Question

High school students and families are increasingly questioning whether investing in a college or university education is still worth it.

The short answer is “Yes.” 1. A wide range of statistics shows the economic advantage of a four-year college education. Over a lifetime, students who graduate from college can expect to make about 60% more than those who do not, well over a million dollars more than they would otherwise. 2. They vote more often, volunteer more often and are more likely to own a home. They are healthier and less likely to smoke. They and their children are less likely to be overweight, and their children are more likely to go to college.

But what about the benefits of college that are more difficult to measure? 3.

College takes students to places they’ve never been before. College is a passport to different places, different times, and different ways of thinking. It gives students a chance to understand themselves differently, seeing how their lives are both like and unlike those who inhabited other times and other lands. 4.

College introduces students to people they’ve never met before. One of the most important ways in which students learn, at colleges and universities everywhere, is by communicating with people who are different from themselves both inside and outside of the classroom.

5. No one doubts the value of speed, connectivity (網(wǎng)絡(luò)連通性) and the virtual world in an economy that enjoys all three. But “thinking” is a word that is too often forgotten in our rush to communicate faster and left behind as our brains struggle to keep up with our devices (設(shè)備). College teaches students to change information to insight and knowing to understanding, preparing students for lifetime of considering information and growing in knowledge and in wisdom.

Higher education is valued by people who dream bigger and achieve more, who create their own futures, and shape their own destinies.

A. There is no doubt that college pays off financially.

B. College teaches students the virtue of slowing down.

C. College graduates also tend to lead more active lives.

D. Education encourages people to live healthier and longer lives.

E. College opens minds and worlds in ways that are beyond measurement.

F. For many of us, it is the best chance we will have to follow our curiosity.

G. They are equally significant and add up to a lot of value over the course of a lifetime.

Answer 1