1. A Short History of College in America
Is College Worth It?
A Short History of College in America

2. Background of the Issue
New College was the 1st college in North America, 1636.
Today we call it ‘Harvard’
2015 – 20.2 million college students
Average student debt was $28,950
Arguments in favor:
Higher employment rates
Bigger salaries
More work benefits
Arguments against:
Debt from college loans is too high
Delays many major purchases
Many successful people never graduated from college

3. College in America
Part I 1600s – 1800s

4. Colonial America
Nine colleges from Colonial America still operate today:
Harvard (1636)
William and Mary (1693)
Yale (1701)
Princeton (1746)
Columbia (1754)
Brown (1764)
Dartmouth (1769)
Rutgers (1766)
University of Pennsylvania (1740 or 1749)
Run by England or the colonies, specific religion based, boys as young as 14 or 15.

5. Colonial America
College was unattainable for most families because of the cost and loss of workers from the field.
1% of males aged attended college
Many left college after 1 or 2 years
In 1711 Yale conferred 9 degrees out of 35 students
Women were excluded from Colonial college
The American Revolution drained colleges of students and money, resulting in many closures postwar

6. Late 18th and Early 19th Century
1800 – 25 colleges
1860 – 241 colleges
Seminaries, scientific schools, military service academies, teaching schools
Programs for: medicine, law, military science, and agriculture
State Universities become a thing
North Carolina (1795) and Georgia (1801)
1833, Oberlin College admitted women to a “Ladies Course” program and 3 graduated in 1841.

7. Morrill Land Grant Act
1862 Morrill Land Grant Act gave federal funds to states to open ‘land grant’ colleges
Were required to focus on ‘useful arts’ like agriculture, mechanics, mining, and military instruction and often included A&M (Agricultural & Mechanical).
MIT (1851)
A college degree was still seen as a social marker, rather than a marker of educational attainment.

8. The Civil War
By 1865 many colleges in the South stopped offering classes.
By 1870 the number of colleges was up to 560
9 after the American Revolution

9. College in America
Early 1900s

11. College in the Early1900s
Colleges were created to educate groups excluded by traditional colleges:
Women, blacks, immigrants, and Roman Catholics
Black colleges were agricultural or industrial focused
Iowa State was the first co-ed land grant college
Women remained segregated and were expected to study ‘domestic science’
1st instance of ‘diploma mills’ as the country expanded
Students were not expected to finish college, many dropped out with a ‘LI’ license of instruction to teach

12. 1900s 5% (256,000) of males aged 18-21 attended college
Up from 3.1% (32,364) in 1860
Students were accepted by gender, religion, or race.
Graduation rates continued to be low
College tuition, while it hadn’t increased, was still to high for the average family.
Brown University:
$105 for tuition, $60 for room, $150 for board, $30 books and lab fees
$393 a year ($9, in 2012 US Dollars)
Today at Brown - $52,231

13. World War I
‘Undergraduate life’ came to be associated with mascots, school colors, college hymns, intercollegiate athletics
World War dropped college enrollment
East Coast – 27-40%
Stanford – 10%
540 colleges were turned into training centers
Medical schools began to require college science or a bachelors degree for entrance
After World War I college students became associated with parties, gambling and bathtub gin.
Tolerated because of upward mobility of making contacts

14. 1920s-1945 Secondary school expanded College tuition began to rise:
High school graduates increased
College students went from 250,000 to 1.3 million
5% to 15%
40% of enrollments were women, but still expected to be trained as teachers, good wives and mothers
College tuition began to rise:
$70 in 1920 ($ in 2012 $)
$133 in 1940 (2, in 2012 $)
In comparison, a 1940 new Pontiac cost $483 ($7,074 in 2012 $)

16. Is College Worth It? Part 1 Wrap-Up
On your Google Doc of your top 3 colleges:
Search and see how long it takes to get a Bachelor’s Degree from your top 3 universities
If you cant find specifics, how long does it take on average to a get a Bachelor’s Degree?
What is one way you could speed that process up?
What might slow down that process?

17. US Colleges, WWII through the 1980s Part 2
College in America
US Colleges, WWII through the 1980s Part 2

18. What’s the Value of a College Education?
1. Calculate the value of getting a Bachelor’s Degree using the chart provided and assuming a 40 year career. 2. Now calculate the 40-year career earnings for a student that has only completed high school. 3. How much more value are you creating for yourself over a 40-year career by completing college?

