College Education Effects

It is feasible to tell if someone attended college or not. Many individuals who have completed their college education view it as moving them one step closer in life. Between someone who has completed their undergraduate education and those who have not, there is a significant difference. Even though this distinction might not be noticeable right away, it will eventually become clear if one invests enough time and interacts with the person in question. A college education has a way of altering a person’s mindset and how they view the world around them. In addition to the advantages for the individual, a college degree typically has effects on society as a whole. This paper will focus on identifying the cause and effect relationship of college education on both personal and societal basis by identifying its benefits.

According to Hill, Hoffman, and Rex, the amount a person earns directly depends on his or her academic attainment (4). People who have just completed their high school education have higher wages than those who have not achieved the same. The same can be said about those who have acquired some level of college education as compared to those who only have high school diplomas. The relationship can also be noted when comparing individuals with bachelor’s degree and those who just have college credits (Hill, Hoffman, and Rex 4). From an economic point of view, education and training is a way of improving the quality of human resource. People with higher education tend to have a comprehensive and improved skill sets that place them in advantageous positions in the contemporary labor market. The fact that they are considered an essential asset to the hiring organizations means that they have to be adequately compensated for their knowledge and skill set.

Secondly, college education tends to improve the general quality of life of the educated people. As identified above, college education tends to offer college graduates with the opportunity to earn significantly higher incomes than people with lesser academic qualifications. When an individual earns well, he or she is more likely to have improved standards of living. In addition to this, this academic achievement tends to change an individual’s perceptions of their health. Studies have shown that in each income group the number of people who see themselves as healthy raises with the level of education. The statistics indicate that seventy-three percent of college graduate with salaries ranging from thirty-five thousand to fifty-five thousand dollars tend to report being in good or excellent health as compared to sixty-two percent high school graduates within the same salary range (Baum and Payea 18).

Completing college education can also be highly beneficial to the society. Hill, Hoffman, and Rex posit that geographical regions with a high number of college-educated workers in their labor forces, tend to have higher wages than locations which have lower academic attainment (5). Higher salaries in such communities mean poverty levels are also lowered. Statistics indicate that the poverty rates in households with underage children are thirty percent of high school graduates and twenty percent of the homes of college graduates (Baum and Payea 17). Likewise, college education tends to cultivate diversity tolerance in the society. Attending college gives students the opportunity to interact with people from diverse backgrounds hence gaining the awareness that this proximity offers. It also provides people a cultural understanding, more comprehensive worldview, and sophistication that is reflected in the society they live.

Works cited

Baum, Sandy, and Kathleen Payea. The Benefits of Higher Education for Individual and Society. College Board, 2005, pp. 1-53.

Hill, Kent, Dennis Hoffman, and Tom Rex. The Value of Higher Education: Individual and Societal Benefits. Arizona, Arizona State University, 2005.