This spring, a team of three Peoria Academy Journalists submitted articles to the Harvard Business Political Review Essay Contest for Middle Schoolers. As a team, they earned: third place Globally, seccond in North America, and second in the United States. The following is the essay submitted by Lea Lagache, who earned Honors Status.
Is college a scam? An important question, because the answer could determine your access to opportunity and success. Recently, colleges in the United States have been making headlines as the Trump administration turns its attention to them. This “crackdown” has brought higher education into scrutiny: Is it worth it? Is it necessary for success? College is more than a school; it offers an experience that can’t be gained anywhere else. Professors teach college students not just about course content but about problem solving beyond the classroom.
In October of last year, a letter was sent to nine major universities calling for universities to adhere to the “government’s priorities on admissions, women’s sports, free speech, student discipline and college affordability,” according to PBS. To add on to those demands, the Trump administration has worked towards eliminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in universities. When in the context of higher education, DEI initiatives could mean “engaging in broader outreach and recruitment measures to expand a college applicant pool” or simply making a college student feel more comfortable on a college campus.
Without those initiatives, the progress that has been made over decades will be eliminated, and we will revert to the unequal society we have tried so hard to overcome. According to a report by Citigroup, “If four key racial gaps for Blacks — wages, education, housing, and investment — were closed 20 years ago, $16 trillion could have been added to the U.S. economy. And if the gaps are closed today, $5 trillion can be added to U.S. GDP over the next five years.” The results of this study should signal to the federal government the benefits of DEI programs and what they can add to our society, rather than any need to eliminate them.
High price of ed
One main argument against enrolling in colleges and universities would be the high tuition prices. In the 2025-2026 academic year, the U.S.’s average price for public tuition was $10,340,
and for a private college $39,307.
The price for college has increased by 17% in the past 20 years, at a rate significantly higher than that of inflation. For the majority of Americans, those prices aren’t feasible and would require student loans.
College has become a luxury, where it should be accessible to everyone, regardless of socio economic status. In the U.S., it has become a huge “can-I-can-I-not” decision that relies too heavily on cost. The gap between upper and lower class is widening, and that can be attributed to, among other things, the opportunities that college can provide. The expense of college in contributing to the inability to access those opportunities for low-income families.
In exchange for tens of thousands of dollars and four years of hard work, the students would only be earning a Bachelor’s degree, which would only be useful if the volatile job market still has a place for it. For many people, it seems that degree really isn’t worth the four years it would take to get it for the money spent. Instead of hoping a degree will result in employment, you could be using that money for any other expense you might have, and using those four years as time to get experience in your field. Any college debt that you would collect wouldn’t be worth it, especially since that debt can stay with you for decades and can’t be cleared by bankruptcy laws. In the end, the argument made is that the degree isn’t worth the time, money, and work needed to get it. Ultimately, you can still be “successful” without a college degree.
Beyond the classroom
Colleges, or higher education as a whole, have always been a center of exploration, education and collaboration. Students learn not in only the traditional way they might have been taught in high school, but a way that goes further with professors who are experts in their field. These professors maintain the highest standards for learning rather than teaching students in the same way they might have learned throughout high school. College gives students a way to problem solve and develop critical thinking skills that can be applied to any profession.
More than the face-level benefits a Bachelor’s degree can give, such as lower rates of unemployment and poverty, there is a large amount of benefits in terms of increased career salary, health benefits and retirement plans. After studying surveys and studies, it is proven that students with an education past high school will self-report higher levels of health. The median income for workers with a Bachelor’s degree is substantially higher, by hundreds of thousands of dollars, over a lifetime. The benefits of a college education and degree are substantial and in direct correlation with positive living standards.
It is certainly true that the debt gained from tuition or associated costs of college is extremely substantial. It must be said that college is expensive, and the costs are only increasing. But the skills learned from a college education can’t be learned anywhere else, and the experience you will gain from working with experts in your field is unique. College can be a gateway to opportunities that aren’t available without the money, time and effort put into it.
The mantra: “is college a scam?” was repeating in my head as I was writing, and was my guiding question throughout my research. I struggled with this question, because the amount of information and sources are overwhelming. I found information that supported both opposing arguments, and at times I would be conflicted. By no means do I intend to say that the college model we have is perfect, because in reality it is far from it. But for me, from the research and data I found, higher education seems to be an important step in any career in a way that can set you up for success; so I will ask the reader, with the information you read, and the opinions you have formed, is college a scam?
By Lea Lagache, Peoria Academy Journalism Club