Posts Tagged ‘college degree’
The Value of Today’s College Degree
According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, a survey conducted by Widmeyer Communication indicates that Americans are split on the current value of a college degree.
The question was, “Is a college degree as valuable as it was twenty years ago?” This would put us at 1992. Of those surveyed, 46% said a college degree is just as valuable, while 41% stated that it wasn’t. While those may seem like surprising numbers, 60% of those surveyed indicated that regardless of whether or not a college degree is as valuable as it used to be, it’s still a good investment.
Why might some view a college degree as being less valuable today than in 1992? There could be a variety of answers for this.
As of 2012, more than 30% of U.S. adults have a bachelor’s degree, which is a record in American history. As the New York Times article “U.S. Bachelor Degree Rate Passes Milestones” points out, this increase began in the mid 1990’s. So more people have a college degree now than in 1992. Does more people having a college education make it less valuable? Maybe.
On the one hand, recent college graduates looking for a job may feel like their degree isn’t anything that’s going to put them ahead of the game. With the competition all having a bachelor’s degree as well, it’s the work experience, internships, and other “add-ons” to the degree that will land you a position. In addition, as college graduates struggle to find jobs and pay off loans, many will find themselves working retail, food service, and other jobs they could have obtained without having gone to college. Based on a 2010 article entitled “The Great College Degree Scam” published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, as of 2008, out of the nearly 50 million college educated adults, 17 million were working in jobs that didn’t require a college degree.
On the other hand, if getting a college degree is the bare minimum requirement for so many jobs, getting a degree is all the more important. An employer is more likely to hire someone with a college degree over someone who doesn’t have one, even for retail and food service jobs. Having a degree can also be the difference between getting promoted to management and staying where you are.
One also needs to address the personal value of a college education. Those who’ve gone to college have a wide range of knowledge on more than just their field of study. They’re often more appreciative and accepting of diversity. They’ve learned to form solid opinions and ideas based on facts. College students know how to find the answers when they don’t know them. They can respectfully debate an issue. They can hypothesize. They can dream. College students in general are well-rounded people. Regardless of whether or not they currently have a job, or what that job is, the intellectual growth and personal development that comes with a college education is invaluable.
Looking to get your bachelor’s degree? Cappex is a great place to search for colleges!
Friday College Town Hall
In Friday College Town Hall, we post a question about college, and you leave an answer in the comment field. Today’s question:
Between 30-40% of incoming college freshmen are undecided on a major when they enter college. It’s also estimated that between 75-80% of students change their majors during their college careers.
Is it good to be open minded about your studies or does jumping around majors hurt you in the process?
Leave your answer in the comments below or tweet at @Cappex to chime in (we’ll post your answer below)!
Comments: 16 Comments »
Who Are America’s Undergraduates?
In the midst of all that hype of how you’re going to get into college and pay for it, one very important question gets lost: Who is actually going to college?
Although pop culture spins it a certain way, most students are not focusing all their attention on trying to get into the most selective private colleges in the nation with hopes of becoming the next president of the United States, CEO of some conglomerate that secretly owns everything, or just desperate to live up their wealthy family’s noble legacy and tradition. The vast majority of students just want a college education to help them make a better living than statistics tell them they’d have otherwise.
The Chronicle recently published an article explaining that most college students are actually attending community colleges and public four-year colleges and that a huge portion of those students attend school part-time–a fact that is often overlooked. That’s definitely a tidbit that’s left out of the popular American conception of the “college experience.” In fact, the American “college experience” of Greek Life, football games, partying is not what the actual college experience is for everybody. Students that come from families with smaller annual incomes are not as likely to go to a four-year selective college that offers that kind of “typical” college culture.
To help us grasp what the undergraduate landscape is accurately like, The Chronicle crunched numbers from 2007-8 in two data sets from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Here are some of the trends they found:
- 39.4% of undergraduates attend community college
- 37.5% of undergraduates attend public 4-year institution
- 16.5% of undergraduates attend private nonprofits
- 6.6% of undergraduates attend for-profits
- 25.1% of undergraduates annual income of parents and/or independents is less than $20,000
- 2.1% of undergraduates annual income of parents and/or independents is more than $200,000
Here is the breakdown of colleges attended by students from families earning less than $40,000:
Public 2-year – 50.0%
Public 4-year – 6.8%
Other public 4-year- 15.9%
Nonprofit research-extensive and liberal arts colleges – 1.6%
Other private, nonprofit 4-year – 7.0%
Private for-profit – 15.3%
Others – 3.4%
Do these numbers surprise you? What’s the college experience you want or have had?
