The Real Worth of a BA Degree

Controversial sociologist Charles Murray had an interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal this week (Wed., 8/13/08). It brought into question the actual value of a bachelor's degree, and whether a different standard of achievement (he posed a national certifying exam) would be better.

I think Murray is right. I've felt that the bachelors has outlived its usefulness for some time. A new system, perhaps his certification exam idea, perhaps another paradigm, is likely to appear soon.

But he ignored the real value of the bachelors. No, not for the young folks getting the degree. The real beneficiaries are their parents.

Let's look at the situation. It's High School graduation, and young Tommy and Jennifer are eighteen and sitting on top of the world. But are they ready to move out and support themselves? Not likely. What job will they get that allows them to maintain a decent independent lifestyle, stay safe and healthy and also seek and, hopefully, find their ideal life partner?

Are they ready for the career that will set them on the road to the American Dream?

Not on your life. Even in a growing economy, they'd just get an entry-level job, nothing more. With the expense of a car, rent, clothes, entertainment and food, their credit cards would max out fast. And they'd have to live like pigs in the bargain.

No, they'll never leave the comforts of home just for that. So they decide to stay home and prepare for independence...at some later date, just not now.

So everybody's happy, right? Mom and dad won't be losing their darling after all.

But this also presents a little problem.

What, you may ask, could that possibly be? After all, look how much money the family saves by eliminating college altogether.

But some things may be more important than money, such as ....sanity? I give the arrangement three months, at the most. After that, the stay-at-home kids will suddenly find themselves buried under college application forms.

That's because the post high school stay-at-home lifestyle may be fine for eighteen year olds, but it's torture for their parents. After all, Tommy and Jennifer will get part-time jobs at the mall, if they're lucky, but then what? They're going to go bananas, that's what! They'll hang out with their buddies and girlfriends, drive like lunatics all hours of the day or night, disappear for days at a time, often be delivered by the police to the front door. And that's just the squeaky clean kids! The ones who fall in with the "wrong crowd" will make them look like angels.

No, after three months of this hell, mortgaging the family estate to get their darlings into a nice, safe institution like a four-year college will be paradise on earth.

But if you ask mom and dad if that's the real reason why they're throwing away half their retirement fund, they will forcefully deny it. They will say how necessary the degree is to get into Wharton for that MBA. How the kids will mature into responsible, thinking adults from the experience. After all, dormitory life encourages young people to create lifelong friendships based on a healthy appetite for knowledge and self-improvement. Oh, yes. It's worth every penny.

And I'm sure that mom and dad will never regret it, no matter what the cost.

So let's sing the praises of the bachelors degree. And if Tommy and Jennifer actually learn something in those four years, count that as a bonus.