Does more affordable college = more degrees = less value?

[SlayerZ99]

Purely hypothetical

I'm having a stupid argument with this girl who believes if you want free education that you should join the military.

I pointed out that not everyone can join the military and I believe a higher education should be more affordable so everyone who wants a chance has a chance.

Although I won't give every argument she fired back with one of her arguments was that, if more people are going to college and if more people were getting degrees it would decrease the value of those degrees.

I called her argument stupid and said she was basically saying it is dumb for people to pursue a higher education and that she wanted a dumbed down country.

I could go into her other arguments but I was wondering everyone's opinion of if degrees decrease in value if more people have them. Keep in mind that school you get degrees from still hold prestige and what the world "value" really means

[Ad Bot]

[KickFlow]

If you want a higher education work your ass off for it.


This world isn't fair and you deserve nothing.

[SlayerZ99]

If you want a higher education work your ass off for it.


This world isn't fair and you deserve nothing.

elaborate what you mean by work your ass off for it

do you not think that college is indeed very expensive?

Also: not the question at hand

[Jairo]

This world isn't fair and you deserve nothing.

lol

[Operator¹]

That would probably depend more on whether or not these programs lower their standards to get some of that federal money. If more people got degrees in something that obviously wouldn't make any money then nothing would probably change.

[bithead9]

Affordable colleges, in theory, mean that more people are graduating with a degree. This doesn't reduce the value of the degree, but if everyone graduated with say, a Psychology degree and the job market was flooded with psychologists, the argument could be made that the degree is near worthless (you have little to no chance of actually getting a job with the degree).
In reality, however, there are so many degrees, and each degree leads to so many different career choices, unless everyone benefiting from affordable colleges (those who would not have attended if it was normal price) flocked to only a handful of specific degrees, the "value" of degrees would not diminish. It just may become more expected that, in a job application, you have a degree.
That's my take on it.

[SlayerZ99]

Affordable colleges, in theory, mean that more people are graduating with a degree. This doesn't reduce the value of the degree, but if everyone graduated with say, a Psychology degree and the job market was flooded with psychologists, the argument could be made that the degree is near worthless (you have little to no chance of actually getting a job with the degree).
In reality, however, there are so many degrees, and each degree leads to so many different career choices, unless everyone benefiting from affordable colleges (those who would not have attended if it was normal price) flocked to only a handful of specific degrees, the "value" of degrees would not diminish. It just may become more expected that, in a job application, you have a degree.
That's my take on it.

this is essentially my stance too. I wish I could type more but it's hard on mobile. The actual value of the degree, the knowledge behind it, won't decrease but competition will be greater. But you could essentially start your own practice or business and contribute to the economy

[KickFlow]

My father chose not to go to college, and he has supported his wife for 26 years and raised two children for 20 years. You don't need to have college education to get a decent paying job.

elaborate what you mean by work your ass off for it

If you want a higher education, get a job and pay for it. Work for it.

do you not think that college is indeed very expensive?

Depends on the college, I guess. Lots of my friends are going to community colleges, just to go back to their job at starbucks.

Also: not the question at hand

Yeah you're right. I thought degrees are already meaningless though. Hence the joke "Oh you have a Microelectronic Engineering degree? I'll take fries with that, thanks."

[Foxscotch]

This world isn't fair and you deserve nothing.

it's fascinating that you, a straight white dude living in a first-world country, are saying this
I bet you even grew up in a middle class family

[KickFlow]

it's fascinating that you, a straight white dude living in a first-world country, are saying this
I bet you even grew up in a middle class family

You're correct. What's fascinating about it?

[SlayerZ99]

My father chose not to go to college, and he has supported his wife for 26 years and raised two children for 20 years. You don't need to have college education to get a decent paying job.
If you want a higher education, get a job and pay for it. Work for it.Depends on the college, I guess. Lots of my friends are going to community colleges, just to go back to their job at starbucks.
Yeah you're right. I thought degrees are already meaningless though. Hence the joke "Oh you have a Microelectronic Engineering degree? I'll take fries with that, thanks."

my father also never went to college. He has supported my mother and my sister and I too but he wishes that he went to college because he goes to work every day at 3 am to a very physically demanding job. I work at a place where I see countless contractors, carpenters, stone workers and they all tell me it's good money but to do what I'm doing.

You're also discrediting me because I do work during the school year and just under full time during the summer. I've gotten numerous scholarships and a grant but I still cannot pay for the $80,000 education.

If you want o be a Physical Therapist (what I plan to do) not only do you need a bachelor's degree buy a doctorate is recommended

[Jairo]

kickflow, what are you planning to be when you grow up?

[Ipquarx]

More affordable college does not necessarily mean more degrees. It could quite easily mean that it'll be harder to get a degree. Most colleges and universities only have so much capacity, so the most likely course of action for them is to raise their standards. It will, however, mean that we have a more highly educated society, with more big thinkers and more visionaries regardless of whether or not they have degrees.

[Rally]

The 'value' of a degree doesn't decrease just because more people have degrees. The qualifications and the work required to attain a degree is still the same no matter how many people are enrolled lol. It just means that there would be more qualified people in the workplace. Competition would increase, but the 'value' of a degree never changes.

[sir dooble]

I think people forget that you can have varying qualities of degree.
You can have your BA/BSc, or you can have a BA/BSc (Hons) (more work and a higher grade goes into an Honours).

And you can finish your degree on a 1, a 2:1, a 2:2, or even a 3.
These grades seperate you from your peers. It's difficult to come out with a first class degree at most universities, and 2:1 isn't a piece of cake either.
(There may be a different system for distinguishing degrees in other countries. This is the UK system)


When it comes down to it, degrees are useful for seperating people by their abilities, to let you choose them for jobs.
And there's plenty of ways to compare two people who have a degree in the same field.
 - What grade did they recieve
 - What university did they attend
 - What is their reference from the university like
 - What else did they do at uni (were you part of student unions, or in charge of a club/society).

Your degree isn't going to be worthless just because there are lots of others with a degree in the same field.
It becomes worthless if you have a stuffty quality degree, came out of university with little experience under your belt, have poor references, and what sort of job you're applying to.