yahoo-finance | The U.S. is home to some of the greatest colleges and
universities in the world. But with the student debt load at more than
$1 trillion and youth unemployment elevated, when assessing the value of
a college education, that’s only one part of the story.
Former Secretary of Education William Bennett, author of Is College Worth It,
sat down with The Daily Ticker on the sidelines of the Milken
Institute's 2013 Global Conference to talk about whether college is
worth it.
“We have about 21 million people in higher education, and about half
the people who start four year colleges don’t finish,” Bennett tells The
Daily Ticker. “Those who do finish, who graduated in 2011 - half were
either unemployed or radically underemployed and in debt.”
That average student loan balance for a 25-year-old is $20,326,
according to the Federal Reserve of New York. Student debt is second
largest source of U.S. household debt, after only mortgages.
Bennett assessed the “return on investment” for the 3500 colleges and
universities in the country. He found that returns were positive for
only 150 institutions. The top 10 schools ranked by Bennett as having
the best "ROI" are below (for the full list he used, click here, and for the latest figures, click here):
