College degree a valuable key even if 'unused'

Hi Harlan: One thing that always bugs me is irresponsible use of statistics. In a recent reply, you said to "Dropping Out" that college grads earn $23,000 more per year than those with only high-school degrees.

While that might be true, you neglect to tell them that this number is an average of the people who got useful degrees that helped them get high-paying jobs and those who got fluff degrees with no real-world application.

For example, the difference between what I make and what my cousin makes is much greater than the $23,000-per-year average. My cousin is a classics major who works at a bookstore with high-school students. My wife did not graduate from college, but instead chose to get vocational training to become a travel agent. She works in an office full of English majors, history majors, etc. who earn the same amount as she does.

If "Dropping Out" follows your advice and stays in college, majoring in a nonuseful subject, then all you will have done is saddle him or her with $20,000 to $30,000 in debt. —Reason-to-Go Guy

Dear Reason-to-Go Guy: What bugs me is that you think this is good advice for the guy who wrote to me. You honestly think an unmotivated guy without a college degree is better off than an unmotivated guy with one?

I couldn't disagree more.

Fast-forward 10 years down the line, when that unmotivated guy falls in love, starts a family and becomes motivated. That fluff college degree can open doors. It's a fact. Your cousin has the key; he just chooses to keep it in his pocket, next to his pocket Shakespeare. In a few years, if he chooses, he can go back to school and teach the high-school students he works with. It's all about choice. As for having a major in mind, that's just wrong. Most students change their majors at least once; some change multiple times. College is a time to figure yourself out, or at least start. A degree represents choices. It might be expensive, but short-term debt is a lot less burdensome than long-term regret. And sure, there are exceptions, but the unmotivated guy who wrote to me isn't one.

Dear Harlan: I'm a 17-year-old and my boyfriend is an 18-year-old senior who is going off to college. He's afraid that we're not going to be together for long because he doesn't know how I'm going to handle his college situation. I want to be with him while he's in college, but I don't want to wait three months to see him. How should I handle this situation? —Summer Girlfriend