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10 Largest Colleges in the U.S.
When deciding on a college, college-bound students have a cornucopia of factors to pick and choose from–the programs it offers, the location, the professors, the campus, the sports–there are just so many elements!
One of the most important factors that often gets overlooked, or is just misunderstood like your 8th grade goth self, is school size. The size of an enrollment class completely changes the culture of a school. Going to a university with 300 people in your freshman class is far different from going to a college with 10,000 people in your class. So if you’re looking for that big school atmosphere, today, we’re giving you a list of the ten universities with the largest undergraduate enrollment:
1. University of Central Florida
Enrollment – 45,398
Fun fact – UCF was founded with the goal to educate current and future students for promising space-age careers in engineering, electronics and other technological professions, thus serving as a support system for the nearby Kennedy Space Center. 3….2…..1…take off!
2. Ohio State University
Enrollment - 41,348
Fun fact - OSU was among the first group of public universities to raise a $1 billion endowment in 1999.
3. Arizona State University
Enrollment - 41, 256
Fun fact -To ensure college access to all Arizona residents, ASU has relatively liberal admission standards. Admission is ensured to Arizona residents in the top 25% of their high-school class with at a weighted secondary GPA of 2.5 GPA, or anyone with 24 credits of community college work with a 2.0 GPA minimum.
4. Rutgers University
Enrollment - 38,902
Fun fact – Rutgers is one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American Revolution. “Education is coming; education is coming!” – Paul Revere’s cousin.
5. Texas A&M University
Enrollment – 38,810
Fun fact -Texas A&M’s original mission was to educate males in farming and military technique. Because everybody knows, if you can plant a seed, you can grow an army.
6. Pennsylvania State University
Enrollment – 38,630
Fun fact – The 22,000+ student section at home football games is the largest concentrated student section in the nation…which is either a dream come true or your biggest headache.
7. University of Texas at Austin
Enrollment – 38,168
Fun fact - To show your UT pride, just show the Hook’em Horns hand signal to show you’re a Texas Longhorn. Make sure not to show it off in the wrong neighborhood though.
8. University of South Florida
Enrollment – 36,595
Fun fact – USF is also one of the nation’s top centers for the advancement in research of treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease.
9. Michigan State University
Enrollment – 36,389
Fun fact - East Lansing is pretty much all college town, with 60.2% of the population between the ages of 15 and 24
10. University of Florida
Enrollment – 33,628
Fun fact - Approximately 5,200 undergraduate students (or approximately 15%) are members of either a sorority or fraternity.
What’s your take? Is a big school right for you? Leave a comment!
Comments: 4 Comments »
The 10 Most Expensive Private Colleges
Last week we gave you the list of the ten least expensive private schools. Today, from US News, we bring you the 10 most expensive private colleges.
Before you take a looksy and get all choked up because your dream school costs $40,000 a year, remember that doesn’t mean you can’t apply for merit aid and scholarships to lower that price by whole lot.
Without any further delay, here are the top 10 most expensive private colleges:
1. Connecticut College
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $43,990
Cool fact: Chartered in 1911, the founding of the college was a response to Wesleyan University’s decision to stop admitting women.
2. Columbia University
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $43,304
Cool fact: Columbia is the oldest university of higher learning in the state of New York.
3. Vassar College
Tuition and fees: $43,190
Cool fact: Vassar has a student organization called The Barefoot Monkeys, which is aCircus Arts, Firespinning, and Juggling Club. You will not only be paying for a multidisciplinary education, but also some old school entertainment.
4. St. John’s College (MD)
Tuition and fees: $42,592
Cool fact: Founded originally in 1696 as a preparatory school, it received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest colleges in the United States.
5. Trinity College
Tuition and fees: $42,420
Cool fact: Trinity has a student to faculty ratio of 10:1.
6. Bucknell University
Tuition and fees: $42,342
Cool fact: The sixth president of the university, David Jayne Hill, had an epic mustache.
7. St. John’s College (NM)
Tuition and fees: $42,192
Cool fact: Both St. John’s College campuses are known for their Great Books Program where student-led discussion is the basis for most classes and teachers take a non-directive role.
8. Wesleyan University
Tuition and fees: $42,084
Cool fact: Wesleyan offers a BA/MA Program in the sciences leading to a Bachelor’s degree in the fourth year and a Master’s degree in the fifth year. Tuition for the fifth year of the Master’s degree is waived.
9. Bard College at Simon’s Rock
Tuition and fees: $41,990
Cool fact: Simon’s Rock is an “early college”, designed for students to enroll immediately after completing the tenth or eleventh grade, rather than after graduating from high school.
