Job success is the most important factor in picking a college

by Grace

College presidents seem to agree with the general population that jobs are the top factor in determining the value of a college, but do not seem to share their concern about affordability.

Poll: Job Success Most Valued Factor in Picking Colleges.

 A new Gallup Poll has found that the factor adult Americans are most likely to say is most important in selecting a college is the percentage of graduates who are able to find a good job. That factor was picked by 41 percent of those polled, followed by the price of the college (37 percent) and graduation rates (16 percent). The wealthier that respondents were, the more likely they were to say that the job success of graduates was the most important factor.

When asked a similar question, college presidents seemed to rank price lower on the scale of importance.



2 Comments to “Job success is the most important factor in picking a college”

  1. I suspect there is some amount of survey bias happening here. People might pick these factors when faced with the question on a survey. But parents don’t often ask what percentage of kids actually graduate, in my experience.And if good jobs were really an important factor, why are so many kids flocking to majors like communications, sports management, or film/theater?


  2. Yeah, there are differences in what people say and what they do. We should remember that this is a survey of the general population, but parents/students make decisions based on their grades, their interests, and what schools will accept them. The top engineering schools probably have very good job statistics, but the typical kid is unlikely to be able to get in and/or to succeed there.



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