive and student debt can be a heavy burden. So what’s the return on an investment in higher education? Let’s take a look at potential payoffs for college grads.

Higher Earnings

College graduates still enjoy higher earnings than the average U.S. worker. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that in 2023, bachelor’s degree holders took home a median wage of $1,493 per week, while workers with just a high school diploma earned only $899. That’s a difference of 66%.

But how much you earn depends on several factors, including the industry you work in and your age, gender and location. A 2021 report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce found that 16% of high school graduates and 28% of associate degree holders earn higher wages than half of bachelor’s degree graduates.

On average, bachelor’s degree holders don’t start to see returns on their college investment until they’ve worked full time for 15 years. It’s the lowest return on investment (ROI) of all postsecondary degrees, according to the Education Data Initiative .

However, ROI for bachelor’s degrees can differ significantly depending on the major. The most cost-effective majors are in the computer and information sciences. Other areas with high returns include business finance, business accounting and electrical engineering. Majors with low ROI include fine art, liberal arts, general studies and education.

Lower Unemployment Rates

In 2022, bachelor’s degree grads faced an unemployment rate of 2.2%, while the rate for all workers was 3%, according to the BLS. By comparison, 4% of workers with only a high school diploma were unemployed.

Despite national conversation questioning the value of a college degree, a 2023 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that many employers still see higher ed as valuable, with three-quarters of respondents viewing college credentials as high-quality.

Recession Resiliency

Having a four-year college degree may help you stay afloat during the next economic downturn. According to a report by the Public Policy Institute of California , less-educated workers suffered higher unemployment losses during the past few recessions. For example, at the height of the Covid-19 recession, workers with no college education experienced an unemployment rate of 18%, compared to 10% for workers with bachelor’s degrees.

The Pros and Cons of Going to College

Whether going to college is worth it really depends on your situation. Some career aspirations require a four-year degree, while plenty of others don’t. Certain academic interests make more sense to pursue in a formal campus environment. Others lend themselves to self-study.

Your financial situation is an important factor in determining the value of college. You’ll want to ask yourself if higher wages and more career options in the long run are worth years of student loan payments.

• Higher wages on average
• More career options
• Opportunities to gain further credentials and earn more money
• Alumni networks
• Recession resilience
• Personal growth
• Better health
• Higher likelihood of homeownership and being partnered (married or cohabiting)
• Lower risk of becoming delinquent on debt obligations
• Years of student loan debt
• Not necessary for some jobs
• Many alternatives to a four-year college degree, like apprenticeships and associate degrees, may provide similar benefits
• “Opportunity loss” due to time in college spent not working in profession

If you’re unsure about whether college would pay off for you, check out the below resources to learn about alternative options for higher education and professional credentials:

• Best Coding Bootcamps
• Best Online Trade Schools
• Can You Get a Bachelor’s Degree at a Community College? Here’s What To Know
• How Much Do Coding Bootcamps Cost? What To Know
• How To Get an Apprenticeship: Tips and Resources
• Tech Bootcamps With Job Guarantees: What To Know
• These 8 Universities Offer Business Certificates Online
• What Is a Graduate Certificate? Everything You Need To Know
• What Is a Skilled Trade? Top-Paying Trades To Conside

Public Opinion on the Value of College

A 2023 Gallup poll found that Americans’ confidence in higher education has diminished since the mid-2010s, particularly in regard to four-year institutions. In 2015, the polling organization reports, 57% of Americans expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the U.S. higher education system. However, that percentage dropped to 36% by 2023.

Gallup’s analysis points to criticisms that college education has become too expensive and that colleges are perceived as failing to teach useful skills. Additionally, many poll respondents reported a lack of confidence stemming from a belief that U.S. higher education institutions do not align with their personal political views.

Meanwhile, a study from the Pew Research Center , also conducted in 2023, notes that 49% of Americans believe that having a college education is less essential to getting a well-paying job today than it was 20 years ago.

However, confidence in the importance of a college education rises among young adults and college graduates; 44% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 believe it’s more critical now than it was 20 years ago to have a college degree in order to get a job that pays well. Among people with bachelor’s degrees or higher, 58% said that their education was “very useful” or “extremely useful” in preparing them for well-paying jobs.

The cost of college and the burden of student loans were also major concerns for respondents of the Pew Center survey. Among all respondents, 47% said that college was worth it, but only if students can avoid taking out loans. Twenty-two percent said that college was worth it even with student loans, and 29% said that college was not worth it at all.

As public opinion shifts regarding the importance of higher education, and Americans begin to question the assumption that going to college is the only viable route to a comfortable life and career, each student must assess their own goals, values and priorities to decide whether college is worth it for them.

Forbes Advisor editor, Ilana Hamilton , also contributed to this article.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Whether College Is Worth It

Should i go to college.

A college degree is a great investment for many students, but it’s not the slam dunk that it once was. A college degree is required for some fields and is still correlated with higher earnings and greater wealth, but the cost is considerable. Depending on your intended profession, you might consider an alternative education path.

Is college worth the cost?

