The Great College Hoax

Forbes has an excellent article on the merits of college – and taxpayer subsidies of higher ed – even as Governor Rendell proposes legalized video poker to put more kids into college:

College graduates will earn $1 million more than those with only a high school diploma, brags Mercy College radio ads running in the New York area. The $1 million shibboleth is a favorite of college barkers.

Like many good cons, this one contains a kernel of truth. Census figures show that college grads earn an average of $57,500 a year, which is 82% more than the $31,600 high school alumni make. Multiply the $25,900 difference by the 40 years the average person works and, sure enough, it comes to a tad over $1 million.

But anybody who has gotten a passing grade in statistics knows what’s wrong with this line of argument. A correlation between B.A.s and incomes is not proof of cause and effect. It may reflect nothing more than the fact that the economy rewards smart people and smart people are likely to go to college.  …

Lacking honest input, three-quarters of high schoolers still seek to go on to college, many deluded about the financial prospects it holds … Half of students entering college never earn a degree. Six in ten African-Americans depart without one.