Spring is the season when high school students turn their attention to the tests that determine their college eligibility, and when parents consider how they will pay for a college education. College enrollment for students of all ages is increasing, and students now have the option of attending school in person, using television, through their jobs, or on the Internet. Yet this emphasis on college education does not address the question of whether everyone should go to college. This research considers the reasons that people attend college, the advantages to society for having a highly educated populace, and possible disadvantages.
People go to college for a variety of reasons. Some are interested in personal enrichment of the type that formerly accrued when colleges granted degrees in "liberal arts". At one time, the emphasis of a college education was to teach people "how to think" rather than to teach a specific skill; increasingly, however, college educations are focused on practical subjects that employers might require. Because of this, many students attend college to develop professional skills that will benefit them in the workplace. In many cases, employers will even pay for their employees to attend college when it relates to their job performance ().
Even when a college degree does not have an immediate application to a student's career, the long-term benefit of such an education can be significant from a financial standpoint. According to one study, those with a bachelor's degree earned more than $23,000 per year than those with only a high school education. Those with an advanced degree earned more than $40,000 per year than those with only a high school education (Gnuschke & Wallace 12).
A college education can provide advantages to individuals that move beyond the professional. Because colleges requir
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