Ultimately, whether college is worth the cost will depend on factors like your career and life goals and whether you’ll need to take out student loans. While a college degree is still associated with greater earnings and wealth over a lifetime, the upfront cost may not be worth it for some students.

Why is college worth it?

There are many positives to attending college: higher wages, stronger recession resilience, lower unemployment rates, personal growth, the list goes on. Plus, employers require or prefer a college degree for many professional roles. On the other hand, you may be able to earn a good living without attending college, depending on your professional aspirations.

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• Weighted Vs. Unweighted GPA
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Garrett Andrews is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Political Science at Portland Community College where he teaches State and Local Government.

With five years of experience as a writer and editor in the higher education and career development space, Ilana has a passion for creating accessible, relevant content that demystifies the higher-ed landscape for traditional and nontraditional learners alike. Prior to joining Forbes Advisor's education team, Ilana wrote and edited for websites such as BestColleges.com and AffordableCollegesOnline.org.

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Getting College Essay Help: Important Do's and Don’ts

College Essays

If you grow up to be a professional writer, everything you write will first go through an editor before being published. This is because the process of writing is really a process of re-writing —of rethinking and reexamining your work, usually with the help of someone else. So what does this mean for your student writing? And in particular, what does it mean for very important, but nonprofessional writing like your college essay? Should you ask your parents to look at your essay? Pay for an essay service?

If you are wondering what kind of help you can, and should, get with your personal statement, you've come to the right place! In this article, I'll talk about what kind of writing help is useful, ethical, and even expected for your college admission essay . I'll also point out who would make a good editor, what the differences between editing and proofreading are, what to expect from a good editor, and how to spot and stay away from a bad one.

Table of Contents

What Kind of Help for Your Essay Can You Get?

What's Good Editing?

What should an editor do for you, what kind of editing should you avoid, proofreading, what's good proofreading, what kind of proofreading should you avoid.

What Do Colleges Think Of You Getting Help With Your Essay?

Who Can/Should Help You?

Advice for editors.

Should You Pay Money For Essay Editing?

The Bottom Line

What's next, what kind of help with your essay can you get.

Rather than talking in general terms about "help," let's first clarify the two different ways that someone else can improve your writing . There is editing, which is the more intensive kind of assistance that you can use throughout the whole process. And then there's proofreading, which is the last step of really polishing your final product.

Let me go into some more detail about editing and proofreading, and then explain how good editors and proofreaders can help you."

Editing is helping the author (in this case, you) go from a rough draft to a finished work . Editing is the process of asking questions about what you're saying, how you're saying it, and how you're organizing your ideas. But not all editing is good editing . In fact, it's very easy for an editor to cross the line from supportive to overbearing and over-involved.

Ability to clarify assignments. A good editor is usually a good writer, and certainly has to be a good reader. For example, in this case, a good editor should make sure you understand the actual essay prompt you're supposed to be answering.

Open-endedness. Good editing is all about asking questions about your ideas and work, but without providing answers. It's about letting you stick to your story and message, and doesn't alter your point of view.

Think of an editor as a great travel guide. It can show you the many different places your trip could take you. It should explain any parts of the trip that could derail your trip or confuse the traveler. But it never dictates your path, never forces you to go somewhere you don't want to go, and never ignores your interests so that the trip no longer seems like it's your own. So what should good editors do?

Help Brainstorm Topics

Sometimes it's easier to bounce thoughts off of someone else. This doesn't mean that your editor gets to come up with ideas, but they can certainly respond to the various topic options you've come up with. This way, you're less likely to write about the most boring of your ideas, or to write about something that isn't actually important to you.

If you're wondering how to come up with options for your editor to consider, check out our guide to brainstorming topics for your college essay .

Help Revise Your Drafts

Here, your editor can't upset the delicate balance of not intervening too much or too little. It's tricky, but a great way to think about it is to remember: editing is about asking questions, not giving answers .

Revision questions should point out:

• Places where more detail or more description would help the reader connect with your essay
• Places where structure and logic don't flow, losing the reader's attention
• Places where there aren't transitions between paragraphs, confusing the reader
• Moments where your narrative or the arguments you're making are unclear

But pointing to potential problems is not the same as actually rewriting—editors let authors fix the problems themselves.

Bad editing is usually very heavy-handed editing. Instead of helping you find your best voice and ideas, a bad editor changes your writing into their own vision.

You may be dealing with a bad editor if they:

• Add material (examples, descriptions) that doesn't come from you
• Use a thesaurus to make your college essay sound "more mature"
• Add meaning or insight to the essay that doesn't come from you
• Tell you what to say and how to say it
• Write sentences, phrases, and paragraphs for you
• Change your voice in the essay so it no longer sounds like it was written by a teenager

Colleges can tell the difference between a 17-year-old's writing and a 50-year-old's writing. Not only that, they have access to your SAT or ACT Writing section, so they can compare your essay to something else you wrote. Writing that's a little more polished is great and expected. But a totally different voice and style will raise questions.

Where's the Line Between Helpful Editing and Unethical Over-Editing?

Sometimes it's hard to tell whether your college essay editor is doing the right thing. Here are some guidelines for staying on the ethical side of the line.

