Going to Dartmouth is a privilege. Thousands of other students were denied the seats that we currently hold, and virtually all of us will be graduating with shiny Ivy League degrees that many of us hope will give us an edge in landing lucrative and prestigious careers. On the other hand, a bachelor's degree from any college has been catapulted from a means of academic accreditation to an absolute prerequisite for entering the white-collar job market.
This perspective merits concern. The U.S. Department of Education reported that tuition at the typical four-year public university increased 15 percent between 2008 and 2010. Despite rising costs, more students were willing to take out loans than forgo college for the 2011-2012 academic year, according to a study released by Sallie Mae. FinAid, an internet guide to college financial aid, estimated that total federal and private student loan debt hit the $1 trillion milestone in late 2011. While an educated citizenry is necessary to foster our culture and economy, the common view that college is a prerequisite for success is imposing financial strains on individuals and on our national economy.
While Americans with college degrees are faring better in the job market than those without, the type of work that the employed hold suggests a stark mismatch between popular perception and reality. According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, since the beginning of the recession, more than 700,000 bachelor degree-holders have been hired into "middle-education occupations," jobs in which only about half of existing employees have some college experience. In a lousy economy with a glut of graduates, less educated workers are being displaced by overqualified college graduates.
Yet convincing current high school students to forgo a four-year degree in our current competitive job market would be futile. Rather, we need to address the "credential creep" created by professions that seek to improve their images by increasing their licensing and degree requirements. The nation would be better served if the social emphasis were placed not on a diploma awarded according to a wide range of institutional standards, but rather on proficiency in a specific skill set developed through experience and confirmed by references or a relatively inexpensive short-term certification.
Even those already enmeshed in the elite college life should reconsider the value of a college degree. We worship college dropouts like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg as secular idols and industry game changers, yet these innovators are considered the exceptions. While our Dartmouth education is sure to enrich us as individuals, not everyone benefits equally from 12 academic terms at Dartmouth. We can only decide for ourselves if the benefits of a degree outweigh the money and hours spent on its pursuit.
Rinsai Rossetti '12 recently demonstrated that talent and commitment rather than a Dartmouth degree in creative writing could lead to her success. Her debut novel, "The Girl With Borrowed Wings," garnered praise from the Los Angeles Times, The Kirkus Review and The New York Times ("Q&A with Rinsai Rossetti '12," Sept. 18). In an email, Rossetti said, "Leaving university was the scariest and the best thing I've ever done. I'm proud of it, because that was how I made my life fully my own for the first time."
Of course, Rossetti had the appropriate goal and the skillset that allowed her to succeed without a college diploma. Many of us can't claim the same, and for those intending to go on to professional and graduate schools, a B.A. serves as a prerequisite and as a safety net. But we can all concede the reality that a college education is a tremendous investment of our time and money.
Our society needs a new paradigm that challenges the popular notion that a college degree is necessary for success, allowing the most driven, skilled and talented to bypass higher education. In a way, this system is already implemented through the Thiel Fellowship, in which 20 students under age 20 are offered guidance and $100,000 over two years in exchange for dropping out of college to pursue other work. Yet this is not enough. Social and financial support must also be provided to individuals on the opposite end of the social spectrum, to those who may elect to pursue a technical diploma in a demanded skill set, rather than a four-year degree. Perhaps the success of the degree-less would convince others that a four-year moratorium on entering the real world may not be the best method of utilizing personal and federal resources.