Making College Pay: An Economist Explains How to Make a Smart Bet on Higher Education

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The cost of college makes for frightening headlines and politics. The outstanding balance of student loans is more than $1.5 trillion nationally, while tuitions continue to rise. And on the heels of a pandemic that nearly dismantled the traditional “college experience,” we have to wonder: Is college really worth it?

From a financial perspective, the answer is yes, says economist Beth Akers. It’s true that college is expensive. But once we see higher education for what it is — an investment in future opportunities, job security, and earnings — a different picture emerges: The average college graduate earns a million dollars more over their lifetime, and most four-year schools deliver a 15 percent return on investment — double that of the stock market.

Yet these outcomes are not guaranteed. Rather, they hinge upon where and how you opt to invest your tuition dollars. Simply put, the real problem with college isn’t the cost; it’s the risk that your investment might not pay off.

In “Making College Pay: An Economist Explains How to Make a Smart Bet on Higher Education” (Penguin Random House, 2021), Akers shows how to stack the deck in your favor by making smart choices about where to enroll, what to study, and how to pay for it. You’ll learn:

• Why choosing the right major matters more than where you enroll;
• The best criteria for picking a school (hint: not selectivity or ranking);
• Why there’s a high cost of working part-time while earning your degree;
• Why it’s often best to borrow, even if you can afford to pay outright;
• The pros and cons of nontraditional degree programs; and
• How to take advantage of new, low-risk financing tools.

Full of practical advice for students and parents, “Making College Pay” reminds us that higher education remains an engine for opportunity, upward mobility, and prosperity.

Praise for “Making College Pay”

“In practical terms, choosing to attend college and deciding how to pay for it is literally a million-dollar investment decision. No aspiring student or parent should make such decisions without the wisdom found in ‘Making College Pay.’”

— Mitchell E. Daniels Jr., president of Purdue University and former governor of Indiana

“The high cost of college is one of those worries that keeps students and parents up at night. If you’re one of them, ‘Making College Pay’ will help you sleep a bit easier, by showing that a college degree is one of the safest, smartest investments you can make in your future, or your child’s. Full of easy-to-understand advice grounded in deep expertise and research, this is the rare book that will appeal to both parents and policy wonks alike.”

— Martin West, William Henry Bloomberg Professor of Education, Harvard University

“Choosing a college and deciding how to pay for it is one of the biggest financial decisions of a lifetime. Too many people don’t understand their choices and make bad decisions as a result. This book is the cure for that problem. Avoiding the ‘on the one hand . . .’ vice of many economists, Beth Akers offers a jargon-free, clearly written, and well-reasoned guide with very practical advice for young people and their parents about how to choose a college and how to pay for it.” 

— David Wessel, Director, Hutchins Center on Fiscal & Monetary Policy, Brookings Institution