When JFK was president, few high school graduates (7%) went on to college. College was rigorous. The students who tended to go on to college were the smart kids—the top 10% was the unwritten rule of thumb. If a student managed to graduate from college in something or other, it was assumed they were reasonably intelligent, and those graduates easily found well-paying, professional jobs. 

Back in the day when college was rigorous and only seven percent of high school graduates went on to college, you could graduate with a degree in art history at a cost of $5000 and get a professional job working for P&G or IBM. Nobody labelled that degree as “useless.” It was lauded as “a college education.” 

College doesn’t work that way anymore. 

If you earned that same degree today—I doubt that the syllabus has changed that much—the cost might be $150,000 at a public university, and you will probably end up making lattes for a living. 

What in the Hell happened? 

• Almost any high school graduate can find a college or university that will accept them because most four-year institutions (93%) aren’t all that selective. 
• Every Tom, Dick, and Harriet is being encouraged to go on to college. College enrollment has been dropping since 2010 for a variety of reasons, but forty percent of high school graduates are still matriculating. 
• Twenty-five percent of high school graduates who are accepted at college require remedial classes—on average two. This effectively cuts their likelihood of a favorable outcome in half, while increasing their cost. 
•  Colleges, by and large, are operating on an obsolete business model–pre-Internet/pre-globalization. To make matters worse, many college programs have been watered down. (Read Academically Adrift.) 
• For many students there is a gap between skills acquired and skills required for professional employment. Supply far exceeds Demand. There are only so many well-paying, professional jobs available for newly minted college graduates each year. There are a large number of academically unremarkable students, who manage to graduate college, competing for the relatively small number of well-paying, professional jobs with academically superior graduates. Years ago, when college graduates were scarce, academia was the unofficial gatekeeper to the world of professional jobs. Today capitalism is the gatekeeper, and capitalism is one tough, demanding SOB. Prospective employers have five degreed candidates for every three suitable jobs. 
• It is getting harder and harder to get a reasonable Return on Investment because college costs go up every year and real wages are relatively flat. 
• To make matters worse, the Wealth Premium for a college degree has collapsed for those students who need student loans. 

I saw a study of majors earlier this week on Business Insider. Here are the majors career coaches and counselors consider to be the worst when it comes to scoring a well-paying, professional gig: 

• Theatre Arts 
• Film 
• Anthropology 
• Civilization Studies 
• Philosophy 
• Psychology 
• Communications 
• English 
• Interior Design 
• Marketing 
• Photography 
• Gender Studies 
• Social Justice 

In my experience, majors like these aren’t useless, but they are very risky. Last spring, I saw three graduates (Communications, English, and Marketing) who had compelling resumes, rich in experiential learning. All three of them were fully employed before graduation day, but those graduates were the rare exception. 

When 40% of high school graduates go on to college, half of them don’t have the high level of math and linguistics skills necessary to graduate with a marketable major, so the academic mediocre students who manage to cross the finish line tend to end up with a degree in something like Underwater Basket Weaving. 

 My advice is don’t go to college unless: 

• You are really, really “book smart.” 
• Your parents have prepared a four-year financial plan that doesn’t leave you buried in excessive student loan debt. 
• You have a career plan. 

It’s not too early to start thinking about college when you are in middle school. Have a talk with your parents. Look for opportunities to explore your interests, e.g. a coding class, career night at your local hospital, shadow days, etc. 

I would encourage you to focus on how this college experience is going to translate into your getting a well-paying, professional job. You need to be thinking in terms of building a job winning resume. 

Readin’, writin’, and arithmetic was good enough in Grandma’s days; it’s not good enough today. 

Your resume should include clear demonstrations of grit, self-motivation, critical thinking skills, communication skills, and creativity as well as experience with collaborative activities, entrepreneurship and improvisation. You don’t need to be an expert with Ruby on Rails, but you should be able to show some rudimentary coding abilities. 

It is going to be easier to build this resume at some schools rather than others. One key factor is how well connected your school/program is to the real world. You are going to have to go beyond the classroom seeking experiential learning opportunities: internships, externships, foreign work and study experience, research, volunteering, work, etc. 

With an outstanding resume you can improve your odds of landing on your feet.