So youre thinking about not going to college. Its understandable.

More and more

people are opting out of college because they think they can do better on their own.
That they can build a rewarding and profitable career through non-traditional means. It
worked for guys like Steve Jobs and Richard Branson, so it will surely work for them.

But there is one, massive problem with this line of thinking: the statistics dont
support it.

Most of the evidence in favor of skipping college is anecdotal. Stories from a few
entrepreneurs who beat the system through hard work and about 10,000 lucky breaks.
But its this information that is so misleading for so many people. They look at a few
outlier situations and assume that anyone can do it that way.

Derek Thompson wrote in The Atlantic:

Take out that globe...and give it a spin. I challenge you to land on a region where
education gains aren't translating to productivity and income gains. The highest-
income countries have the highest rates of enrollment in secondary school and
the smallest share of informal employment that is vulnerable to an economic
 downturn. There is a cost to not educating young people. The evidence is literally
all around us.

To quote Cool Hand Luke: What we have here, is a failure to communicate.

So in the spirit of communication, we want to clear up some of the misinformation. Here

are 6 statistics that should change your mind about going to college.

These stats are drawn from the 2014 Pew Research about the cost of not going to
college.

STAT #1: 72% of Millennials Ages 25-32 Say Their

Degree Has Already Paid Off

If anything, you would expect Millennials to be the ones saying that college isnt
necessary. After all, they are the dreamers who have been told from a young age that
they are special and can do anything they want to. Theyve been nurtured on stories of
people who have fought the system and conquered. Of individualists who did things
their way, without any regard for the stuffy norms of society.

Katy Perry summed up the Millennial attitude when she belted, Baby youre a firework!

But it turns out that even fireworks need to go to college.

Almost 3 out of 4 Millennials who have gotten a college degree say that their degree
has already paid off, and another 17% believe it will pay off in the near future. Despite
the general dismissiveness toward college, it seems that its valuable after all.

STAT #2: College Grads Age 25-32 Earn $17,000 More

Each Year
Its really hard to argue with this one. Yes, there are the rare few who manage to make
millions without a degree, but they are the rare few indeed. The simple fact is that you
make more money when you go to college. You may disagree about the value of an
education, but money is an objective thing: you either have it or you dont.

Those who dont go to college dont have as much money.

This statistic should be front and center in your brain as you weigh the cost of skipping
out on college.

As the American Institute For Economic Research reports:

So, as tuition rates rise, income levels for those who do not hold a bachelors
degree are converging downward, while income levels for those with a bachelors
degree are diverging upward.

In Seinfeld, theres a scene where Jerry comes into his apartment and finds Kramer on
his sofa. The following exchange ensues.

Jerry: Are you reading my VCR manual?

Kramer: Well, we cant all be reading the classics, Professor Highbrow.

Skipping out on college puts you on the path to reading VCR manuals.
STAT #3: Millennials Without A Degree Are Three
Times As Likely To Say Their Job Is Just To Help
Them Get By

Image source

In the classic movie Office Space, Joanna and Peter discuss Peters job:

Joanna: So, where do you work, Peter?

Peter Gibbons: Initech.

Joanna: In... yeah, what do you do there?

Peter Gibbons: I sit in a cubicle and I update bank software for the 2000 switch.

Joanna: What's that?

 Peter Gibbons: Well see, they wrote all this bank software, and, uh, to save
space, they used two digits for the date instead of four. So, like, 98 instead of
1998? Uh, so I go through these thousands of lines of code and, uh... it doesn't
really matter. I uh, I don't like my job, and, uh, I don't think I'm gonna go anymore.

This hilarious discussion is a perfect example of working a job just to get by. Those
without college degrees often find themselves working soul-sucking jobs they hate.
They live from paycheck to paycheck, have almost zero job satisfaction, and work for
the weekend.

For the most part, building a satisfying career requires some sort of college degree.
Your job may not work in your degree, but a college education opens doors that wont
open otherwise.

STAT #4: Almost Four Times More Millennials Without

A College Degree Live In Poverty (22% to 6%)
Its hard to believe, but there are still many people in the United States who live below
the poverty line, and this number spikes for those who dont have a college education.
There are certainly other factors in addition to education that contribute to poverty, but
its clear that the path out of poverty almost always runs through college.

Those who have never experienced the cold touch of poverty tend to underestimate the
power of a degree. They have lived in relative comfort their entire lives, unaware that
the comfort is in large measure due to the education of those who cared for them.

STAT #5: The Monetary Value Of A High School

Diploma Is Falling
This is another hard and fast stat thats tough to argue with. Between 1965 and 2013,
the average value of a high school diploma fell from $31,284 to $28,000. Frankly, this is
pretty startling. This means that the average high school graduate made more during
the presidency of JFK than Obama.

Arne Kalleberg, the author of Good Jobs, Bad Jobs told NPR:

The blue collar jobs of yesteryear, which built the American middle class those
jobs have simply disappeared. The kinds of jobs that are being created are
relatively low-wage, low-skill jobs, such as fast food and big-box stores. And so
for most of Americans, we've seen a stagnation in wages and a decline in
purchasing powers.

If you neglect college, you are guaranteeing that you will make less income.
In fact, youre guaranteeing that youll make less than your dad made back in 1961.
Unfortunately, prices have gone up since then, which means you cant go down to the
corner store and buy an ice cream for a quarter (or whatever ice cream cost back in
those days).
In essence, high school graduates are living on an Andy Griffith salary in a Kardashian
world, which is terrifying in more ways than one.

STAT #6: The Unemployment Rate For Millennials

Without A College Degree Is Three Times As High
Than Those With A Degree (12.2% vs. 3.8%)
Not going to college is a great way to ensure you are unemployed at some point. Since
1965, the threat of unemployment has increasingly haunted those who have chosen not
to attend college, topping 12% in 2013.

One obvious reason is the increase of those with degrees. When the economy dips, as
it did during the Great Recession, the first to go and the last to be rehired will be those
without degrees. The stats bear this out. The average unemployed college graduate
spends approximately 27 weeks looking for a job, compared to 31 weeks for those who
choose high school only.

Think of a university education as a parachute of sorts. It wont totally spare from falling
when things get bad, but it will slow down your fall dramatically.

Making The Most Of Your Education

The Pew Research also highlighted some significant ways that students can make the
most of their college education.

Study Science Or Engineering

To be clear, all college graduates experience the benefits listed above. However,
degrees in science or engineering are much more likely to translate into a related job.
Apparently those who major in Native American Pottery Studies dont find it as easy to
land a job. Also, those who study science and engineering have less regrets about their
choice of major.

Get Work Experience In School

Those who wholeheartedly embrace the college experience may have more fun in
college, but theyre more likely to have regrets afterward. On the other hand, those who
get some real work experience during school find themselves better prepared for life
after the university. Moral of the story: its more valuable to get an internship than build a
float for the homecoming parade. This also points to the value of getting an online
education, which allows students to be more flexible and work while in school.
Study Harder

Leading the way in the Things Students Should Know category is studying hard in
school. 38% of the graduates wish they would have studied harder in school which,
frankly is something they should have known in the first place. But its a good reminder
nonetheless.

Conclusion
It turns out that, despite the insistence of some, college is still incredibly valuable. The
statistics prove that opting out of a university degree will dramatically hurt people in the
long run, damaging their earning potential, increasing the likelihood of unemployment,
and decreasing job satisfaction.

George Washington Carver said, Education is the key to unlock the golden door of
freedom. He may not have had access to the statistics, but it turns out he was right.