Amid concerns over soaring tuition costs and campus political intolerance, a growing share of Americans aren't convinced that higher education is worthwhile.
asserted
education → soar → Americans
Academics themselves—the honest ones, anyway—acknowledge that they've squandered a lot of goodwill over the years.
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they → acknowledge → years
Fortunately, it's still possible to get an education that justifies the time and money—though the path doesn't necessarily go through college.
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path → get → college
You are reading The Rattler from J.D. Tuccille and Reason.
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You → read → Tuccille
High Costs and Political Bias Sour Americans on College
"Three in 10 Americans (31%) think a college education is 'very important,' four percentage points below last year's reading, the previous low among the seven times Gallup has asked this question since 1978," the polling firm reported earlier this month.
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firm → sour → 1978
"As recently as 2013, more than twice as many U.S. adults (70%) said college was very important."
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college → say → 2013
Gallup adds that "the percentage of U.S. adults who say a college education is 'not too important' has risen from 6% in 2013 to 29% today, while the percentage saying it is 'fairly important' has increased from 23% to 39%."
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it → add → %
Higher education plummeted in public esteem for more than one reason.
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education → plummet → reason
For years, Americans have voiced concern about rising costs and political intolerance on campuses.
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Americans → voice → campuses
Last year, even as a Vanderbilt University poll found a slight rebound in favorability toward colleges and universities, the authors noted that "Americans across the political spectrum still are deeply concerned about the affordability of higher education" and "many Americans see political bias in higher education as a serious problem."
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Americans → find → problem
The problem was underlined this year when some colleges broke the $100,000 mark in annual costs.
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colleges → underline → costs
"Today, a bachelor's degree at some of America's top schools can cost upward of nearly half a million dollars over four years," reported Business Insider.
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Insider → cost → years
"And the trend doesn't seem to be slowing down."
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trend → seem → ?
Almost at the same time, Vanderbilt released a report warning "there are several worrying tendencies in contemporary academic scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, all of which reflect, to varying degrees, a distinctive form of politicization in which the scholarly enterprise is taken to be subordinate to, or in the service of, political (social or moral) goals beyond the advancement of knowledge and understanding."
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enterprise → release → knowledge
The goals of this politicization, the study added, "are generally though not exclusively associated with the progressive left.
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study → add → left
Unsurprisingly, many Americans balk at paying through the nose so they (or their kids) can spend four years at woke camp.
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they → balk → camp
That trepidation undoubtedly contributes to declining college applications at a time when the applicant pool is already shrinking.
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pool → contribute → time
Many students who do apply to college are applying very modern filters to the schools they'll consider.
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they → apply → schools
"The median student is willing to pay up to $2,617 (12.5%) more to attend a college where the share of students with opposing political views is 10 percentage points lower, suggesting that political identity plays a meaningful role in the college choice process," found a 2025 study from the Annenberg Institute at Brown University which documented "a steady increase in political sorting across American colleges."
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which → pay → colleges
This month, a survey from Art & Science Group, a higher education consultancy, found that among college applicants, "the share ruling out colleges solely because of politics in a state rose from 24% in 2023 to 31% in winter 2026 and 34% in summer 2026."
Employers haven't stopped hiring from prestigious colleges and universities.
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Employers → find → colleges
But the definition of "elite" has changed, with some firms leery of traditional Ivy Leagues and preferring southern schools where costs are lower and ideological tolerance still has a place.
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tolerance → change → place
College Still Offers Value for Those Who Choose Wisely
Higher education can still be worthwhile for students who apply due diligence to their selection of schools and fields of study.
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who → offer → study
College offers a good return on the investment of time and money for those who choose wisely.
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who → offer → those
According to the Education Data Initiative, "an average bachelor's degree has a 560.53% lifetime return on investment with a median lifetime return up to 1,040.14%."
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degree → accord → %
"The most cost-efficient bachelor's degree is in management information systems and statistics, with a lifetime ROI of 1,758.59%," while "a Bachelor of Psychology offers the lowest lifetime ROI at -122.78%, representing a $54,188 loss in degree-based earnings (compared to median earnings with a high school diploma).
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Bachelor → offer → diploma
But return on investment also depends heavily on the cost of the degree; it's more difficult to get your money's worth when you pay top dollar.
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you → depend → dollar
Trade Schools Rise as Employer Demand for College Degrees Falls
But college is not the only choice for young Americans planning their futures.
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college → rise → futures
According to a 2025 Harris survey for the American Staffing Association, more Americans now recommend that graduating high school seniors go to trade school (33 percent) than recommend college (28 percent).
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seniors → accord → college
Trade schools cost a fraction of what four-year colleges cost.
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colleges → cost → what
And they satisfy a growing demand for skilled workers.
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they → satisfy → workers
"Of the 124 skilled trades occupations, 86 are projected to grow or hold steady, and more than 600,000 net new positions are projected through 2035," the Alliance for Skilled Trades, a coalition of companies that depend on trades people, notes in a recent report.
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that → project → report
"Employers will need to fill about 1.7 million openings each year."
Note that new positions are opening even as the population of job-market entrants shrinks.
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population → need → entrants
And employers increasingly value experience and in-house training over college degrees of dubious value.
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employers → value → value
Last year, a quarter of employers reported that they were eliminating requirements for bachelor's degrees among new hires.
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they → report → hires
Higher education still has a role to play.
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education → have → role
But "education" doesn't have to mean four years of high tuition.
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education → have → tuition
It can be a certification program or trade school that launches graduates into a productive life.
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that → launch → life
After decades of being the default path for many Americans, colleges and universities have alienated people with high prices and intolerant ideological environments.
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colleges → alienate → prices
They still have a lot to offer, but now they have to compete with alternatives for the time and money of a skeptical public.
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they → have → public
The Aporia