• An editor should say that the opening paragraph is kind of boring, and explain what exactly is making it drag. But it's overstepping for an editor to tell you exactly how to change it.
• An editor should point out where your prose is unclear or vague. But it's completely inappropriate for the editor to rewrite that section of your essay.
• An editor should let you know that a section is light on detail or description. But giving you similes and metaphors to beef up that description is a no-go.

Proofreading (also called copy-editing) is checking for errors in the last draft of a written work. It happens at the end of the process and is meant as the final polishing touch. Proofreading is meticulous and detail-oriented, focusing on small corrections. It sands off all the surface rough spots that could alienate the reader.

Because proofreading is usually concerned with making fixes on the word or sentence level, this is the only process where someone else can actually add to or take away things from your essay . This is because what they are adding or taking away tends to be one or two misplaced letters.

Laser focus. Proofreading is all about the tiny details, so the ability to really concentrate on finding small slip-ups is a must.

Excellent grammar and spelling skills. Proofreaders need to dot every "i" and cross every "t." Good proofreaders should correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. They should put foreign words in italics and surround quotations with quotation marks. They should check that you used the correct college's name, and that you adhered to any formatting requirements (name and date at the top of the page, uniform font and size, uniform spacing).

Limited interference. A proofreader needs to make sure that you followed any word limits. But if cuts need to be made to shorten the essay, that's your job and not the proofreader's.

A bad proofreader either tries to turn into an editor, or just lacks the skills and knowledge necessary to do the job.

Some signs that you're working with a bad proofreader are:

• If they suggest making major changes to the final draft of your essay. Proofreading happens when editing is already finished.
• If they aren't particularly good at spelling, or don't know grammar, or aren't detail-oriented enough to find someone else's small mistakes.
• If they start swapping out your words for fancier-sounding synonyms, or changing the voice and sound of your essay in other ways. A proofreader is there to check for errors, not to take the 17-year-old out of your writing.

What Do Colleges Think of Your Getting Help With Your Essay?

Admissions officers agree: light editing and proofreading are good—even required ! But they also want to make sure you're the one doing the work on your essay. They want essays with stories, voice, and themes that come from you. They want to see work that reflects your actual writing ability, and that focuses on what you find important.

On the Importance of Editing

Get feedback. Have a fresh pair of eyes give you some feedback. Don't allow someone else to rewrite your essay, but do take advantage of others' edits and opinions when they seem helpful. ( Bates College )

Read your essay aloud to someone. Reading the essay out loud offers a chance to hear how your essay sounds outside your head. This exercise reveals flaws in the essay's flow, highlights grammatical errors and helps you ensure that you are communicating the exact message you intended. ( Dickinson College )

On the Value of Proofreading

Share your essays with at least one or two people who know you well—such as a parent, teacher, counselor, or friend—and ask for feedback. Remember that you ultimately have control over your essays, and your essays should retain your own voice, but others may be able to catch mistakes that you missed and help suggest areas to cut if you are over the word limit. ( Yale University )

Proofread and then ask someone else to proofread for you. Although we want substance, we also want to be able to see that you can write a paper for our professors and avoid careless mistakes that would drive them crazy. ( Oberlin College )

On Watching Out for Too Much Outside Influence

Limit the number of people who review your essay. Too much input usually means your voice is lost in the writing style. ( Carleton College )

Ask for input (but not too much). Your parents, friends, guidance counselors, coaches, and teachers are great people to bounce ideas off of for your essay. They know how unique and spectacular you are, and they can help you decide how to articulate it. Keep in mind, however, that a 45-year-old lawyer writes quite differently from an 18-year-old student, so if your dad ends up writing the bulk of your essay, we're probably going to notice. ( Vanderbilt University )

Now let's talk about some potential people to approach for your college essay editing and proofreading needs. It's best to start close to home and slowly expand outward. Not only are your family and friends more invested in your success than strangers, but they also have a better handle on your interests and personality. This knowledge is key for judging whether your essay is expressing your true self.

Parents or Close Relatives

Your family may be full of potentially excellent editors! Parents are deeply committed to your well-being, and family members know you and your life well enough to offer details or incidents that can be included in your essay. On the other hand, the rewriting process necessarily involves criticism, which is sometimes hard to hear from someone very close to you.

A parent or close family member is a great choice for an editor if you can answer "yes" to the following questions. Is your parent or close relative a good writer or reader? Do you have a relationship where editing your essay won't create conflict? Are you able to constructively listen to criticism and suggestion from the parent?

One suggestion for defusing face-to-face discussions is to try working on the essay over email. Send your parent a draft, have them write you back some comments, and then you can pick which of their suggestions you want to use and which to discard.

Teachers or Tutors

A humanities teacher that you have a good relationship with is a great choice. I am purposefully saying humanities, and not just English, because teachers of Philosophy, History, Anthropology, and any other classes where you do a lot of writing, are all used to reviewing student work.

Moreover, any teacher or tutor that has been working with you for some time, knows you very well and can vet the essay to make sure it "sounds like you."

If your teacher or tutor has some experience with what college essays are supposed to be like, ask them to be your editor. If not, then ask whether they have time to proofread your final draft.