20. Post WWII
After WWII, colleges and universities moved toward advanced, selective programs and expanded the base of students admitted
Research universities, junior colleges and for-profit colleges thrived
million students enrolled
million students enrolled
G.I. Bill
1960 – 3.6 million students enrolled
1970 – 7.9 million students enrolled

21. Pell Grants
Pell Grants introduced in 1972 increasing the number of students for whom higher education was possible
1978 financial aid changed from grants to loans
: 75% received grants, 21% loans
: 29% received grants, 66% received loans
Higher education came to be expected to graduate all high school students, not just top ½
Public school enrollment increased in 1970s
Community college and technical institutes also increased enrollment

22. Inclusive Admission Women and Black Students:
Title IX in 1972
Affirmative Action
Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke

23. Transition in Meaning
The 1970s saw a transition in the need for college.
It now became a need for work after graduation
To be ‘middle class’ required a college degree

24. Worth It?
1971 a male college graduate earned 22% more than a high school graduate.
1979 only 13% %
College cost was rising faster than inflation and the average family income

25. Unemployment Rates, Jan 2017

28. College Enrollment, Costs, and Purposes from 1990s to Present Part 3
College in America
College Enrollment, Costs, and Purposes from 1990s to Present Part 3

29. 1990s and 2000s Enrollment and Tuition
Enrollment, tuition continue to go up
1990 – 2000 increased 11%
increased 37%
1990 – 1991 average tuition was $10,620
2000 – 2001 average tuition was $13,393
2010 – 2011 average tuition was $18,133

30. 1990s and 2000s Unemployment Rates
Unemployment rates for college graduates continues to declin
1990 – 6.5% unemployment for bachelor’s degree (24.9% college drop out)
% unemployment for bachelor’s degree (18.4% college drop out)
2010 – 5.5% unemployment for bachelor’s degree (17.3% college drop out)
2013 – 6,900 colleges and universities

31. Final Stats As of March 2017:
33.4% of the adult U.S. population had a bachelor’s degree or higher 28% in 2006)
1940 – 4.6% of adults had a bachelor’s degree

32. UC Application Data Fall 2017 of Middle 25%-75% of students
Campus
Admit Rate
G.P.A.
ACT Composite Scores
SAT Reading & Writing Scores
SAT Math Scores
SAT Essay Scores
Berkeley
17%
4.15 – 4.30
Davis
44%
3.95 – 4.25
Irvine
37%
4.00 – 4.25
Los Angeles
16%
4.13 – 4.31
Merced
70%
3.4 – 3.91
Riverside
57%
3.6 – 4.04
San Diego
34%
4.04 – 4.28
Santa Barbara
33%
3.96 – 4.25
Santa Cruz
51%
3.70 – 4.13

33. Cal State Application Data Fall 2017 – in progress
Campus
Admit Rate
Average G.P.A.
Average ACT Score
Average SAT Score
Bakersfield
62%
3.2 19
912
Channel Islands
83% 20
925
Chico
67%
3.45 22 X
Dominguez Hills
53%
3.13
958
East Bay
74%
1022
Fresno
3.46
915
Fullerton
46%
3.58
Humboldt
81%
3.1 26
1050
Long Beach
28%
3.5 23
1150
Los Angeles
68%
3.14 18
880
Maritime Academy
61%
3.36
21-27
Monterey Bay
44%
18-24

34. Cal State Application Data Fall 2015 Continued
Campus
Admit Rate
Average G.P.A.
Average ACT Score
Average SAT Score
Northridge
75%
3.09 19
926
Pomona
53%
3.43 23
995
Sacramento
71%
3.25
17-23
985
San Bernardino
83%
3.22
16-20
894
San Diego
37%
3.6
22-26
1103
San Francisco
64%
3.14 21
997
San Jose
76%
3.28 X
San Luis Obispo
31%
3.88 27
1244
San Marcos
67%
3.18
Sonoma
80%
3.2
19-24
Stanislaus
93% 20
949

36. Is College Worth It? Part 3 Wrap-Up
On your Google Doc:
Give 1 pro for each of your 3 college choices
Give 1 con for each of college choices, taking everything into consideration