As talk of recession increases, I’m hearing more and more folks question the merits of higher education. I have to say, I completely understand where they are coming from…
While it’s true that many jobs require a college education – or beyond (like law) – increasingly, you can find a decent job without a college education. This is especially common in the tech industry where some knowledge in java or html can take you a lot further than biology.
Let me be clear: I believe in education. I am thankful to have been the first person in my family to graduate from college. I am especially proud to be the only person in my family – extended or otherwise – to graduate from law school. But education in the United States is expensive. Very expensive.
That’s why it was especially galling to witness an update on CNN the other day about how the credit crunch was hitting student loans. With the average cost of attending a public university reaching $16,000 per year and the average cost of attending a private university reaching $33,000 per year, that places a real burden on American families. The expert’s answer? Try to get a grant or scholarship. Apparently, it’s just that easy.
As a good student who relied upon scholarships, grants and yes, a whole lot of loans, it’s interesting to me how many folks just don’t “get” how very expensive it can be to attend college and graduate school – just like that expert who thought that a grant or two would make all of the difference. In fact, many of the folks who point fingers at lawyers like me and whisper about how rich we must be, clearly don’t understand the struggles of paying down hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of college and grad school loans. And our tax code? It allows just a tiny little bit of a deduction for the mountains of interest on these loans – far less than the other investment in young taxpayers’ lives: their homes.
So is it worth it to go to college and law school? I have some thoughts about that for another post…
thank you