Guidance or College Counselor at Your School

The best thing about asking your counselor to edit your work is that this is their job. This means that they have a very good sense of what colleges are looking for in an application essay.

At the same time, school counselors tend to have relationships with admissions officers in many colleges, which again gives them insight into what works and which college is focused on what aspect of the application.

Unfortunately, in many schools the guidance counselor tends to be way overextended. If your ratio is 300 students to 1 college counselor, you're unlikely to get that person's undivided attention and focus. It is still useful to ask them for general advice about your potential topics, but don't expect them to be able to stay with your essay from first draft to final version.

Friends, Siblings, or Classmates

Although they most likely don't have much experience with what colleges are hoping to see, your peers are excellent sources for checking that your essay is you .

Friends and siblings are perfect for the read-aloud edit. Read your essay to them so they can listen for words and phrases that are stilted, pompous, or phrases that just don't sound like you.

You can even trade essays and give helpful advice on each other's work.

If your editor hasn't worked with college admissions essays very much, no worries! Any astute and attentive reader can still greatly help with your process. But, as in all things, beginners do better with some preparation.

First, your editor should read our advice about how to write a college essay introduction , how to spot and fix a bad college essay , and get a sense of what other students have written by going through some admissions essays that worked .

Then, as they read your essay, they can work through the following series of questions that will help them to guide you.

Introduction Questions

• Is the first sentence a killer opening line? Why or why not?
• Does the introduction hook the reader? Does it have a colorful, detailed, and interesting narrative? Or does it propose a compelling or surprising idea?
• Can you feel the author's voice in the introduction, or is the tone dry, dull, or overly formal? Show the places where the voice comes through.

Essay Body Questions

• Does the essay have a through-line? Is it built around a central argument, thought, idea, or focus? Can you put this idea into your own words?
• How is the essay organized? By logical progression? Chronologically? Do you feel order when you read it, or are there moments where you are confused or lose the thread of the essay?
• Does the essay have both narratives about the author's life and explanations and insight into what these stories reveal about the author's character, personality, goals, or dreams? If not, which is missing?
• Does the essay flow? Are there smooth transitions/clever links between paragraphs? Between the narrative and moments of insight?

Reader Response Questions

• Does the writer's personality come through? Do we know what the speaker cares about? Do we get a sense of "who he or she is"?
• Where did you feel most connected to the essay? Which parts of the essay gave you a "you are there" sensation by invoking your senses? What moments could you picture in your head well?
• Where are the details and examples vague and not specific enough?
• Did you get an "a-ha!" feeling anywhere in the essay? Is there a moment of insight that connected all the dots for you? Is there a good reveal or "twist" anywhere in the essay?
• What are the strengths of this essay? What needs the most improvement?

Should You Pay Money for Essay Editing?

One alternative to asking someone you know to help you with your college essay is the paid editor route. There are two different ways to pay for essay help: a private essay coach or a less personal editing service , like the many proliferating on the internet.

My advice is to think of these options as a last resort rather than your go-to first choice. I'll first go through the reasons why. Then, if you do decide to go with a paid editor, I'll help you decide between a coach and a service.

When to Consider a Paid Editor

In general, I think hiring someone to work on your essay makes a lot of sense if none of the people I discussed above are a possibility for you.

If you can't ask your parents. For example, if your parents aren't good writers, or if English isn't their first language. Or if you think getting your parents to help is going create unnecessary extra conflict in your relationship with them (applying to college is stressful as it is!)

If you can't ask your teacher or tutor. Maybe you don't have a trusted teacher or tutor that has time to look over your essay with focus. Or, for instance, your favorite humanities teacher has very limited experience with college essays and so won't know what admissions officers want to see.

If you can't ask your guidance counselor. This could be because your guidance counselor is way overwhelmed with other students.

If you can't share your essay with those who know you. It might be that your essay is on a very personal topic that you're unwilling to share with parents, teachers, or peers. Just make sure it doesn't fall into one of the bad-idea topics in our article on bad college essays .

If the cost isn't a consideration. Many of these services are quite expensive, and private coaches even more so. If you have finite resources, I'd say that hiring an SAT or ACT tutor (whether it's PrepScholar or someone else) is better way to spend your money . This is because there's no guarantee that a slightly better essay will sufficiently elevate the rest of your application, but a significantly higher SAT score will definitely raise your applicant profile much more.

Should You Hire an Essay Coach?

On the plus side, essay coaches have read dozens or even hundreds of college essays, so they have experience with the format. Also, because you'll be working closely with a specific person, it's more personal than sending your essay to a service, which will know even less about you.

But, on the minus side, you'll still be bouncing ideas off of someone who doesn't know that much about you . In general, if you can adequately get the help from someone you know, there is no advantage to paying someone to help you.

If you do decide to hire a coach, ask your school counselor, or older students that have used the service for recommendations. If you can't afford the coach's fees, ask whether they can work on a sliding scale —many do. And finally, beware those who guarantee admission to your school of choice—essay coaches don't have any special magic that can back up those promises.

Should You Send Your Essay to a Service?

