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This is a proverbial question in the mind of every single American today, thanks to the skyrocketing tuition costs. When President Obama pressed for greater post secondary education opportunities, he was dubbed to be elitist by critics such as Rick Santorum. This cannot be called a casual event. It reflects the public opinion of this issue.

In today’s situation, the answer to the question – is it worth paying a fortune towards tuition for a college degree? Is it actually worth it? Do you grow or regress in life after higher education? Ask a few Americans and you will have the answer.

Currently, our economic situation is such that our rate of unemployment is 8 percent. We know that as much as everyone who is without a job, college grads are unemployed too. Now, the question they ask is why should we shell out above $20,000 a year just to remain unemployed?

The question most people ask today is if there is no impact on pay levels for those having and not having a college degree, why should we pay a fortune to complete college? If we look at statistics, we find there is a significant difference in the pay levels.

While pay for college graduates stands at $52,000 a year, high school graduates are earning $30,000. If you have an advanced master’s degree, this makes a huge difference too. For example, Masters Degree holders are earning at least $62,300 a year.

Of course, these are average statistics and there are bound to be variations, it is quite clear that we cannot question the value of college degree. My point here is education offers a host of benefits that transcend their high costs. Education is what has helped our country endure through generations.

The importance of education cannot be underestimated. How we learn is as important as what we learn through education. Basic information is taught to us in elementary school. Here we are taught how to analyze what we see through introduction to mathematics. We also learn all about quantitative evaluation through mathematical manipulation concepts.

We learn how to communicate effectively with everyone by studying our language and various other languages. We are exposed to the vast existential diversity through reading. Science is an interesting subject that opens our eyes and gives us an explanation on mundane as well as astounding things we see around us.

While history helps us understand societal behavior, art enhances our skills of analysis and shows us how to see the depth in colors, space and textures. Above all these things, school teach us how to interact in society.

In secondary school, we expand on this basic knowledge on subjects and gain more problem solving skills. Higher education teaches us how to apply whatever knowledge we have acquired till now to solve complex issues both academic and non-academic. This is where our innovation flowers and blossoms. When reduced to mere test statistics, we lose the very essence of what our country has always been great at – thinking creatively, out of the mundane.