College: An Investment in Yourself

It’s widely recognized that people with a college education get further in their professional life – more often achieving their career and monetary goals, than those without a college degree.

Education is an investment that pays for itself, giving you the opportunity to open doors that would otherwise remain closed. What’s more, chances are up to 30% greater that you will not face unemployment if you have a college degree.


Unlikethe past, it’s a lot harder to get very far these days armed with only a high school education.

• Figures indicate the difference in yearly income between someone with a Bachelor’s degree and someone with only a high school diploma can be almost $18,000. A Master’s degree can up the ante by more than $8,000, and a Doctorate can get you roughly two and a half times what a high school diploma will.

Unemployment and earnings for full-time workers aged 25 and over, by educational attainment, 2003

• A college graduate will earn about $1 million more over their working lives than high school graduates.
• By the age of 33, the typical college graduate who enrolled at age 18 has earned enough to compensate for both tuition and fees at the average public four-year institution and earnings they missed out on during the college years.
• College graduates in 2004 earned record-high starting salaries than ever before. Engineering, high-tech, business and accounting degrees are all in high demand by employers. The average starting salaries for those types of jobs are as high as $54,000 per year.3 Employers are increasingly concentrating their recruiting efforts on college campuses.

College is clearly the way to go!

Now that you can see the benefits of an education, here are some useful tools to assist you in the college application and financial aid process:

• Stay on course every step of the way through the college application and financial aid process with our College Planning Checklist.
• Our College Search can help you find the right college or university, or compare multiple schools using school rank, location and other criteria.
• Grades aren’t the only factor in the college admissions decision these days. Learn more about ways to increase your chances of getting into the school of your choice at What Colleges Look For.
• Find our more about the cost of higher education at What Colleges Cost.

By www.citibank.com