Will College Pay Off?: A Guide to the Most Important Financial Decision You'll Ever Make

by Peter Cappelli Narrated by Tom Perkins

Overview

The decision of whether to go to college, or where, is hampered by poor information and inadequate understanding of the financial risk involved. Adding to the confusion, the same degree can cost dramatically different amounts for different people. A barrage of advertising offers us new degrees designed to lead to specific jobs, but we see no information on whether graduates ever get those jobs.



In Will College Pay Off?, Peter Cappelli, an acclaimed expert in employment trends, the workforce, and education, provides hard evidence that counters conventional wisdom and helps us make cost-effective choices. Among the issues Cappelli analyzes are:

• What the real link is between a college degree and a job that enables you to pay off the cost of college



• Why the most expensive colleges may actually be the cheapest in the long run



• How parents and students can find out what different colleges actually deliver to students and whether it is something that employers really want

Insightful and informative, Will College Pay Off? helps students and parents make smart financial decisions and provides the foundation for students to succeed in the real world.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Audio

08/31/2015
Cappelli tackles a question on the minds of many parents and students: what is the value of a college education in the 21st century? His book dutifully explores a variety of complex issues that probe the nature of higher education and its contributions to the individual, while simultaneously weighing the more practical payoffs and pitfalls of secondary schooling in the United States. Voice actor Perkins reads with a deep, slightly nasal voice as he makes his way through Cappelli’s many different arguments and considerations, using pacing and emphasis to drive home points. The audio book gets a bit monotonous during the longer passages, when Perkins loses his momentum. But these moments are far and few in contrast to how often he keeps listeners’ ears attuned. A PublicAffairs hardcover. (June)

From the Publisher

“If you want to figure out what to do with your life—or help your child do the same—Cappelli tells you what you need to know. College is a sweet deal for kids who hit the trifecta: attend a reasonably priced, reputable school, choose a high-earning major, finish on time. Otherwise, buyer beware.” —Barron's

“[A]stutely examines the enduring relevance of a college degree... [I]lluminating statistical and survey data… Cappelli's eye-opening report card on the current state of American education gives mounting tuitions a failing grade... Salient reading for students, parents, and educators on navigating toward a coveted college degree.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A valuable, commonsensical analysis of an ever-more-important subject.”—Booklist

“Cappelli's well-reasoned and documented answer helps families evaluate their options in terms of their individual financial situation. VERDICT Academic and yet highly readable, Cappelli's book provides nothing short of consumer protection to families and their students as he addresses the complexities of the higher education marketplace, the unpredictable job market, and the cost of college.”—Library Journal

“It's precisely the right moment for a book to help 18-year-olds and their parents make this important educational and financial decision... Cappelli offers some good tips: Student loans are stickier than a mortgage: You can't escape them with bankruptcy, and you may find your wages garnished if you try to walk away from them, never mind your bad credit rating. Don't rely on data released by colleges, particularly employment rates, which are often calculated based on dubious self-reporting surveys. When you visit a school, check out the tutoring center and see if anyone is around to help; it's a good proxy for the campus support system. Most important, finish on time. A surefire way to erode your return on college is to graduate late or not at all.” —Wall Street Journal

“Thought-provoking work... The author notes that sending children to college is a huge expense that hurts many families' ability to meet other important needs, such as retirement. His focus is primarily on the US higher education system but many of the themes are universal.” —Emma Jacobs, Financial Times

“Informative and refreshingly skeptical.” —John Cassidy, The New Yorker

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"[Perkins uses] pacing and emphasis to drive home points." —Publishers Weekly Audio Review

Library Journal

05/15/2015
Cappelli (George W. Taylor Professor of Management, the Wharton Sch., Univ. of Pennsylvania; Why Good People Can't Get Jobs) tackles the titular question in this well-researched response. He considers the query with facts, figures, and ways of thinking that give families the context and tools to make an informed decision. The author lauds the benefits of a college education for the individual and society. However, the price of going to college has dramatically increased. Those additional costs are being paid with loans against retirements and student's future earnings. Concurrently, employers are less willing to train new hires, advertising for specific job skills and prior experience. In response, four-year universities, community colleges, and the newer for-profit institutions market programs they insist will prepare students for the real world and specifically a job. Cappelli's well-reasoned and documented answer helps families evaluate their options in terms of their individual financial situation. VERDICT Academic and yet highly readable, Cappelli's book provides nothing short of consumer protection to families and their students as he addresses the complexities of the higher education marketplace, the unpredictable job market, and the cost of college.—Jane Scott, Clark Lib., Univ. of Portland, OR

Kirkus Reviews

2015-04-01
A workforce and education expert weighs the perks and pitfalls of higher education.Cappelli (Management/Wharton School; Why Good People Can't Get Jobs: The Skills Gap and What Companies Can Do About It, 2012, etc.) astutely examines the enduring relevance of a college degree despite problematic funding and postgraduate employment issues. In dense chapters full of illuminating statistical and survey data, the author reports on the affordability and effectiveness of a college degree, directing his assessment to benefit future students and their families. As he notes, astronomical tuitions figure greatly into the equation, as American college costs run about four times higher than in other countries, making the decision to attend a postsecondary school an increasingly risky one. Cappelli also examines the variation in degreed students who fail to achieve success in the postgraduate employment marketplace and those who become overwhelmed by the financial burden. The factors affecting these trends are in constant flux, writes the author, and vary from the labor market requiring functional job skills to the student dropout rate and the education-to-career paths that have evolved as rapidly as their corresponding business models and sophisticated hiring processes. Cappelli's eye-opening report card on the current state of American education gives mounting tuitions a failing grade, though enrollment and retention numbers are promising. The author's drilled-down conclusions suggest that students are matriculating at the same level today as they did years ago, but the expense alone has thrown many families into the depths of student loan debt or default. Whether or not investing in college is worth the risk is a major decision about which families and children need to educate themselves. "College is still accepted as necessary for advancement but also increasingly expensive," writes the author, "and increasingly risky in terms of the likely career payoffs." Salient reading for students, parents, and educators on navigating toward a coveted college degree.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170923205
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	06/09/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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