In the United States, higher education institutions, such as colleges and universities, have been around since colonial times ("Historical Facts"). Over the centuries, the number and types of colleges established has vastly grown. Every state across the country is home to several colleges, ranging from private and public institutions; religion affiliated colleges; technological schools; and two-year community colleges. While the variety of colleges has grown, so has the cost to attend college. According to a 2012 report on Bloomberg.org by Michelle Jamrisko and Ilan Kolet, "[t]he cost of obtaining a university education in the U.S. has soared 12 fold over the past three decades." Their report shows that college tuition has increased over 1,120 percent since 1978. Even though tuition has tremendously increased in the past decades, several high school graduates are or plan on attending some sort of post-secondary education institution. In fact, about 65.9 percent of high school graduates were enrolled into a college or university ("College Enrollment and Work Activity "). Many people believe that due to the increase in college tuition, a college education is not worth it. However, attending an educational institution after high school can provide students with several benefits such as more job opportunities in the real world, less chances of being unemployed, and higher starting salaries than those without degrees. Not only this, but attending a college can have a positive impact on the student's overall being.
By pursuing a college degree, students can increase the number of job opportunities available to them. This is because employers believe that most college graduates have "a greater ability to think analytically" and they have, "the discipline to see a task through from beginning to end," ( "Benefits of Earning a College Degree").
