Is The Tassel Worth The Hassle-Milo Jerosh (1)

​ I​ s the Tassel Worth the Hassle?
Milo Jerosh

​Economic Benefits of College

Juniors and Seniors in High School start to make choices that will affect the rest of their lives.
College will become a constant thought in any student's mind, but the last two years of high
school is where it becomes more real. Grades become less of “I want to do well for myself” and
more “I need my transcript to look perfect so I can attend a good college”. Every teacher will
recommend students to make the decision to further their education, as well as parents and
relatives. Students are given many lectures on why they should and the benefits from it. The
most apparent reason for going to college is being able to receive a job after. According to the
Washington Post article, “Don’t believe the haters” (1),benefits have been going up since the
1970s while unemployment rates are going down. With an average unemployment rate of 4.1%
of anyone with a bachelor's degree or higher, this brings the entire rate down significantly. Also,
in the article, “College graduates non-recession” in the Washington Post, employment rates for
college graduates rose during the recession, most notably college educated women. This is the
most obvious reason for going and one of the most common arguments parents give their
children. From personal experience, parents want you to get out and make a life for themselves.
The “Pew Research Center” has found that 18% of high school graduates opposed the 12% of
college grads at home. College seems to be the number one recommendation for any high school
graduate, and is almost frowned upon if you choose not too, unless it’s to go into the military or
trades. The benefits seem to outweigh the bad in a number of ways, but not everyone sees it that
way.

1) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2012/10/05/dont-believe-the-haters-coll
ege-is-a-great-deal-and-its-getting-better/

​Potential Problems From Attending College

Even with the most persistent parents and determined attitude, the same topic is brought up to
every student regarding college: Debt. College debt is a nationwide problem that has created
doubt in a lot of people's heads, and that is a valid argument on why it may not be worth it to
people. Some people try to push past the issue and just see the facts, such as the U3
Unemployment by Education chart, how high school graduates with no college spiked up to
about 11% unemployment in the 2009 recession, while college grads were able to only spike up
to about 5% (see chart below). They see this as a win, which it is, but this is just a chart. There is
a lot more to college than just the benefit of having a good paying job, it’s the getting to that
dream job that has a huge toll. CNN did several interviews with former college students where
they discuss why they don’t think their degree is worth it. Saniquah Robinson (see photo) has a
Masters in Health Science from Chatman University as well as a Bachelors in Psychology from
Temple University. She states that even after 3 years of having a Masters, she still cannot find a
job in the Medical field, only making $19/hour in contract work. She has $82,000 in debt from
her education. An argument could be made that a state or community college is a more
financially stable decision. However, Jason Chura graduated from State University of Alabama
with a Bachelor's in Journalism. He has $80,000 in debt and stated that he can’t support himself

on a job in his desired field and is currently working in
the customer service industry. An underlying cost in the
college experience is the opportunity cost, what you could
be making instead of attending. You are choosing to
possibly have a better outcome after graduation than
making wages without accumulating debt.

Conclusion

I believe both sides have their potential issues, there is no correct answer in this situation. We
have documented evidence that you are less likely to be unemployed and even live longer
(Washington Post by Sarah Kliff, 2012) than those who choose to not attend. Making this life
long financial decision is worth it to a lot of people and are happy to make that sacrifice if it
means being employed that pays well. On the other hand, people who did make the decision are
regretting it and are warning others that it isn’t just a ticket to financial stability. The graphs and
charts will show you that overall it will be all worth it, but ask the people in those statistics. Are
they happy with their degree? Are they reaping the benefits? “Is the Tassel Worth the Hassle”
should be a question any junior or senior should ask themselves, for themselves, not teachers or
parents. Do they understand their future may not be as pretty as people are making it seem?
Understand that if they follow through they can be in the career of their dreams, but with a
devastating cost? Everyone is gonna have a different opinion and thought process, college can be
the right answer for some, but wrong for others. It really depends on the answer to the question
“Is the Tassel Worth the Hassle?”