Paying dearly for that degree

Conventional wisdom used to be that there were two investments worth stretching to the limit for: homeownership and a college degree.

They were such surefire wins, otherwise fiscally conservative folks didn't think twice about throwing everything they could into the pursuit of either.

The crash of 2008 made us all a little smarter about the perils of the first. And now the fallout is calling into question the wisdom of the second. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

The truth is college may not be such a wise investment for everyone.

Postsecondary enrollment has grown exponentially in recent decades - up 38 percent between 1999 and 2009 alone, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Just under 15 million Americans were enrolled in some type of degree-granting postsecondary institution at the turn of the millennium, according to the DOE. By 2009, that number exploded to 20.4 million - 41 percent of the country's 18- to 24-year-olds, compared with 36 percent a decade before.

The paper chase extends upward to higher degrees, as well. According to the DOE, enrollment in graduate schools and first-professional

programs shot up 73 percent between 1985 and 2009.

You know what else has shot up: Student debt. It's expected to top $1 trillion this year.

That's up 47 percent from a decade ago, when you adjust for inflation. Meanwhile, unemployment has never been higher for young college graduates - including those 2009 grads who owe an average of $24,000 in student loans.

It's a pending debt crisis that could make the housing crash look like an economic sneeze.

But even as that momentum builds, schools and parents continue pushing college for nearly everyone - including kids who aren't prepared, who can't afford it or who flat-out just aren't interested.

If you caught Gazette reporter Meredith Hines-Dochterman's article this week, you know there's a shortage of trained workers to fill openings in vocational fields. Maybe you noticed, starting salaries can be pretty competitive. Tell me: Where's the shame in that?

Too often, we confuse college preparedness and academic excellence. The proposal to require all the state's high school juniors to take the ACT exam is just one example.

We want our young adults to be well-rounded critical thinkers - and higher education can play a major role in that.

But sending every kid to college just for college's sake might not be all that smart.

Comments: (319) 339-3154; jennifer.hemmingsen@sourcemedia.net