Want to avoid college debt? Don’t cut back on the time you spend at college. Instead, pick a school that does not cost so much. President Obama’s new nominee to be chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Alan Krueger, co-authored in 1999 a paper, “Estimating the Payoff to Attending a More Selective College,” showing that expensive big-name schools add little if any value to a college education. He and co-author Stacy Berg Dale demonstrated that the character traits that bring success — such as persistence and good humor — produce just as much income with a degree from Delaware State as one from Cornell."
Jay Mathews
Bad Ways to Cut College Costs
Janet says
That study does not show what it is often reported to show. http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/08/15/does-where-you-go-to-school-matter-and-why-reporters-get-this-wrong/
There is a difference between a degree from Delaware State versus one from Cornell. It defies common sense to say otherwise. According to Cal Newport, the study itself compared very competitive colleges with the the most competitive colleges. In other words, better schools versus the best. Not average schools versus best. And the people who went to the best schools had higher salaries.