Myth #1: Paying for a Liberal Arts Education is a Lousy Investment

Many recent graduates lament that their first professional jobs have no intellectual content, aren’t challenging, and require little more than an eighth-grade education. You would expect then that some of these graduates would question the value of a liberal arts education. In our experience that rarely happens.
But ask the same question of many members of the general public—including parents—and you’ll find a great deal of ambivalence about the value of a liberal arts education. The difference has to do with how liberal arts graduates and non-graduates perceive the purpose of such an education. While liberal arts graduates see value in the breadth and depth of their education, those without such an education—often eying more tangible results—see wasted time and energy. Indeed the most often cited reason for a college education, according to a recent survey of readers by the Chronicle of Higher Education, was the ability to get good jobs—the kind that pay well. Education, then, becomes part of a money-in, money-out equation, and a diploma is akin to a stock certificate that should produce dividends as quickly as possible.

The cost of higher education in the 21st century epitomizes the expression “sticker shock.” Attend a highly selective liberal arts college today, and you’re looking at a tuition bill that’s equal to a hefty down payment on a very nice house. And the cost is skyrocketing. According to the College Board, from 1995 to 2005, average tuition and fees, after being adjusted for inflation, grew by 36% in private four-year institutions and by a whopping 51% in public four-year institutions. Even in-state tuition at public universities may set you back close to $40,000. So, is a liberal arts education really a good [or worthwhile] investment?
It’s clear that for most people there’s an economic advantage to a college degree. As Katherine Haley Will, President of Gettysburg College, stated in a 2005 interview with National Public Radio “Tuition remains a significant investment, but there are few better investments. Twenty years ago, the average college graduate earned 1.5 times more than those who did not graduate; today the average college graduate earns almost twice as much as non-graduates.”
The economic advantage, however, may not be apparent at the beginning of a liberal arts graduate’s career. And if you believe the only acceptable investment result is a high salary, you may be disappointed. What your investment buys you is opportunity: opportunity for prosperity, and–something much more important–opportunity to follow your passion, wherever it may lead.
Article courtesy of Life After Graduation, LLC and excerpted from Smart Moves for Liberal Arts Grads: Finding a Path to Your Perfect Career, by Sheila J. Curran (Executive Director, Duke University Career Center – Sheila. smartmoves@gmail.com and Suzanne Greenwald; Ten Speed Press, May, 2006

Originally posted by sarah ennenga