{
  "id": 146317,
  "title": "Who should go to college? More students may benefit than we think",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/04/who-should-go-to-college-more-students-may-benefit-than-we-think",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-04T20:40:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Chalkbeat",
    "slug": "chalkbeat",
    "url": "https://www.chalkbeat.org/2026/08/04/who-should-go-to-four-year-college/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The ongoing debate about who should attend college is far more complex than it may seem at first glance. While college-educated individuals typically earn higher salaries, the assumption that everyone should pursue higher education may not hold true. Mike Petrilli, a representative of the Fordham Institute, argues that pushing academically underprepared students into college without proper readiness can lead to unnecessary debt without guaranteed benefits. Despite this, a growing body of research indicates that students who just meet academic thresholds for college admission often reap significant economic advantages.\n\nA 2014 study by Yale economist Seth Zimmerman analyzed students at Florida International University (FIU) who had GPAs just above and below the threshold of 3.0. Zimmerman compared these students to their peers who were not admitted to FIU, finding that the admitted students earned approximately 22% more a decade later. This advantage was notable given that the admitted students had SAT scores around the 21st percentile of high school seniors planning to attend college.\n\nFurther studies in Georgia, Massachusetts, and Texas also demonstrated that students who just met the admission criteria for four-year public universities earned more annually by age 30 compared to similar students who were not admitted. In all cases, the students who gained admission were at roughly the 30th percentile of SAT performance, suggesting that traditional college readiness benchmarks might be too stringent.\n\nThe research, while specific to certain contexts and time periods, consistently finds that students who did not excel in high school but were able to attend college often benefit economically. These benefits are substantial enough to suggest that even marginal students—those academically underprepared for college—might stand to gain from attending college, even if they do not complete their degrees.\n\nWhile the findings are promising, they should be interpreted cautiously. The studies were conducted in different settings and with different groups of students, and the effects on non-graduates could not be directly measured. Additionally, the research does not address potential future changes in the value of a college degree due to technological advancements or shifts in the job market. Nonetheless, the evidence suggests that expanding college accessibility to more students, even those near the margin of academic readiness, could yield significant economic benefits.",
  "summary": "Chalkbeat Ideas is a section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. It’s well known that college-educated workers earn more money, on average, than those with just a high school diploma. And there are few middle-class jobs available for workers without a degree, as I found in a recent data analysis .…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}