More than half of Americans think college degrees are waste of money: Poll

More than half of Americans believe that obtaining a college degree is not a good investment, according to a recent poll conducted by the Wall Street Journal and the University of Chicago NORC. Out of those surveyed, 56% viewed a college degree as a bad investment, while only 42% still see the value in pursuing higher education.

The poll revealed that young adults in the 18 to 34 age range had the highest level of skepticism towards college degrees. The decline in confidence was partly driven by women and older Americans, with confidence among women dropping from 54% to 44%, and for those over the age of 65 from 56% to 44%, in comparison to the 2017 poll.

However, Democratic voters with a college degree earning over $100,000 per year still saw value in their higher education.

The survey result indicates that Americans increasingly view college degrees as not worth the cost due to graduating without specific job skills and with a significant amount of debt to pay off. This decline in confidence in college degrees has been ongoing since 2013, with 53% of Americans supporting degrees and 40% not supporting, but the numbers have continued to shift downward since then. As of 2021, the number of those in favor of college degrees is only 49%, and those who do not support it make up 47%.

This doubt in college degrees can be attributed to the burden of student loan debt that has reached $1.7 trillion, as well as the current graduation rate of only 60% among four-year colleges. Enrollment in alternative credentials, including apprenticeships, increased sharply, and enrollment in U.S. colleges declined by about 15% over the last decade.

The pandemic and the 2008 recession compounded the challenges for college graduates in finding relevant jobs, which has only added to the skepticism of the degree’s usefulness.