Group of students in black graduation gowns throwing caps in air in sunshine

3 Benefits to Sell Students on the Value of a College Education

There are numerous benefits to a college education beyond a lucrative career. Here are three things to help convince your students it's a good decision.

As a person’s level of education increases, so does their income. Obviously, the security of a steady paycheck is the primary benefit of higher education, but you may encounter students who need a little incentive beyond mere dollars and cents. Money shouldn’t be the only important factor in choosing to pursue college. So if any of your students are convinced they’ll make a fortune on the football field, become the next Kim Kardashian, or live off some benevolent relative’s estate, try playing up these nonfinancial advantages of higher education to boost their interest in academic pursuits.

1. Creating a social network

College is a great place to meet like-minded individuals and make lifelong friends. Many people even meet their future partners on campus. Clubs, sororities and fraternities, and classes in their major provide countless opportunities for students to get to know people who share common interests. Group activities created in these settings can teach students to have productive discussions and argue effectively. Students may also meet fellow professionals in their future career fields, which allows them to create a network of contacts that will help them down the road. College is the original social networking site.

Related: How to Network With Your College's Alumni on LinkedIn

2. Being an informed member of society

Simply put, an educated person is a more informed person. College coursework inherently teaches critical thinking skills and encourages students to look at things in new ways. Perhaps the unexamined life is worth living, but I would venture to say it’s not nearly as interesting as its fully examined counterparts. Regardless of a student’s major, they will most likely take a broad range of classes—and after four years of exposure to diverse subjects, students are usually well-rounded individuals better prepared to do things like making important life decisions, engaging with coworkers, managing their finances, and even participating in politics. All those papers and class discussions will make them better writers and speakers and help them communicate more in the real world. Let your students know that, even though they’ll be working toward a degree in a specific subject, the possibilities for learning life lessons and expanding their worldview are substantial.

3. Leaving a legacy

In addition to long-term monetary advantages such as job security and the related benefits, a college education can also lead to a better life for your students’ families, both now and in the years to come. Many schools offer scholarships, grants, or reduced tuition to siblings of current or former students. And thinking further into the future, your students’ children may one day take advantage of alumni affiliation scholarships and grants, or in the case of some of the more elite institutions, legacy admission. Plus, children of college graduates are more likely to go to college than children of nongraduates, which is a legacy in and of itself.

Related: Looking to the Future: How to Prepare Now for a Better Life After College

True, a steady paycheck is perhaps the most desirable outcome of a college degree. But the knowledge, friendships, and life experiences can’t be quantified, and you can help get your students motivated about their college careers by stressing the importance of these additional benefits.

If your students are hesitant about college because they don’t know what they want to do with their life, help them figure it out with our article How Counselors Can Help Students Explore Majors and Careers

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Stephanie Farah

Stephanie Farah

Stephanie Farah is a former writer and senior editor for Carnegie and CollegeXpress. She holds a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin and a master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas. At various times, she has been an uncertain undergrad, a financial aid recipient, a transfer applicant, and a grad student with an assistantship and a full ride. Stephanie is an avid writer, traveler, cook, and dog owner. 

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress
Sierra Carranza

Sierra Carranza

High School Class of 2022

I had absolutely no idea where I wanted to go to school; I was considering colleges in almost every state. CollegeXpress was an amazing resource and helped me compare all of my top schools. Without the help of CollegeXpress, I probably wouldn't have made such an informed and confident decision.

Dani York

Dani York

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress helped in my journey by comparing multiple colleges for my final decision. While looking at different colleges, I was able to compare the tuition expenses and that landed me with the college that I’m currently enrolled in, Western Kentucky University. Thank you!

Sonny Harris

Sonny Harris

College Student

For the entire year before college, I spent a lot of time deeply considering what major I wanted to go into and how to fund my higher education. After a lot of research, I came across CollegeXpress, which helped me ultimately find a ton of scholarships for which I could apply—and some of which I received! If it weren’t for CollegeXpress, I may not have found those scholarships as they didn't appear on any other scholarship search forum. Additionally, I learned more about the options I had been considering for my major through CollegeXpress’s resources. In the end, I chose to major in Computer Science, as it seemed best suited to me and the careers in the field seemed enjoyable, and I've never been more excited to move into my future! Ultimately, I want to thank CollegeXpress for offering their services. I received enough financial aid in scholarships to fund my entire freshman year of college and even got some money refunded which I used to purchase a new laptop, and I bought all of the books I needed for the semester!

Josiah Kegg

Josiah Kegg

High School Class of 2021

I want to sincerely thank you all for this amazing website that's legitimately helped me find so many different scholarship opportunities. I've been stressing out for the longest time about paying for college since I would rather stay out of debt and have been working days trying to find any scholarship opportunity. When I found CollegeXpress, I discovered many easy scholarships that have given me hope for the future. Thank you and God bless!

Nikole Dixon

Nikole Dixon

$500 Refer-a-Friend Scholarship Winner

Toward the beginning of last year, I was searching for scholarships to apply to through my school, town, websites online, and anything else I could find. I asked tons of questions [online] about scholarships and the best places to find them because I was desperate and needed as many as I could find. I came across a ton of bogus websites, but as soon as I found CollegeXpress, I knew I had to tell other people about it. It was definitely the most helpful site I came across, so I told my friends about it. CollegeXpress is definitely a website worth giving as a source.

College Matches
X

Colleges You May Be Interested In

Ithaca College

Ithaca, NY

Samford University

Birmingham, AL

Texas Wesleyan University

Fort Worth, TX