The college dream is still alive - Mary Lebens, Farmington Independent

As a college educator, I still believe in the dream of attending college on a shoestring, landing a good job, and buying a house. Not just because I did those things, and I see my students doing them, but because statistics buttress my belief. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, last year the unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree was only 4.9 percent while workers with only a high school diploma suffered an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent. In 2011 workers with a bachelor’s degree earned over $50,000 a year on average, around $20,000 more a year than workers with a high school diploma. College graduates definitely benefit from a higher employment rate and higher pay. Yet the news is filled with stories about the impending student loan crisis and scores of graduates burdened under crushing debt. What these stories rarely mention is the major students choose and the school they choose are both critical to graduating with minimal debt and finding a good job to repay that debt. http://www.farmingtonindependent.com/event/article/id/21355/group/Opinion/