Will College Pay Off?

“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 “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

Peter Cappelli is the George W. Taylor Professor of Management at The Wharton School and director of Wharton’s centre for Human Resources. A research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, he has long been involved in federal government policy-making regarding the workforce and education. He was also co-director of the US Department of Education’s National centre on the Educational Quality of the Workforce, and a member of the Executive Committee of the US Department of Education’s National centre on Post-Secondary Improvement at Stanford University.