<p>Some pictures and numbers....</p>
<p>http:chuckgoose.posterous.com/</p>
<p>can't provide the link...</p>
<p>forget it.</p>
<p>sorry</p>
<p>OK…this should work.</p>
<p>[Infographic</a> of the Day: Is College Really Worth It? | Not Quite Conversation | Fast Company](<a href=“http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/infographic-day-college-really-worth-it]Infographic”>http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/infographic-day-college-really-worth-it)</p>
<p>It does.</p>
<p>Here is the link you are looking for.</p>
<p>[Is</a> College Really Worth It? (@fastcompany) - Gose Stories](<a href=“http://chuckgose.posterous.com/is-college-really-worth-it-fastcompany]Is”>http://chuckgose.posterous.com/is-college-really-worth-it-fastcompany)</p>
<p>I need to see him cite where he got some of this stuff because I am having a really difficult time believing parts of it.</p>
<p>Oops, posted at the same time as you</p>
<p>The sources are at the bottom of the page…in teeny-tiny writing. </p>
<p>I see Business week.</p>
<p>Maybe some government figures.</p>
<p>My eyes can’t read the sources.</p>
<p>Some interesting numbers…</p>
<p>"1 out of 3 college students drop out after the first year.</p>
<p>The average starting salary of Yale grads was $56,000 ( I don’t know the base year).
The average salary of U Conn grads is $49,600.</p>
<p>1 out of 5 studetns fail to properly balance a checkbook.</p>
<p>1 out of 2 students fail to correctly analyze prose like news editorials.</p>
<p>57% of students require 6 or more years to finish their degree.</p>
<p>2/3 of all students graduate with debt. Average debt is over $23,000.</p>
<p>28% of graduates delay in having children from debt.</p>
<p>39% of graduates say it will take them at least 10 years to pay off debt."</p>
<p>The data offered don’t address the point of the article.</p>
<p>???</p>
<p>The median salary for a male with a bachelor’s degree is $50,916.
The median salary for a woman with a bachelor’s degree is $41,000.</p>
<p>dstark, this is the list of sources (it will take my eyes a bit more time to get the exact links, so please be patient with me :)):</p>
<p>Nces.ed.gov
Payscale.com
Businessweek.com
WSJ online
Campusgrotto.com
USA today
Marketingcharts.com</p>
<p>BunsenBurner…thanks…</p>
<p>My eyes are starting to go…which is a bummer.</p>
<p>I would have to agree that some of the data is irrelevant to the question “Is college worth it?”</p>
<p>For example in 2006, the median salary of a male with an HS diploma was 30,000, and it was 50,000 for a male with a degree. In light of that I think college is worth it. All they give is the income for people with college degrees. How does that help us make a decision?
<a href=“http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=77[/url]”>Fast Facts: Income of young adults (77);
<p>Also the comment about the Yale grad taking 17 years to make up the difference, I plan on working for 40ish years give or take a little. That does not phase me.</p>
<p>Do you go to Yale, firehose?</p>
<p>firehouse, you’ve got sharp eyes :)</p>
<p>The writer of the article isn’t trying to come up with an answer …just information and questions. The reader comes up with his/her own answer.</p>
<p>Firehose, I love your chart. Thanks. I can’t help but notice that real earnings are falling for college graduates now.</p>
<p>It’s been a bad last 10 years.</p>
<p>Or is that a bad 25 years?</p>
<p>Some of the links:</p>
<p>[CampusGrotto</a> - Most Expensive Colleges for 2009-2010](<a href=“http://www.campusgrotto.com/most-expensive-colleges-for-2009-2010.html]CampusGrotto”>America's Most Expensive Colleges - CampusGrotto)</p>
<p>[Educational</a> Attainment](<a href=“http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html]Educational”>http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educ-attn.html)</p>
<p>[College</a> Enrollment and Work Activity of 2008 High School Graduates](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm]College”>http://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm)</p>
<p>[Frequently</a> Asked Questions About College Binge Drinking](<a href=“http://www.alcoholpolicymd.com/alcohol_and_health/faqs.htm]Frequently”>Frequently Asked Questions About College Binge Drinking)</p>
<p>[College</a> Students Spend 12 Hours/Day with Media, Gadgets](<a href=“http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/college-students-spend-12-hoursday-with-media-gadgets-11195/]College”>http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/college-students-spend-12-hoursday-with-media-gadgets-11195/)</p>
<p>more is coming…</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/[/url]”>www.nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.payscale.com%5B/url%5D”>www.payscale.com</a></p>
<p><a href=“Businessweek - Bloomberg”>Businessweek - Bloomberg;
<p>trying to get the WSJ one…</p>
<p>I also noticed that the cost of college is discussed, but not the financial aid involved. For many low-to-middle-income students, Yale may well be cheaper than the flagship state school.</p>
<p>To answer your question dstark, I’m a Stanford student so the same principle applies. However, I have a suspicion that the author choose Yale since they have the lowest median income upon graduation (out of HYPS).
[Top</a> US Colleges ? Graduate Salary Statistics](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/top-us-colleges-graduate-salary-statistics.asp]Top”>http://www.payscale.com/best-colleges/top-us-colleges-graduate-salary-statistics.asp)</p>
<p>This is no attack on Yale, it is probably just due to the type of majors that are common at Yale. Notice that the two highest starting salaries come from MIT and Harvey Mudd, the two schools with the highest percentage of Engineering majors. Picking Yale helps the authors case.</p>
<p>On a different note, I think this question can be interpreted in a different way. I have been looking at it under the light of “Is College worth it (for the individual)?”. But if we view it as asking “Is College worth it (for society on a whole)?”, I think it becomes far more interesting. Nearly everyone will admit that for people who are willing to work hard and learn college is defiantly worth the investment, but what about people who are less motivated? From and economic perspective, does it make sense to allocate resources to these people’s education?</p>
<p>I have no idea what the answer is to the above question. I do not have the data or the ability to conduct a marginal analysis of our post secondary education system. Obviously, the 9 billion in waist is not good, and there are a lot of people at college who should not be there, but at the same time how would someone propose to get rid of all of the lazy people and keep all the hard working ones? Where would some one draw the line between who gets to go to college and who does not? Also, how would someone assess the benefit of having an educated populace, which would not be taken into account in an economic analysis?</p>
<p>Your questions are very good. Hard to answer.</p>
<p>Stanford is a great place.</p>
<p>I’ll offer my experience: My older son is what is called “learning disabled” or maybe is, or was — depends on what teacher I talked to. 
Anyway, he wasn’t much of a student, but smart (“gifted-ld” don’t know if they still call it that, probably not). But he loved the real world, the working world–always had a job. Started an internship after freshman year of college, worked there holidays and summers all through college (state school) and was now hired full-time after graduation (50k a year, full benefits). Of all his friends, all of them “gifted,” not a one has a job or any chance of a job lined up. Obviously, he already has a leg up on all those kids. He’s also working to have the company pay for at least part of his MBA. It’s all about the individual and there are endless dimensions to personality and ability other than book smarts.</p>