Poll: Americans torn on value of college education

Is a college education worth the cost?

According to many Americans, maybe not.

Americans are split when they weigh the expense and benefits of the college experience, according to a national survey conducted by Marist Poll and Point Taken. As the costs of four-year colleges continue to rise, more than three in four Americans consider higher education to be necessary, but the same amount consider the price to be out of reach for most U.S. families.

Seventy-seven percent of those polled perceive a college degree to be crucial to future success, and the same amount thinks a college degree is the equivalent of a high school degree for past generations. Though it is still the majority, only 55 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of parents, think college is worth the cost.

Hudson Valley millennials are feeling the pinch

The cost of education is weighing heavily on the minds of some parents and prospective college students. To cut down on education costs, City of Poughkeepsie resident Melissa Whitaker says she is trying to encourage her children to either attend community college or a SUNY school for a couple of years before moving on to a four-year private school.

“Unfortunately, my high school senior is toiling over which college he is going to because his first choice ... offered him about 30 percent of the tuition in grants and scholarships,” Whitaker said. “The remaining would be about $37,000 a year that we would have to take a loan out for. That is a daunting number to me because I have three other children that will also be going to college within the next six years.”

Sixty percent of Americans believe jobs are limited for those without a college degree. However, 42 percent believe learning a trade or skill provides greater earning potential than a college education.

Young adults with a bachelor's degree earned nearly 66 percent more than those with only a high school degree in 2013, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. The median earnings for young adults with a bachelor's degree were $48,500, compared with $30,000 for those with a high school degree and $37,500 for those with an associate's degree in 2013.

But that added income college grads earn may be spent covering the cost of student loans payments.

VIDEO: Debt, low wages force college graduates back home

William Gunnar Truitt, a junior at Marist College, said he made an effort to apply for as many scholarships as he could to keep his debt down.

“I made my decision to attend Marist because I had received several generous scholarships that greatly reduced the cost of attendance, and it also provided me the ability to commute back and forth to school without having to pay the $12,000 in room and board costs,” Truitt, of Hyde Park, said. “However, had those scholarships not been available to me, I would have not been able to afford four years at Marist, and would have therefore went to (Dutchess Community College) for the first two years to save money.”

Amanda J. Purcell: apurcell@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4807; Twitter: @amandajpurcell