70% of adults with a college-educated parent have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 26% of those without a college-educated parent.[2] When you finish your degree, you give a generation-spanning gift to your community. Your great-great-great-grandkids will thank you.

Obviously, the most privileged among us can afford college. But did you know that many students graduate debt-free?[2] Or that most colleges will work with you to come up with a manageable repayment plan?

You may think the value of a degree depends on what you study, but graduating itself improves your odds of getting hired.[4] Even in fields that don’t require a degree, like many tech careers, hiring managers tend to prefer candidates who have completed a bachelor’s degree program.

Here’s a fact that may be startling: For the average person who doesn’t have a college degree, it takes thirty years to reach the salary that their degree-holding counterpart makes when starting a new job.[1] That’s to say nothing of the other benefits of higher education. Speaking of which…

Colleges are invested in the success of their alumni, and many offer a plethora of resources for the rest of their graduates’ working lives. That’s especially valuable for students from under-resourced communities who may not have access to professional connections through family.