What college brings us? 1 The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. There has been a general consensus that all high school graduates ought to go to college because college will help them get a job, earn more money, become "better" people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don't go. However, given the huge cost of attending a university and the shrinking job market, should we not re-examine the case for college? 2 The reality is that college has never been magical for everyone. Now that close to half our high school graduates are attending college, those who don't fit the pattern are becoming more numerous. Excess college graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis. 3 Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that we revise our attitudes and reform the system. College may not be the best, the proper or even realistic place for every young person after the completion of high school. Critics suggest we may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. 4 Many students confirm that they feel compelled to go to college because of pressure from parents and teachers and stay there because it seems to be an alternative to a far worse fate. They quiver at the thought of the army or a dead-end job, and almost anything is better than staying at home. Potential college graduates say that they don't want to work "solely for the money" and that they want to do work that matters. Their motive is to help people and save the world, but the numbers are stacked against them. Not only are there not sufficient jobs in the world-saving fields, but in the current slowdown it has become evident that there never are enough promising jobs, presumably never will be, that require a higher education. 5 Let's acknowledge the facts. The New York Times reports close to 80 percent of new jobs can be performed by someone without a college degree. The US Department of Education estimates that only 62 percent of those enrolled in four-year institutions had earned a bachelor's degree six years later! This dilemma means that 38 percent have likely wasted time and accumulated debt! In addition, in the US, the cost of college has risen tenfold over the last 30 years, a ratio that is three times as much as general inflation over the same time period. It is clear, from an objective point of view, that many more students should be attending technical schools or two-year colleges to prepare for the jobs that will actually be available to them. 6 Of course, for many jobs a higher education is absolutely necessary and required. So, for some people, obtaining a bachelor's degree is but the first step of lifelong learning. For them, a university degree is essential. 7 There is little doubt that attending college has the potential of exposing young people to new ideas and relationships and helps promote their critical thinking skills. It also accords them a relatively safe environment for experimentation and exploration. Nevertheless, many college graduates report that what they learned on campus was better described as personal rather than academic development. Likewise, they report that the real value of college has more to do with developing their identity and practicing social skills than anything to do with the college curriculum. If you accept that the prime reason for going to college is to provide a period for pure learning and maturation of a young person, the decision is made easy as it becomes a question of affordability for the individual student. 8 Whatever college graduates want to do, most of them are going to have to adjust. During the upcoming years, according to the US Department of Labor, the biggest demand will be for jobs that do not need a university degree. Those students who have gone to college to become urban planners, editors, and college professors will have a hard time to find jobs related to what they have learned. They may well find that the only jobs available are sales agents, carpenters, mechanics or cable installers. In fact, having a university degree may be a barrier to getting these jobs. On the other hand, students who have graduated in specialized fields often find that they have learned a lot of things in classrooms that they will never use. One gloomy architecture student, who had already designed and built houses, said, "I don't want to appear cynical. It's more the degree you need, not the breadth of knowledge you learn getting it." 9 College is an outstanding place for that rare breed, those young adults who love learning for its own sake, who would literally rather read than bother to eat, and who like nothing better than writing research papers. But they are a minority, even at the famous colleges which attract and recruit the intellectually oriented. 10 In brief, our high school graduates need to evaluate the college equation more closely and critically, calculate it as a consumer product, and decide if the value proposal is worth the very large investment each student and family must make.