Do you know of a good website for statistics about the economic benefits of college education, ect.????

Question

ok, im doing a public speaking persuasive speech about how we should all place a very high value education (im from the USA) because it can benefit us by broadening our minds, provide economic benefits and also because of how fortunate we are in the USA to get an education....I CAN BARELY find any good websites with statistics to help with my speech after looking for hours...=( so, any sites that have to do with economic benefits/stats, maybe research on how the brain changes from education??? and even about global education statistics (such as what countries do not have the opportunities the USA has, ect) will greatly help me. I figured I could easily find this info, but it's not so. Ok, thank you so much!!!

thank you very much to the first responder!!! very helpful

Answer 1

* http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SavingForCollege/IsYourDegreeWorth1million.aspx
this one talks about the relative value of different degrees and specifically certain majors.

* http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/004214.html
this one is from the US Census and is probably the most reliable data based on facts. Look at the links that say "summary tables" and "detailed tables" for a lot of statistics.

* http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/cps2006.html
these are very very detailed and will provide you for all the support you could want.

* I'd shy from the "there are starving people in Ethiopia" approach on this topic - most people don't respond well to that argument because "I'm not in Ethiopia" -- instead, concentrate on the value of a higher education here in the USA.

* Look at this chart on degrees awarded over time. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/phct41.html
compare the percentage with a HS diploma and college degree as we've moved into the 21st century. This data supports the idea that "a college degree is the new high school diploma" or that a college education is now essential to gain a middle class position in America.

* Consider the non-economic value of education. Things like improved quality of life and improved overall health. Also that children are more likely to attend college if their parents graduated from college.

* the physiological response to higher education (brain changes) is a whole speech all on its own. It can get very technical and unless you're talking to a science class, this topic will leave your audience asleep. People want to hear about money - stay on money to keep them tuned in.

If this speech is for a college class - you're preaching to the choir. Your classmates are already in college so you should concentrate on completing the degree and not on attending college. I use this quote: "someone who drops out of college is called a "college dropout" while someone who never went to college is called a "high school graduate". It's better to be a graduate than a drop-out so complete the degree"

If this is for a HS class then remember not to judge the audience. Some people just can't go to college and some people don't want to go to college. Inform and persuade but don't judge. ☺

Good luck.