On the plus side, essay editing services provide a similar product to essay coaches, and they cost significantly less . If you have some assurance that you'll be working with a good editor, the lack of face-to-face interaction won't prevent great results.

On the minus side, however, it can be difficult to gauge the quality of the service before working with them . If they are churning through many application essays without getting to know the students they are helping, you could end up with an over-edited essay that sounds just like everyone else's. In the worst case scenario, an unscrupulous service could send you back a plagiarized essay.

Getting recommendations from friends or a school counselor for reputable services is key to avoiding heavy-handed editing that writes essays for you or does too much to change your essay. Including a badly-edited essay like this in your application could cause problems if there are inconsistencies. For example, in interviews it might be clear you didn't write the essay, or the skill of the essay might not be reflected in your schoolwork and test scores.

Should You Buy an Essay Written by Someone Else?

Let me elaborate. There are super sketchy places on the internet where you can simply buy a pre-written essay. Don't do this!

For one thing, you'll be lying on an official, signed document. All college applications make you sign a statement saying something like this:

I certify that all information submitted in the admission process—including the application, the personal essay, any supplements, and any other supporting materials—is my own work, factually true, and honestly presented... I understand that I may be subject to a range of possible disciplinary actions, including admission revocation, expulsion, or revocation of course credit, grades, and degree, should the information I have certified be false. (From the Common Application )

For another thing, if your academic record doesn't match the essay's quality, the admissions officer will start thinking your whole application is riddled with lies.

Admission officers have full access to your writing portion of the SAT or ACT so that they can compare work that was done in proctored conditions with that done at home. They can tell if these were written by different people. Not only that, but there are now a number of search engines that faculty and admission officers can use to see if an essay contains strings of words that have appeared in other essays—you have no guarantee that the essay you bought wasn't also bought by 50 other students.

• You should get college essay help with both editing and proofreading
• A good editor will ask questions about your idea, logic, and structure, and will point out places where clarity is needed
• A good editor will absolutely not answer these questions, give you their own ideas, or write the essay or parts of the essay for you
• A good proofreader will find typos and check your formatting
• All of them agree that getting light editing and proofreading is necessary
• Parents, teachers, guidance or college counselor, and peers or siblings
• If you can't ask any of those, you can pay for college essay help, but watch out for services or coaches who over-edit you work
• Don't buy a pre-written essay! Colleges can tell, and it'll make your whole application sound false.

Ready to start working on your essay? Check out our explanation of the point of the personal essay and the role it plays on your applications and then explore our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay .

Using the Common Application for your college applications? We have an excellent guide to the Common App essay prompts and useful advice on how to pick the Common App prompt that's right for you . Wondering how other people tackled these prompts? Then work through our roundup of over 130 real college essay examples published by colleges .

Stressed about whether to take the SAT again before submitting your application? Let us help you decide how many times to take this test . If you choose to go for it, we have the ultimate guide to studying for the SAT to give you the ins and outs of the best ways to study.

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Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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College essay don’ts: 37 Things to Avoid In a college essay

Knowing what not to write about in a college essay is just as important as knowing what to write about!

This post is all about college essay don’ts , including college essay topics to avoid and how not to write your college application essays. 

It’s so important to know what NOT to write about in your college application essay. Whether you’re crafting your essay for the Common App or writing shorter college-specific essays, you need to know how not to write a college essay. 

Choosing the wrong topic for your college application essays could mean that you don’t get admitted to your dream school or you miss out on scholarship money. 

Since you really only have one chance to get it right, you need to know what topics to avoid in your college admissions essays, general college essay don’ts, and what other pitfalls to avoid when writing your college essays.

Essay writing may feel overwhelming and stressful, but knowing what not to do will help you write a great college essay!

What not to write in your college application essay

So you know exactly what not do in college admissions essays, here are 37 college essay tips about college essay don’ts. Follow this advice to know what not to write about in your college essay!

1. Don’t restate the Essay prompt

Start your essay with a hook. Start with dialogue. Start by setting the scene.

Don’t start by restating the essay topic! The reader knows the essay prompts, so just start telling your story. 

A great story will immediately grab the attention of the admission officers and make them want to keep reading!

2. Don’t try to be funny in your college admissions essay

There’s a good chance that what you think is funny may not be funny to the admissions officer. And even if your admissions officer thinks it’s funny, the dean of admissions may not agree.

Clever writing that naturally tells a funny story will get you further than trying too hard to make everyone laugh. 

3. Don’t swear

You might not mind vulgar language, but many people do. It will come off as tasteless and crass. Simply put, curse words should not be part of your college admissions essay. 

4. Don’t just tell the reader what you think

Tell the reader what you did, how you felt, how you changed—not just what you think. Admissions officers don’t want to read about what you think in the abstract.

They want to know what has happened to you in life, how that’s affected you, and what you did as a result. 

Write an engaging, interesting story that shows the reader how you’ve grown and what you’ve learned.

5. Don’t try to Appear perfect

It’s okay that your life is messy and you don’t have it all together. It’s okay that you’re not super organized and you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up.

Your college essay doesn’t need to be about how awesome you are (really, it shouldn’t be!). It just needs to be about the real you. Remember, your personal essay for college should be just that—personal! 

