If attending college were not associated with improved career prospects, it is likely that many who go to college now would not go to college due to the cost and time involved. Yes, education for education’s sake is desirable, but is it $80,000-$140,000 (in-state public) or $280,000 (high end private) more desirable, such that a typical middle income family (not the forum “middle class” who does not get any college financial aid) will be willing to pay that (even if discounted somewhat with financial aid)?
Yet he did choose a school whose curriculum includes pre-professional education that leads to a well defined career path, right?
Note that even those who choose liberal arts majors at not-pre-professionally-focused colleges may still be looking at pre-professional goals:
- Economics: substitute business major
- Math or statistics: aiming for quantitative finance
- Biology: convenient for pre-med
- Political science, English: popular pre-law majors for some reason
- English, history, math, etc.: preparation for high school teaching in that subject
- At the most selective private colleges, the college's prestige itself is an inside track to desired jobs.