OPINION:
Dear college applicants: You don’t need an Ivy League degree to build a successful and financially secure future. The truth is, the six-figure price tag of an “elite” college could delay your dreams of owning a home, starting a family and building real financial independence.
If you want this future, you have to be able to afford it, and that means making smart decisions now. Your college search must begin with two priorities: academics and affordability. A degree from a public university can provide serious academic rigor and strong career preparation and give you the most bang for your buck without chaining you to decades of monthly loan payments.
The idea that an elite degree is a golden ticket is outdated. It will not pay your rent, boost your credit score or help you settle down to start a family, but crushing debt can hold you back from all three. When you tour campuses, look past the aesthetics and amenities and look toward your career prospects and financial future.
Choose a school based on academic rigor and affordability. Choose a major that teaches real skills and leads to a career. Choose a path you can build a life on.
I’m living proof that this is a winning formula. Today, I’m blessed to work my dream job as a reporter in Washington and appear on national news networks, but none of that came from an ivy tower. When choosing a college, I tinkered with the idea of taking out student loans to attend my dream university, but I ultimately turned down my list of out-of-state acceptances.
Instead, I made the logical financial decision to attend a public university in my home state that combined rigorous academics with affordability. I earned a full scholarship, worked through school and graduated with zero dollars in debt. The decisions I made at 18 are paying off big time, and the data backs it up.
New college rankings from the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal grade the University of Florida, my alma mater, as the top school for merit, free speech and value of a degree. The top 10 list is dominated by Southern public universities such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Clemson University, the University of Georgia and Florida State University. Many offer in-state tuition of less than $10,000, providing students a fiscally responsible option.
Meanwhile, the Ivy League’s eight institutions landed at an average rank of 42 on the list, with an average price tag of $67,600 per year. Worse, today’s elite campuses are still overrun with diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucracies and curricula that prioritize ideology over real-world skills. Students are being sold ideological degrees at Wall Street prices that do little to prepare them for the workforce or society.
Choose a degree that will provide you with real-world skills that make you more competitive in the job market. At the Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform, we have reported that social science programs produce some of the lowest wages because they often focus on ideology rather than applicable skills. Meanwhile, engineering, finance and business programs produce graduates who are career-ready and more competitive in the market, leading to higher wages.
Consider the cost of the degree, whether graduate school is necessary and the total debt load, and then compare that to likely salaries. You wouldn’t pay $60,000 for a car that doesn’t drive, so you shouldn’t pay it for a degree that doesn’t hire.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha, your American dream starts with affordability and real skills. Choose the path that builds your future, not your debt.
• Emily Sturge is a reporter for Campus Reform.
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