A Gallup poll shows the percentage of Americans saying college is “very important” has fallen to 35%.
 

Please note The Perceived Importance of College Hits New Low

 Americans have been placing less importance on the value of a college education over the past 15 years, to the point that about a third (35%) now rate it as “very important.” Forty percent think it is “fairly important,” while 24% say it is “not too important.”

When last asked to rate the importance of college in 2019, just over half of U.S. adults, 53%, said it was very important, but that was already lower than the 70% found in 2013 and 75% in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage viewing college as not too important has more than doubled since 2019 and compares with just 4% in 2010.

Perceived Importance Down Among All Societal Groups
 

Notably, the percentage of Democrats rating college as very important has fallen almost as steeply as that of Republicans since 2013. However, most Democrats who do not view college as very important now describe it as fairly important, while few say it’s not too important (49% and 9% of Democrats, respectively). By contrast, Republicans are equally likely to rate it as fairly important (39%) as not too important (39%). In fact, Republicans are about twice as likely to say college is not too important as to say it is very important (20%).

Similarly, just four in 10 college graduates say college is very important, but few (12%) dismiss it as not too important, while 46% say it’s fairly important. This contrasts with non-college graduates, who are just as likely to say college is not too important (32%) as very important (31%), with the plurality (37%) calling it fairly important.

Bottom Line

Confidence in higher education has declined much more among Republicans than Democrats over the past decade, with criticism of it for having left-leaning political agendas leading the reasons higher ed skeptics point to. Specifically, the latest Lumina Foundation-Gallup research finds that 38% of Americans who lack confidence in higher education cite politics, with another 32% saying college doesn’t teach the right things.

By contrast, the dwindling perception that college is very important has occurred equally among both major parties, suggesting a broader explanation is required. While the new survey didn’t explore the reasons directly, the high cost of college, recent attention to the benefits of trade schools, the growth of online learning and microcredentials, and the potential for revolutionary changes in the labor market presented by recent advancements in AI are all possibilities.

Useless Degrees

Most college degrees are nearly useless. What exactly is one supposed to do with a degree in English literature, psychology, art, religion, or dozens of other nearly worthless options?

Students graduate with tens-of thousands of dollars (or more) in debt that is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.

Many end up getting a job that will not let them dream of buying a house, while struggling to pay rent.

The cost of education has soared hundreds of times more than overall inflation and salaries to pay back the debt.

1971 Flashback

When I started college in 1971, the cost per semester for an engineering degree at the University of Illinois was $250 per semester.

For the UI 2024-25 academic year, the annual tuition and fees for in-state students were approximately $16,004, while out-of-state students faced around $35,124 in tuition and fees.

In 1971, the average hourly wage was $3.53. It’s now $31.46, up 8.9 times.

The cost of tuition has gone up 64 times.

Yet, a college education then was far more valuable than it is today.

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