5 reasons your child should go to college

What to say when your child asks, "Why should I go to college?"

By GreatSchools Staff

If your child ever asks, “Why should I go to college?” here are five reasons!

1. Make more money.

People who graduate from college make more money than those with just a high school diploma. A lot more money, actually. People with a college degree make around $1,100 a week. Someone with a high school diploma makes just $638.

2. Have more opportunity.

People who go to college open up their choices for jobs. Many jobs these days require a college degree. Plus, college graduates have less chance of losing their jobs. In 2009, there were 9.7 million unemployed high school graduates, compared with 5.2 million college graduates without jobs.

3. Make connections.

In college, students make new friends and other connections that will be helpful when it’s time to get started in a career. Those friends they make in college will help them get jobs, and these connections and networks will help them throughout their lives.

4. Live a healthier and happier life.

Studies have shown that college graduates are healthier and are less likely to get divorced. The divorce rate for college graduates who married between 1990 and 1994 is about 25 percent. That’s compared with more than 50 percent for those without a four-year college degree. Plus, people with just a high school diploma are nearly twice as likely to be in poorer health than college graduates.

5. Start a tradition.

If your child goes to college, your grandchildren will be more likely to go too: 71 percent of students with at least one parent who has a bachelor’s degree apply to college themselves. Only 26 percent of first-generation students (those with no parent who went beyond high school) apply to college.