10. Carnegie Mellon University
Tuition and fees: $41,940
Cool fact: John Forbes Nash, the subject of A Beautiful Mind and winner of the 1994 Noble Prize in Economics, was a 1948 graduate.
How much does tuition price affect your college decision? Leave a comment!
Comments: 4 Comments »
4 Ways to Transition from High School to College
We know we’re preaching to the choir if we tell you that college is way different from high school. You’ve heard it a million times before: college means freedom, expanding your world-view, and most of all, time-management. Before you eject yourself out of your seat so you don’t have to hear another cliché piece of information about college, the following 4 pieces of advice are things that have actually come as surprises to incoming freshman.
So, here are 54ways to transition from high school to college:
1. Check in with your advisor every semester
In high school, it’s pretty clear what classes you have to take to graduate, and somebody’s more or less holding your hand along the way–and no we’re not talking about your homecoming date. Whether or not your high school sweetheart heads to the same college as you, you have to take your graduation requirements into your own hands. Too many college students coast through 4 years of school, assuming they’re on track to graduate and are unfortunately road blocked when they learn they never took that quantitative reasoning class they needed to graduate. How can one circumvent this? Meet once a semester with your advisor to make sure you’re on track. Requirements can get tricky and you want to make sure you fill them. Otherwise, it can cost you more time and worse, more money.
2. Find study buddies
Since you’re eventually going to major in a study, you’ll have the opportunity to deliberately take classes with certain students within your major. Instead of finding yourself lost and confused at midnight before an organic chemistry final, have your trusty study buddies by your side who can help you and vice a versa. Your peers are a great resource–so surround yourself with some study buddies you trust.
3. Mark test dates clearly in your calendar
In high school, if you were sick, no problem–you could make the test up at a later date. In college, this gets trickier. It really depends on the professor and the course. Never assume you’re going to be able to make-up an exam. Instead, you can usually find out early on what the exam schedule is, and if not, bug the teacher. If you have a conflict you can foresee early on, like a religious holiday, a wedding etc, talk to your teacher at the beginning of the semester. If you wait, it might look like you’re just trying to get some extra study days. Most of all, you don’t want to miss an exam you don’t have a conflict with just because you didn’t realize when it was scheduled!
4. Give everybody a chance
This goes under the umbrella of “expanding your horizons” but we figured it was too important a part of the transition from high school to college to leave it off. In high school, you could probably walk into the cafeteria, point at each table and say which clique sat where. In college, you have the freedom to completely avoid the clique mentally. Part of this is not prejudging everybody you know. Give people the chance to prove themselves as a friend before you brush them off. An open mind will turn college into a journey instead of closed off island.
Do you have any pieces of advice for transitioning from high school to college? Comment and share!
Comments: 2 Comments »
5 Tips for Undecided Freshman Registering for Classes
If you’re a recent high school grad getting ready for college next fall, you probably cannot contain your excitement. College is the reason you’ve been working your butt off the last year and a half–and sometimes way longer. You’ve put blood, sweat and tears into your college applications (hopefully just metaphorically), and in just a couple of months you will finally reap the benefits of your hard work.
Often times, college freshman are so excited about just being in college that they lose sight of their academic aspirations. There’s so many other things to worry about–your living situation, new roommate, that guy down the hall who gave you some spare quarters so you could do a load of laundry, the 15 or so a capella groups you’re auditioning for, and not to mention the football game on Saturday.
So when it comes time to register for classes, you might be thinking the following thoughts:
What should I do? I gave this college classes thing no forethought. I’m never going to graduate. What do I want to do with my life?!
If that’s the case, here are 5 tips to help undecided freshman decide what they should register for their first semester:
1. Get your general education requirements out of the way
Most colleges and universities require that their students take a core curriculum. A lot of times, these classes might not have anything to do with your interest or major–English majors might have to take some quantitative reasoning and biology majors might have to take a a fine arts credit. Whether or not you know what you’re going to major in, getting your gen ed requirements out of the way is a great strategy. You don’t want to have to take a physics class you’ve been dreading your second semester senior year.
2. Follow your passions
Even if you’re not sure what you want to major in, you still have subjects you’re passionate about or at least enjoy. Chances are, your genuine interests will lead you to your field of study.
3. Choose by professor
Sometimes you don’t choose a class for the subject matter as much as you do because of the world renowned professor who teaches it. There might be a beloved or even quite famous and influential professor who teaches at your college that you have the opportunity to learn from!
