Most Americans no longer see a four-year college degree as a good deal, a new national survey suggests, highlighting a sharp cultural turn on the value of higher education.
Polls Show Sharp Decline In Degree Optimism
An NBC News poll published late October found 63% of registered voters say a bachelor's degree is "not worth the cost because people often graduate without specific job skills and with a large amount of debt," while just 33% say it is worth it for better jobs and higher lifetime earnings.
In 2017, opinions split almost evenly, while in 2013, 63% of college graduates said their degree was worth the cost, compared with 46% today. "It's just remarkable to see attitudes on any issue shift this dramatically," Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt told NBC, adding that "Americans used to view a college degree as aspirational … And now that promise is really in doubt."
Bipartisan Research Finds Debt Driving Doubts Higher
Bipartisan and nonpartisan research shows similar unease. In 2024, Pew Research Center found that only 22% of adults say a four-year degree is worth the cost if it requires loans. Nearly half say it is worth it only if students avoid debt, and 29% say it is not worth it at all. Just 25% say a degree is very important for getting a well-paying job, while about 4 in 10 say it is not too or not at all important.
Gallup and the Lumina Foundation report from July this year shows that 42% of Americans now express "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in higher education, up from 36% in 2023 and 2024, yet 68% still say it is headed in the wrong direction.
Enrollment Shifts As Skepticism And Job Worries Grow
Meanwhile, enrollment is edging higher but shifting. National Student Clearinghouse data from mid-November this year shows that undergraduate enrollment is on track to grow 2.4% this fall, with community colleges up 4% and certificate programs rising faster than bachelor's degrees.
Those concerns echo themes of growing skepticism toward four-year degrees and the "white-collar slowdown," which has left college graduates making up more than a quarter of the unemployed while still carrying large student-loan balances.
Image via Shutterstock/ smolaw
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