6. Don’t brag

Your achievements are all listed on your resume.

Writing about how great you are, how you saved the day, or how you’re a hero to others is not going to make a positive impression on the reader.

Leave the bragging to the people who wrote your letters of reference. 

7. Don’t emphasize status

Avoid topics that emphasize your financial privilege. Voluntourism trips to aid people living in poverty in far-flung areas of the world is a key example of this.

Don’t write about going on a mission trip to a third world country to volunteer to help the less fortunate and how you learned how privileged you are. Just don’t. 

8. Don’t lie

Don’t inflate your accomplishments. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

If you write something dishonest in your essay, it won’t match the other parts of your application. If you were found to have been dishonest when writing your essay, you will not be offered admission at that college. 

9. Don’t reveal too much

If you have faced personal challenges, like addiction, mental health struggles, or learning disabilities, those struggles are part of you. You should feel proud of overcoming them.

But your college admissions essay is not the place to share your most deeply personal experiences. 

Some college admissions officers may read about your challenges and want to welcome someone with your tenacity and spirit to their campus.

Unfortunately, most admissions officers will read about your challenges and worry that you will face similar issues at their university. 

Many colleges choose not accept applicants who have demonstrated past mental health issues. This might not seem fair, but it is reality. Don’t hide your true self or be dishonest, but carefully consider how much you want to reveal in your admissions essay about your private struggles. 

10. Don’t write about illegal activities

It’s a safe bet that most colleges do not want to admit students who have a history of participating in illegal activities.

Even if you plan to talk about drug use, alcohol use, jail time, or committing crimes as a way to show growth and discuss lessons learned, illegal activities show a lack of maturity and questionable judgement.

Writing about criminal behavior will not reflect well on you as a candidate for admission. Illegal activities make bad topics for college essays.

11. Don’t summarize your resume

This is one of the biggest college essay don’ts! Your college essay is your opportunity to tell the college admissions office who you really are and what really matters to you.

Your resume already lists your activities, and your transcript details your grades. Your college essay isn’t the place to review these facts; it’s your chance to stand out by telling your story. 

12. Don’t tell a general story

Be specific. In fact, be very specific. Focusing on the details of your story will help make your college essay unique so that it stands out.

A good college essay will tell a story that could only have been written by you—no one else. 

Instead of telling a biopic story of your life, focus on one aspect of your life—your beliefs, a meaningful experience, a key event—that explains who you are and what matters to you. 

13. Don’t write about cliché topics

Avoid writing about the sports victories and defeats. Winning a big game or losing a championship game might mean a lot to you, but sports are common topic and best avoided.

Don’t write about overcoming an academic setback or a romantic breakup.  

14. Don’t write about something controversial

You don’t know who will be reading your college admissions essay, and they might not agree with your views on controversial topics.

Moreover, your reader might not appreciate how you approach a sensitive topic. You might appear close-minded and unempathetic. 

The last thing you want to do is make the admissions officers reading your essay think you would bring discord to the campus community.

15. Don’t undervalue the small stuff

Great essays can be crafted from the small, personal details of daily life.

Don’t underestimate what interesting essays can be written about your morning routine, your favorite family recipe, your relationship with your sibling, or what you do on a snow day. 

In fact, some of the most memorable, best essays have been about a random item, food, or daily routine.

16. Don’t go negative

Criticizing other people, your current school, or anything else will probably just make a bad impression on your readers.

Don’t whine about your life. Negativity says more about you and how you perceive the world around you than it does about anything else. Certainly don’t criticize the college you’re applying to!

If you do want to write about negative experiences you’ve had, quickly move on to discussing what you’ve learned or how you’ve grown as a result of those experiences.

17. Don’t be pompous

Never assume that you know better than your readers or that your approach is the only way.

Don’t tell your reader what they should think. Avoid making generalized value judgements. 

18. Don’t go completely off topic

Don’t try to stand out by submitting a poem or creative writing sample.

Write a thoughtful, well-crafted essay about yourself, just like they asked for.

Show that you respect the school admissions committee’s request and can follow directions. 

19. Don’t ignore the prompt

College admission essay topics are designed to allow you a lot of freedom in how you answer. Craft a story that tells something about you, within the framework of the prompt. 

Just double check that your essay answers the prompt, to make sure you didn’t veer off topic as you wrote and edited the essay. 

Also know that you can write about whatever you’d like to . In your essay writing process, if you find that the first prompt you chose isn’t working out, choose a different one and start again.

20. Don’t get the tone wrong

Your college admissions essay is not an expository essay, formulaic and devoid of warmth. Nor is it the right time for you to use all the fancy words you’ve been studying for the SAT.  

Your college admissions essay should be engaging, show your personality, and sound like you—a teenager reflecting on your life thus far. 

21. Don’t write a trite conclusion

If your essay has done its job, you shouldn’t need to sum it all up for the reader in a neat little final sentence.  

If you have shown your reader what you’ve learned, how you’ve grown, or who you are, you don’t need to say it explicitly at the end of your essay. 

