August Turak

Author Consultant Speaker

The College Question

I’ve often wondered if college makes people successful or successful people go to college. If smart, driven people seek out college then we have the cause/effect reversed. I remember a study done years ago on achievement motivation. The study concluded that education does NOT produce achievement motivation. Instead people with achievement motivation seek out education.

Someone sent me this Chronicle of Higher Education article recently and that got me wondering what you think about the question, “What is a college degree really worth?”

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Higher education has a public-relations problem. Family incomes are stagnant, but tuition keeps going up. Many students who begin college don't graduate. Even among those who do, students who borrow are finishing with greater and greater average debt burdens. And then they're walking into a tough job market. So what is a college degree really worth?



The answer to that question is clearly important for higher education. But trying to find it isn't easy and brings a fair bit of controversy...



What do I do?

Stop learning and start doing. Aristotle said, "I do and I understand." Do what it takes to become an achievement motivated person, don't just assume your not.

What do you think? What is a college degree really worth?