What's a Degree Worth?

Wall Street Journal Article “What’s a Degree Really Worth?”

At least one member in the main stream media is questioning the assumption about the assumed value of a college education. But again this article does not go nearly far enough.

Just because there is a correlation between past college and higher salaries does not mean that one causes the other. Most of the media needs to study logic and statistics so they can understand the difference between correlation and causation. The data clearly shows that individuals accepted to an expensive elite school like Yale or Harvard that then choose to go to a less expensive state college or university do just as well financially as if they had graduated from the more expensive university.

What I have not seen is the data on financial success for those with the same IQ, and socio-economic background that have graduated from college versus those that did not attend college.

And most importantly the term “college” lumps all of these educations together at just the wrong time. It matters if the student studies a subject that is in demand (like engineering, science and accounting) or takes a “fun” subject like Sociology, Medieval German or Ethno-Musicology.