But in just one generation the four-year degree holder has leaped ahead in the earnings wars.
But four years later, not one has a four-year degree, and only Melissa is still working on getting one.
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Meeting the ever-increasing cost of a four-year degree requires a mix of parental contributions, savings and financial aid, including scholarships and loans.
After all, there is going to be some unfairness in a system that has only half the population getting a four-year degree.
Those on limited incomes, with domestic duties (children, a sick parent or spouse), or a full-time job, struggle to get a four-year degree.
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But if your job aspirations require a four-year degree, take my advice and choose a college you can afford, both during and after graduation.
Plus, you can earn an associate degree from a local community college for a fraction of the cost of a four-year degree at a university.
Also, for most areas of study, an associate degree puts you halfway toward a four-year degree should you decide to pursue one at a later time.
Does the school offer a specific four-year degree in entrepreneurship or entrepreneurial studies, or a concentration in entrepreneurship within the framework of an undergraduate business degree?
And that includes if not a four-year degree, a bachelor of arts degree, then a two-year degree from a community college or vocational training through a community college.
And that's true at high-end jobs, but it's also true -- we want to do more to train skilled workers even if they don't have a four-year degree.
This is critically important because more than half of those who enter community colleges fail to either earn a two-year degree or transfer to a earn a four-year degree.
Florida will not let you work as an interior designer unless you complete a four-year university degree and a two-year apprenticeship and pass a two-day examination.
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Do you suspect that this asset class--a four-year-college degree--might be overpriced?
Take a well-known statistic: As recently as the 1970s, there was little difference in the lifetime earning potential between a high school grad and a four-year-college degree holder.
In fact, on average, the holder of a four-year college degree will earn 62% more over their lifetimes than a typical high-school graduate.
She has a four-year college degree and initially was optimistic that she would quickly find work.
First of all, about 30% of American adults have at least a four-year college degree.
An Advertising Age study from 2003 showed that only 23% of Wal-Mart shoppers had a four-year college degree.
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"I lost my goals of getting a four-year college degree and moving up the ladder like everyone else wants to do, " she said.
Another comment was, you know, what's the best job -- I'm graduating from college, four-year college degree, what's the best job that I should get?
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The scholarship will meet the costs of tuition, if payable, accommodation and living expenses for a four-year undergraduate degree in science, arts, medicine or divinity.
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Midlife adults (age 45-64) are three times as likely to have a four-year college degree today as they were 15 years ago (from 11.5% to 29.5%).
But the enrolment of Prince William, in his final year of a four-year geography degree, is thought to have boosted the university's reputation among the English privately-educated gentry.
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Education Secretary Arne Duncan told a Senate education committee earlier this year that 27 percent of American high schoolers drop out and that 40 percent of the country's "young people" earn a two- or four-year college degree.
But the four-year Scottish honours degree is likely to remain the norm - if only because there isn't enough time for more radical reform.
In reality, more than half of low-income college-ready students don't enroll in four-year bachelor's degree programs because they can't afford the cost.
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