College & university academic degrees

If you have the desire, time, and financial resources to explore a wider range of academic subjects and skills, you may want to pursue a college degree. In college you can study a diverse range of topics, instead of focusing only on the skills you need for one type of job; and you can develop a broad foundation of writing and critical thinking skills to sharpen your mind and prepare you for a wide variety of careers.[2846] A college degree also may help you qualify for more secure, higher-status, and better-paying jobs.[2847]

If you’re currently incarcerated:

You likely do not have access to in-person college programs, but you may be able to pursue a college degree through Distance Education. (See PG. 876 for information on Distance Education programs.)

If you’re formerly incarcerated:

You can pursue a college degree at a community or junior college, a technical school, or 4-year college or university. While college can be expensive,[2848] there are ways to reduce and supplement the expense (see Paying for College, PG. 881).[2849]

  1. 2846

    In addition, attending college can allow you develop social connections with peers and teachers, which can be personally enriching and professionally useful. See Why Go to College?, Scholarships.com, www.scholarships.com/resources/college-prep/preparing-for-college/why-go-to-college/.

  2. 2847

    See Fed. Bureau of Labor Statistics, High Wages After High School—Without a Bachelor’s Degree, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Summer 2012, www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2012/summer/art03.pdf; U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, The 2004-14 Job Outlook for People Who Don’t Have a Bachelor’s Degree, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Fall 2006; Adam Ozimek, Should Everyone Go to College? Forbes.com (May 29, 2014), www.forbes.com/sites/modeledbehavior/2014/05/29/should-everyone-go-to-college/; but see Data on Display: Education Still Pays, Fed. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2014/data-on-display/print/education-still-pays.htm.

  3. 2848

    See Dale J. Stephens, Do You Really Have to Go to College? New York Times (Mar. 7, 2013), www.thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/do-you-really-have-to-go-to-college/?_r=0; but see Why Students Don’t Go to College, Scholarships.com, www.scholarships.com/resources/college-prep/preparing-for-college/why-students-dont-go-to-college/.

  4. 2849

    See Fed. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Paying for College: Strategies to Afford Higher Education Today, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Spring 2013, www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2013/spring/art01.pdf.