Keep in mind that community colleges also have lower completion rates than four-year schools; it’s a different atmosphere, and may not offer the same level of rigor or the same amount of academic assistance for failing students. And some studies have suggested that low-income students do better when they start their academic careers at more demanding colleges and universities—schools that also offer more in financial aid.
Q: Don’t a lot of college students major in worthless liberal-arts fields?
A: The most popular degree fields at the UW, for example, are psychology, biology, communication, biochemistry, economics, political science and accounting. Also on the list: business and engineering degrees, mathematics and computer science.
University career experts say students get the most out of college if they choose a major they’re most interested in, and then learn how to translate their college work into marketable skills.
They also point out that the vast majority of people in the workforce with four-year degrees majored in the liberal arts. And they note that the workforce needs people who are experts in a wide variety of subjects.
Q: Universities should stop wasting money on fancy new buildings, climbing walls, health clubs and luxurious dorms.
A: Many critics of higher education have railed against the cost of new buildings.
UW has recently started replacing its aging residence halls with gleaming new buildings that feature private bathrooms in each room, even a restaurant and fitness center. The new dorms are in high demand among students. Rents are about average when compared to residence halls at other universities, but higher than at the UW’s older residence halls. A double room in an older hall costs about $5,500 per academic year, for instance, while a double in a new dorm costs about $8,300 per academic year. Over four years, that’s a cost difference of more than $11,000.
The lion’s share of capital project money that the UW has received in recent years went to renovations, roof replacements and minor capital repairs, and to one new building.
In recent years, the university has funded construction through private donations or by selling bonds and then paying them off through federal research grant money. The UW gets more federal research funding than any other public university in the U.S.
Q. College is not worth the money.
A: Every other week, it seems, another study comes out that shows the sharp wage increase and lowered unemployment rate that comes from getting a college degree. The most recent paper, by MIT economist David Autor, finds that the net cost of attending is now negative half a million dollars; in other words, not going to college will cost you about $500,000.
©2014 The Seattle Times
Distributed by MCT Information Services
