Scot Meyer’s July 2013 blog on MSN Money, “10 colleges least likely to pay off” reported on the return on investment of selected colleges. He simply compared the cost of a degree at each school with the expected lifetime income of a graduate. Each case revealed a negative dollar return on the investment.
Meyer raises a significant question about value and worth. What is a college education worth?
Certainly, colleges must do due diligence with regard to costs. But there are other numbers for parents to ponder when choosing a college for their children.
Each year approximately 400,000 students go to college. About 65,000 of those students enroll at a conservative, faith based school. Studies of the other 335,000 students who enter a public or secular private university turn up striking statistics. Of the incoming freshmen at secular schools who self-identify as Christians over half will not do so after four years. Steven Henderson did the research after sending his daughter to a non-faith-based school. He writes, “The painful memories have inspired me to dedicate much of my life to studying the impact of college choice on religious commitment” (see his web site: christianconsulting.net).
Another study compared faith based students attending a select group of 133 Christian colleges with students at non-Christian based schools. Those attending the non-Christian experienced a church dropout rate four times higher than those attending the Christian schools. The drop in prayer was seven times greater.
Scott Meyer correctly raises the issue of value and worth. Exactly how much is a life worth?
We regularly invest a higher dollar amount to gain more security. Many parents will spend more money to buy a safer car for their teenager or pay the higher bill to get the best protective gear for their student athlete or insist that the group their child travels with stay in more secure hotels despite the increased cost. We do it because we consider our children worth the investment.
The numbers reveal the differences between public or secular private universities and conservative faith-based schools. Christian education costs more (although perhaps not as much as is generally thought). In light of all the numbers, I believe Christian education is worth the investment. The ultimate return on investment is not a dollar amount, but a life well-lived.
Harold
Scott
As one who has attended both Christian and State school, I have made a discovery. The state school has a lower tuition but much higher cost of housing. The Christian school has the higher tuition but much lower cost for housing. I found that my time at OC was less than the state schools I have attended. Perhaps, 5-8%. This is my observation.
Depends on the goal doesn’t it? What is the goal of a person spending 4-5 years somewhere? That would be how you might approach worth and value.