The conclusion is often the hardest part of the essay to get just right, so don’t worry if it’s hard to find the perfect words. Take a break from writing it and come back in a few days to get a fresh perspective on what you’re trying to say.

22. Don’t wait until the last minute to Write

Start writing your college admissions essay weeks, if not months, before its due. Senior year is an incredibly busy time, so it’s a great idea to get started on your college admission essays as early as possible.

Leave plenty of time to think about what you want to say, revise and edit, and finalize the essay. You’ll be amazed at how your essay can improve if you allow ample time to work on it.

If you’re going to apply early decision or early action, consider starting to work on your main essay the summer after junior year, before your senior year even starts, or early in the fall of senior year.

23. Don’t ignore the word count

You don’t want to write too much or too little. Aim to be within a few words of the word limit. Express yourself clearly and concisely.

24. Don’t repeat your resume

When you’re writing your personal statement essay, don’t just repeat your high school resume.

Your personal essay is your chance to talk about an aspect of your personality or life experiences that can’t be found anywhere else in your college application. 

The list of courses you’ve taken (and your grades) tell about your academic interests. So there’s no need to turn your essay into a list of your academic achievements!

Your extracurricular activities show what you’re interested in and how you use your time. If you want to discuss how your extracurricular activities have been formative experiences for you, focus on one particular example. Don’t re-list all your volunteer experiences!

Your personal statement essay should reveal something about you that doesn’t show up in the rest of your application. 

25. Don’t write about an “example” topic

If you have read some amazing examples of college essays, and you’re thinking that you could write on that same topic, don’t.

Chances are, if your English teacher pointed out those examples, or you found them via a Google search, every other high school senior (and every school admission officer) has seen those essays too! 

Instead, dig deep and write your own amazing personal statement !

26. Don’t copy and paste

It’s completely fine to use the Common App to submit your personal essay to every school on your list (as long as they accept the Common App, of course). 

But for each college’s specific essays, tailor your essay to each school. Include specific details about each college that make you want to go there. And make sure your responses are appropriate to the culture of each college. 

If you do copy and paste your essays, be sure the essay doesn’t refer to the wrong school!

27. Don’t overuse the thesaurus

Everyone gets stuck using the same words over and over again, and it’s fine to check a thesaurus when you’re writing. 

But don’t use big words just in an attempt to impress the college admissions officers. Don’t use words you don’t really understand to try to sound smart.

For a great college application essay, write naturally in your own voice and let your true personality show. 

28. Don’t plagiarize

If you’re submitting someone else’s college essay as your own, you’re giving up the chance to share your unique story with the admissions office.

You’re also risking an automatic rejection if you’re caught!

29. Don’t be fake

Use your essay to tell the admissions officers what you want them to know about you.

Don’t try to guess what the admissions officers would like for you to say or try to be someone you’re not. 

Don’t invent a tragic event in your past, claim to have done hours and hours of community service you haven’t done, or exaggerate any aspect of your life.

Be authentic, write with your own voice, and craft an essay that stands out from the other applicants.

Simply take your time to craft a thoughtful essay that tells your personal story. Talk about your unique perspective on one specific experience in your life, using your authentic voice.

30. Don’t write a school essay

Your college admissions essay is not a five-paragraph expository essay that you would write for English class.

A winning college essay should have a beginning and an end, but the part in the middle should tell a good story, not make an argument in three points. 

The expository essay style of writing might be what your English teacher wants, but it makes for bad college essays.

For a college application, a well-written essay will examine your personal growth, your unique experience in life, and the different perspectives through which you see the world. And you should do this by crafting an intriguing story about a specific moment or experience that was significant to you.

31. Don’t Avoid feedback 

If you’re feeling stuck, feel free to ask someone else—a teacher, parent, family member, or friend—to read your essay. Getting feedback on your entire essay is the best way to get a sense of how admissions officers will respond to reading it.

Feedback does not mean that they tell you what to write or how to write it.

Feedback should mean getting input from someone else can help you learn where your essay veers off point or where you need to dig deeper to tell a better story. 

32. Don’t skip editing

Please allow enough time to write AND edit your essay. Ideally, you will write a first draft of your essay, then edit it, then get feedback, then edit it again, then write a final draft (then proofread it—see below). 

Expect to write at least three or four, and maybe many more, drafts of your college application essay. Your essay will improve with each round of editing.

The essay writing process can be time consuming, but in the end you’ll have a strong essay to share with college admissions offices, so it will be worth it!

33. Don’t overedit

What? Didn’t I just tell you to edit?

Yes, absolutely. Just be sure that after you’ve shown your essay to trusted readers and you’ve made your edits, your story still remains.

The essay should still have your voice and should tell the story you want to tell. 

34. Don’t skip proofreading

After you make your edits and write a “final draft,” you might want to click send and submit your essay. But not so fast! 

Take time to do a final proofread of your essay.

Better yet, ask a teacher, college counselor, or someone with excellent grammar and spelling skills to proofread your essay. Having a fresh set of eyes on your essay will help ensure it is error-free. 

35. Don’t just rely on Spellcheck

It’s really important to have an actual person proofread your essay.

Spellcheck and other editing software won’t necessarily catch grammar errors, typos, or poorly structured arguments.

