Does a College Education Pay Off?

By SAM URETSKY

The librarian rides on a bicycle
The bricklayer drives a new Nash
The former has high psychic income
But the latter gets paid off in cash
(Anon, American folk song – Nash was a brand of automobile that was discontinued in 1957.)

“Stay in school and get a good job" The origin of the phrase isn’t known, but it’s probably true if the school happens to have "medical" in its name.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for an MD is $229,300 per year, although with a residency in some specialties, that can go to an extra $100,000. In contrast, the BLS projects salaries in the $60,000 range for skilled trades such as electrician, and plumber.

While the CEO of a Fortune 500 company may have a compensation package worth millions, US News’ listing of the highest paying jobs available to people without college degrees tops out at Patrol officer with a median income of $64,610 and the Executive Assistant to the CEO can expect $62,060, although the number of openings for these jobs is expected to decline.

If your college education isn’t directed towards a lucrative occupation, the choice of college may make a difference. The top ranked national university, according to US News, is Princeton, where tuition and fees are estimated at $59,710 per year. Since the magazine has changed its formula for rankings, students at Harvard or Yale might want a transfer. While the United States Naval Academy is ranked at #3 among liberal arts schools, the salary of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is only about $115,000/year, although the school does offer free tuition and the job has a number of free benefits.

In contrast to the US News convoluted approach to rating colleges, the Wall Street Journal takes a more pragmatic approach – how long does it take for a student to pay off their student loans. educationdata.org (https://educationdata.org/average-time-to-repay-student-loans) reported that 10 years is the ideal timeline for paying off student loan debt according to financial experts and the US Department of Education (ED). In practice, it takes borrowers closer to 20 years to pay off their student loans.

While US News has a ranking of Best Value Schools, headed by Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, WSJ, which has been described as "the house organ of the ruling class" has a table of schools based on the time it takes for students to pay off their net price. The WSJ explains that "Net price is the average overall cost of attending the college for students who receive federal financial aid, including tuition and fees, room and board, and books and supplies, taking into account any grants and scholarships."

While Princeton may be the best university overall, it takes students six months after graduation to pay off net costs. That’s based, at least in part, on what a Princeton graduate can be expected to earn compared to a student with a high school diploma. While that is dramatically shorter than the 10 year goal, but it does show the impact of a Princeton diploma compared to the position of Tulane University graduate at 4 years 10 months. The top spots went to Baruch University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology which were tied at two months to payoff.

Baruch is part of the University of the City of New York, which is one of the most affordable and high quality public systems in the country.

Colleges at the high end of the best-value list managed to keep costs low while leading graduates to high income careers. "Baruch boasted the lowest net price of any ranked college, at an estimated $7,744 for four years, and a $45,078 boost in median salary 10 years after enrollment, bigger than the boost for three-quarters of the schools in the ranking."

The status of major universities is likely to change with the discontinuation of legacy admissions – easing the path to admission to children of donors and alumni. Based on the social mobility rankings, public universities take most of the top spots, while universities populated by children of people who endowed a computer lab or a new dormitory didn’t gain social status through an Ivy.

Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sam.uretsky@gmail.com

From The Progressive Populist, November 1, 2023

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