College: An Investment in Yourself

Information provided by Citibank and Yahoo

It's widely recognized that people with a college education get further in their professional life — more often achieving their career and monetary goals, than those without a college degree.

·    Education is an investment that pays for itself socially and professionally, giving you the opportunity to open doors that would otherwise remain closed. Chances are up to 30% greater that you will not face unemployment if you have a college degree.

·    Figures indicate the difference in yearly income between someone with a bachelor's degree and someone without can be over $14,000. A master's degree can up the ante by another $10,000, and a doctorate can get you roughly three times what that high school diploma will.

·    An American Council on Education study reported that a college graduate earns $600,000 more in his/her lifetime than someone with only a high-school degree.

·    College graduates may earn back as much as $30 for every dollar invested in higher education.

Graduates in 1999 earned record-high starting salaries, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) September Salary Survey. High-tech, consulting, accounting, and engineering firms are paying the most to new grads, but even liberal arts majors enjoyed a nearly 10 percent starting salary increase.

Participants in NACE's Salary Survey forecast a great year for starting salaries for the Class of 2003. And with employers increasingly concentrating their recruiting efforts on college campuses — college is clearly the way to go!

The evidence is clear: Education pays.