It’s always a good idea to trust the final proofread of your essay to a person, rather than technology. 

36. Don’t submit your essay at the last minute

You never know when a website will get glitchy!

Don’t take a chance that the Common Application or an individual university’s website won’t act up at a crucial moment. Do your best to upload your college essay at least a day before it’s due!

The admissions process is stressful enough without adding in technical errors. Don’t risk missing the deadline by procrastinating!

37. Don’t submit an incomplete essay

When you’re in the Common App website or a specific college’s application portal, and you attach your admission essay, scan it quickly before hitting the submit button.

Be sure you attached the correct file or that the complete essay transferred when you copied and pasted it into the online form.  

It won’t matter if you write a great essay if you don’t submit it correctly!

Final thoughts on college essay don’ts and what not to write in your college essay

Personal essays are a key part of the college application process. College admissions counselors, especially at smaller colleges, use college essays to learn more about the applicants applying for admission at their school. 

An amazing college essay might not make up for bad grades or a lack of extracurriculars, but a poorly written essay may push your application into the reject pile. This is especially true now that test scores are usually optional.

Successful essays allow admissions officers to learn about your personal qualities, your take on global issues, and how you might contribute to campus life.

Writing a great college admission essay is the most important thing you can do to make a great impression on the admissions team.

After looking at so many college applicants, test scores, GPAs, and awards all blend together. It’s the personal essays that stand out when admission counselors are deciding which high school seniors will be accepted.

So, it’s worth taking your time to write the best college admissions essays you can.

By avoiding all these college essay don’ts, you’ll know what not to write in your college essay. 

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College essays matter. Here's how to write one that stands out | College Connection

Students facing the college application process typically dread one component: the Common App essay. 

Students are presented with six essay prompts, as well as a seventh option, which is “topic of your choice.” Students therefore have limitless possibilities for this essay which will be carefully reviewed by each college to which the student applies.

The goal of college admissions officers is to learn about the student who is applying: personal qualities, struggles, ambitions, priorities. On other parts of the application a student’s “data” is detailed. So, this is not the place to write about one’s SAT scores, GPA, or intended major, or to enumerate one’s activities. It is the place to write about an event, situation, or life circumstance that has influenced the student’s attitudes, goals, and perceptions of life.

The options are limitless. Students can write about life occurrences that impacted them: an illness, a learning disability, a relocation. They can use a sport, club, organization, or volunteer group as the overarching framework within which they learned important life lessons. 

More: The biggest key to college acceptance | College Connection

One student’s essay, which went viral after its author was accepted to a multitude of Ivy League schools, focused on lessons she learned from visits to Costco over the years. In short, students can write about anything that has impacted them – hopefully in a positive way.

Then, students face supplemental essays. Many colleges, including almost all the most competitive ones, require an essay that is specific to the school. Typically, the question is along the lines of, “Why do you want to attend this institution?” or “Why did you choose your particular major and how will our school prepare you to meet your future goals?”

More: These are the latest trends in college admissions | College Connection

Colleges are aware that students typically apply to 8 to 12 different schools, and they are trying to discern “demonstrated interest,” or, in other words, the likelihood of a student enrolling if accepted. So, students should utilize each supplemental essay as an opportunity to demonstrate their interest in the particular college, and should specifically state the courses, programs, study abroad options, internships, and any other characteristics that make the institution a perfect match for their college ambitions.

By showing enthusiasm for each school and sharing their attributes through the Common App and supplemental essays, students will greatly enhance their prospects of experiencing a successful college application process.   

Susan Alaimo is the founder & director of Collegebound Review, offering PSAT/SAT ® preparation & private college advising by Ivy League educated instructors. Visit CollegeboundReview.com or call 908-369-5362 .

Ultimate Guide to Writing Your College Essay

Tips for writing an effective college essay.

College admissions essays are an important part of your college application and gives you the chance to show colleges and universities your character and experiences. This guide will give you tips to write an effective college essay.

Want free help with your college essay?

UPchieve connects you with knowledgeable and friendly college advisors—online, 24/7, and completely free. Get 1:1 help brainstorming topics, outlining your essay, revising a draft, or editing grammar.

Writing a strong college admissions essay

Learn about the elements of a solid admissions essay.

Avoiding common admissions essay mistakes

Learn some of the most common mistakes made on college essays

Brainstorming tips for your college essay

Stuck on what to write your college essay about? Here are some exercises to help you get started.

How formal should the tone of your college essay be?

Learn how formal your college essay should be and get tips on how to bring out your natural voice.

Taking your college essay to the next level

Hear an admissions expert discuss the appropriate level of depth necessary in your college essay.

Student Stories

Student Story: Admissions essay about a formative experience

Get the perspective of a current college student on how he approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about personal identity

Get the perspective of a current college student on how she approached the admissions essay.

Student Story: Admissions essay about community impact

Student story: admissions essay about a past mistake, how to write a college application essay, tips for writing an effective application essay, sample college essay 1 with feedback, sample college essay 2 with feedback.

This content is licensed by Khan Academy and is available for free at www.khanacademy.org.