The Value of the Valpo Degree

Currently, many seniors are surveying FAFSA awards, checking scholarship amounts and figuring out how to afford college. Inevitably, these conversations lead to questions about the value of a college investment. Most everyone knows that employer standards in America require a college degree of some sort, but, when it comes to the question of salaries many will ask; will I earn the same, similar, or maybe even a better salary with a college degree from my cheapest school as with a degree from my most expensive school? How much debt is college really worth? Will there even be enough jobs available for college graduates when I graduate to make college worthwhile?
Questions concerning the value of investment are critical to the college decision process. At the end of the day a college education in America is expensive. Costs of tuition at public, private and community colleges and universities have been steadily rising at a rate that will not slow in the near future. The financial aid system expects most students to cover rising costs with increasing debt loads and has done little to keep tuition rates steady. Though scholarship and grant amounts have risen to help students out, they do not make college affordable for most students. In the end, college will cost money and it will cost a lot of money.
However, when you think about it, shouldn’t college cost a lot? When you consider major investments in life such as a car, a house, living expenses, vacations, etc, shouldn’t college be near the top of the list of things to invest in? A college education prepares students for a vast array of scenarios in the working world and, at excellent schools like Valpo, will give you skills to be a leader in the community, family and the world. These skills are hard to put a price on as their value is immeasurable, but I would say that they are worth a lot. If you do not agree then perhaps a college education is not for you. If, on the other hand, these skills are of great value, then I assure you college is worth the investment.
Furthermore, it is important to view your investment in a different light than paying for a car, an xbox, a vacation or whatever else you might want to spend money on. Unlike many major purchases, your college investment will likely yield greater earnings in return. When one buys a car and drives it for a couple of years, it can be resold but at a much lower rate than its initial price. The difference between what you spend for it and what you sell it for is money that is lost to you. Likewise, there are not many vacations that people will pay you to take. Typically vacation spots are very good at helping you part from your wallet. When paying for college you encounter a different story. Earning a simple bachelor’s degree you will average roughly $20,000 per year more than with a high school diploma (www.earnmydegree.com). As you invest in a college or university you invest in your future career and, unlike other major investments, you will earn more money in your future for the college investment you are making now.

So Why Valpo?

Let me point out that Valpo is not the school for everyone. As a university we have an identity and a mission. If you do not find that you mesh well with the university’s identity or mission, then Valpo may not be your best choice of a university. Yet, Valpo appeals to several varied interests of students, alums, and faculty and appeals to them in good ways. Valpo has an excellent sense of community and academic challenge where members of the community challenge one another to be the best that they can be. We are not a place for students who wish to slack off and waste their educational experience on mediocrity. Valpo is a place for students to behold success, see what they need to do to achieve it and put forth sincere effort in rising to the occasion. Even better than that, students and faculty support one another in their pursuits in order that success not be achieved at the expense of others but, rather, through the aid of others. At Valpo you will see that genuine success involves the betterment of all.
As I think about my friends who walked across the stage with me at commencement I think of Fulbright scholars, PhD candidates, doctors, engineers, lawyers, politicians, global leaders and a vast array of interesting, capable, successful people. My peers at Valpo have gone on to big things because we all supported and challenged one another in big ways while students at Valpo. Our success has not been paved by large family estates or fortunes, big money offers from networks of employers, but rather from the hard earned ability to do things well. Real success is marked by the quality of one’s work and there is no short supply of quality on the campus of Valparaiso University…

Spring Break Experience

The following is what a current Valpo junior from Wasau, WI has to say about her spring break service trips. Enjoy!
Valparaiso University has a lot of different service options that students can participate in over Spring Break or the summer. As a sophomore on campus, I have had the privilege of going on two of these types of service oriented trips. Last year I went to Nicaragua with the Education Team to teach elementary school children English. Without being an education major, I was welcomed into the group and was able to broaden my horizons by travelling to a foreign country for two weeks. I was able to work on my Spanish since I had learned in Jr. High School and interact with students unable to speak English. I still receive emails from some of my students that I had there.
While that was an amazing experience, this year I decided to stay slightly closer to home. Through the Social Action Leadership Team on campus, I had the opportunity to travel to New Orleans for a week to work on hurricane relief efforts. It has been approximately five years since the devastation has occurred, but there is still plenty of work remaining. For a week I stayed in a church with eleven other students from Valpo. We had an energetic cook named Brenda that shared her experiences of being around during the storm.
Our work consisted of finishing up two houses a few miles down the road. Each had approximately seven feet of water damage from the levees breaking. The first day we were able to hear the stories of the homeowners; one of the men, a firefighter, explained how his division saved upwards of around 500 people from the flooding. Stories of alligators swimming in the water past houses and people breaking through their attics with axes were mind blowing. Now, every attic is equipped with an ax, and anyone that owns a boat must leave the key inside and have the gas tank full just in case it needs to be taken in the event of an emergency.
Physical labor on our end to restore the houses included sanding, mudding, texturing, priming, and painting. The work was at times monotonous, but the looks and gratitude from the homeowners made it entirely worth the blisters accumulated on our hands. It was humbling to know how we could help others so much with only a few hours of our time. On Thursday of the week, we changed up our scenery by air-boating into the marsh to replant hundreds of trees. With Ball Cypress trees in hand and a shovel type device, we covered the marsh with new baby trees for literally as far as the eye could see. The trees are supposed to help block the strong winds caused by hurricanes from reaching the inland areas with as great of an impact as they typically would.
All in all, my trip to New Orleans and my earlier trip to Nicaragua have given me a greater appreciation for what I have and a greater desire to help others. The university here really encourages students to take advantages outside of campus to learn and grow as an individual. I have learned so much from my service oriented experiences, and I can honestly say that they have impacted my life. If you decide to come to Valpo, try to fit in a time, even if it’s only a week, to commit yourself to service somewhere around the world. I guarantee you won’t regret it.