New College Consensus poll shows most Americans think
traditional 4-year college best route to satisfying career, but
nearly half expect importance of traditional college education to
decline over next decade, with trade school offering an equal or
better return on investment.
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., Aug. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- College Consensus, a comprehensive resource for
college rankings and information, has released results of a new
poll asking Americans about their confidence in higher education.
Their findings can be seen at:
https://www.collegeconsensus.com/research/trust-in-higher-education/
Partnering with market research firm, Pollfish, Consensus
surveyed 500 Americans to ask what they think of higher education
in 2024. The poll included an equal number of self-identifying men
and women, as well as equal numbers from five age groups ranging
from 18 to over 54 years old.
In this poll, College Consensus asked average Americans their
opinions on:
- traditional 4-year degrees
- community college
- online college
- trade schools
- tech bootcamps
Respondents were asked how much they trust each form of
education to lead to career and financial satisfaction - Completely
Trust, Mostly Trust, Moderately Trust, Slightly Trust, or Do Not
Trust at All. And for each possible answer - trusting or not
trusting - respondents were asked why they felt that way.
As author Gabriel Sealey-Morris
explains, "For generations, we've clung to the idea that a college
degree will lead to a satisfying career and financial stability."
However, in recent years, with high student loan debt and rapid
inflation, there have been signs that American feel less confident
about higher education.
The College Consensus poll found that trust in traditional
4-year college education is still solid, but shows some definite
cracks. While more than 50% of respondents said they completely or
mostly trust traditional 4-year college, they were still very
concerned about cost and debt.
Most surprisingly, almost half (44%) said that they actually
expect traditional college to be less important in the next
decade.
In addition to feeling largely confident about traditional
college, Americans also expressed a high degree of trust in trade
schools. In fact, they viewed return on investment for trade
schools almost as highly as traditional college. People 45-54 years
old actually considered trade school a better return on investment
than traditional college, 41% to 34% respectively.
On the other hand, despite years of heavy advertising and hype,
Americans still feel less confident about online college and tech
bootcamps than they do about traditional college, community
college, and trade schools.
College Consensus' findings suggest that Americans are still
somewhat unsure what they feel about education. As Sealey-Morris
explains, "In an era of pandemic, economic anxiety, and political
instability, the security of a traditional 4-year degree may look
desirable to young people." On the other hand, "other more
experienced adults doubt the long-term prospects of traditional
education. And it may be true that that stability is a thing of the
past – if it ever existed."
College Consensus is a comprehensive education resource that
combines expert reviews, student feedback, and key data to provide
accurate and unbiased information about colleges and
universities.
Media Contact:
Jeremy Alder
381355@email4pr.com
(919) 698-3709
Website:
https://www.collegeconsensus.com
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SOURCE College Consensus