Just how much does it matter where you attend college? We examine several factors in assessing importance of school choice and discuss the recent Pew research on life satisfaction after college, which may be surprising.

In this episode:

• Why we need a village to raise a child [1:30]

• Grit and determination account more for success than where you went to college [5:00]

• Best indicators for success are test scores [8:00]

• Purdue study shows students are less satisfied with life after university than they thought they would be [13:00]

• Why are only 1 in 5 students involved in extracurricular activities? [16:00]

• Five years after graduation, how much will it matter which school you attend? [19:00]

• Bottom line when choosing schools is to remember, you’ll get out what you put in. [22:30]

• Paying more doesn’t equate to a better experience [24:00]

• Pew research shows a sharp increase in student loans amongst highly educated parents [31:00]

• Pew also shows that students who took out more loans were less satisfied with their lives [34:30]

• How your entire well-being is affected by student loans [37:00]

• The cost of your education might not be commensurate with your salary [39:00]

• The well being of the country resides on a pivot in viewpoint: Community college and trade schools are OK! [27:30]

• There is value in a “little” education [46:00]

• It’s crucial to separate the sales pitch from the school [49:00]

• Let’s take a look at who’s living the dream five years or longer out of college [50:30]

Resources:

Richard Fry, Pew Research Center. Young Adults, Student Loans and Economic Well-Being

Richard Fry, Pew Research Center. The Changing Profile of Student Borrowers

Derek Thompson, The Atlantic. Does it Matter Where You Go to College?

Julie Ray and Stephanie Marken, Gallup. Life in College Matters for Life After College