Is College Worth It?

It's an expensive four years and some parents might wonder if they're really getting enough bang for their buck when sending the kids off to college.

According to Pew Research Center surveys, a majority of Americans (57 percent) say the higher education system in the U.S. fails to provide students with good value for the money they spend. A larger majority (75 percent) says college is too expensive for most Americans to afford. But 86% percent of college graduates say college has been a good investment for them personally.

Graduates from a four-year college believe that, on average, they are earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten a degree.

However, most students say student loan debt will impact them financially: 48 percent say it's harder to pay bills and make ends meet, 25 percent say it's harder to buy a home, 24 percent say it's impacted their career choices, and 7 percent say it's delayed marriage/having a family, according to the Pew study.

Is college worth the high costs?