At some point, your teen may ask, 鈥淲hy should I go to college?鈥� When they do, here are five reasons for college to share with your child.
-
Make more money.
People who graduate from college make more money than those with just a high school diploma. A lot more money, actually. , people with a college degree made around $1,334 a week. Someone with a high school diploma earned just $809.
-
Have more opportunity.
People who go to college open up their choices for jobs. Many jobs these days require a college degree. Plus, college graduates have less chance of losing their jobs. As education levels go up, unemployment rates go down. In 2021, for , but it was only 3.4 percent for college graduates.
-
Make connections.
In college, students make new friends and other connections that will be helpful when it鈥檚 time to get started in a career. Those friends they make in college will help them get jobs, and these connections and networks will help them throughout their lives.
-
Live a healthier and happier life.
Studies have shown that college graduates are healthier and are less likely to get divorced. There’s a well-established link between more education and better health: high school graduates are nearly twice as likely to be in poorer health than college graduates. Also, according to a , the divorce rate for college graduates is about 26 percent, compared to 43 percent for high school graduates.
-
Start a tradition.
If your child goes to college, your grandchildren will be more likely to go, too: 71 percent of students with at least one parent who has a bachelor鈥檚 degree apply to college themselves. Only 26 percent of first-generation students (those with no parent who went beyond high school) apply to college.
