Bridgepoint Education Inc (BPI): Weighing The Factors

While Harvard’s earning power can make up for the extra years of paying tuition, it’s obviously not a school for everyone, with its difficulty of admission. When comparing Ashford with Western Iowa Tech Community College, with an associate’s degree costing about $5,100 yet with a graduate expecting to earn $32,200, the cheaper cost of a degree with a few extra years of slightly lower earnings can create a difficult choice.

Source: College Reality Check.

In addition, graduation rates should also be reviewed. College Reality Check reports that only 13.2% of Ashford University students graduate in four years. Only 16% of Western Iowa Tech students graduate in two years. Many for-profit colleges, such as Ashford, have similar graduation rates below the national average. At Apollo Group Inc (NASDAQ:APOL)‘s University of Phoenix, at its Phoenix campus, only 2.6% of students graduated within four years, according to information gathered by the Chronicle of Higher Education. In the University of Phoenix’s online program, just 0.7% graduated within four years.

Weighing the factors
College Measures’ findings demonstrate that with college costs at all-time highs, a true cost-benefit analysis needs to be done on a high school graduate’s options. The right four-year college, such as Harvard, can offer a superb education with little debt and employment even with an art history major, whereas the wrong one can leave you without a degree but saddled with loan payments.

The article Are Community Colleges Really a Better Bet Than Harvard? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Newman.

Fool contributor Dan Newman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Bridgepoint Education.

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