4. Word of mouth
If you chat it up with upperclassman, your RA, friends of friends who go or have gone to your school, you might hear about a must-take class. It could be super interesting, it could be a great way to get a gen ed credit taken care of, just keep your ears open for what students are saying.
5. The “cool” factor
While browsing through your college’s course catalog, you might come across a class that makes you say, “Woah, they teach that here?” It could be a class about the Beatles, Harry Potter or even Star Wars. You never know! If you’re undecided, following what piques your interest is a great way to get started.
Do you have any tips for undecided college freshman? Comment and share!
Comments: 1 Comment »
7 Weird College Majors You Could Study
Do words like business, philosophy, chemistry, literature, communications etc. just make you bored and want to fall asleep? Then you might want to take your college aspirations to a university that offers a different kind of major.
Take a look at these 7 out of the ordinary college majors:
1. Bowling Industry Management
This is what we’d call a turkey of a major. Learn to bowl without bumpers at Vincennes University.
2. Canadian Studies
This really shouldn’t be that weird, but it is! When have you ever learned anything about Canada in a class? It’s actually kind of sad. If this brings a sweet maple tear down your cheek, enroll now at SUNY Plattsburgh.
3. Professional Nanny
Thinking about a theater major? This would be the perfect minor to pair with it from Sullivan University. If you write some diaries, you might even get a movie deal where Scarlett Johansson plays you!
4. Poultry Science
Bawk, bawk bawk. You are not a chicken if you leave with a degree from North Carolina State University in poultry science. You are our hero.
5. Bagpipes
It always seems like there’s one sole bagpiper marching by his lonely self on a misty hillside after the morning rain. Join his cause and the bagpipe revolution at Carnegie Mellon University.
6. The Beatles
At the Liverpool Hope University, instead of yellow school busses they have yellow submarines and instead of normal school weeks, classes are 8 days a week. Does this sound up your alley (or Abbey Road?).
7. Sports ministry
Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi offers the dream degree for folks who love youth sports and want to be ministers. It’s a combo degree that sounds like holy home run!
Is there a college major you wish existed? Comment and let us know!
Comments: 1 Comment »
Which College Degrees Will Get You A College Graduate Job?
Times are tough and getting a job is even tougher.
Does having a college degree give you a better chance of getting a job?
Yes.
But, according to Course Hero’s recent blog post, graduates with certain majors are more likely to land a job than others. You can see from Course Hero how folks with undergraduate degrees are less exposed to unemployment here:
So, now you ask, “What should I major in so that I can get a job after college?”
We’re not going to tell you what you should do. After all, you should follow a path that interests you, but, if any of these careers fits your interest, you’re in luck. These careers are going through a growth spurt like a 13-year-old boy:
Registered nurses
Accountants and auditors
Post-secondary teachers
Elementary teachers
Computer software engineers
Network systems and data communications analysts
Dental hygienists
Medical scientists
Physicians assistants
Veterinary technologists and technicians
Veterinarians
Skin care specialists
Biomedical engineers
Financial examiners
Biochemists and biophysicists
Athletic trainers
If studying to become a registered nurse, accountant or one of these other jobs means less a chance for unemployment, would you do it?
And if you need some advice on choosing your career, check out some of Cappex’s words of wisdom on the subject here!
Comments: 1 Comment »
Studying abroad: Is it Worth Leaving Your College Campus for?
Getting into your college of choice might be one of your proudest accomplishments. Considering the time it took to find the perfect college for you, get the grades, score high enough on the ACT or SAT, send in all of your admissions materials and figure out how to pay for college, is it really worth it to leave your college campus for a study abroad program? An article in USA Today suggests that maybe staying on campus is as valuable, if not more so, than leaving campus for a foreign experience:
Academics:
Remember high school? You spent days polishing your application essays and nights worrying about a rejection letter from the university of your dreams. You’re at that university now, paying a small fortune for the small class sizes, award-winning professors and diverse, gifted classmates that you dreamed about two or three years ago. And now you’re trying to leave?You have probably already started taking those advantages for granted. Unless you’re considering a semester at Oxford, you might be unpleasantly surprised at the academics at your host school. There’s a reason foreigners come to America’s universities – they really are the best in the world.Classes:
As budgets are cut, so are class schedules. Unless you’re in the biggest major on campus, there are classes that are offered very infrequently – classes that you’ll miss out on. It might be the seminar on women in journalism or on South American popular revolutions. Ever since the spring of my first year, I had been yearning to take a class on natural language processing (don’t ask – it’s really nerdy). I would have missed out on the chance to take that course if I had gone abroad. The kicker is that your junior year is when you start having enough priority to register for the classes that filled up when you were a freshman or a sophomore.
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