Is college even worth it these days?

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Kimberly Adams (0:31)

More people these days are thinking college might not be worth it.

From Marketplace in Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams. More Americans than ever are questioning the value of higher education. A new survey from Gallup finds that just 31% of adults in the US think a college education is very important. That's the lowest since Gallup first asked that question nearly 50 years ago. Marketplace's Stephanie Hughes looks at what's going on.

Stephanie Hughes (0:59)

In the cauldron of ingredients that's led to this loss of trust in higher education, the cost of college is key. So are the loans people take out to cover that cost.

Josh Weiner (1:09)

Everybody knows somebody who's drowning in debt.

Stephanie Hughes (1:12)

Josh Weiner leads the Aspen Institute's College Excellence Program.

Josh Weiner (1:16)

That difficulty repaying debt is shaping how people feel about the whole system.

Stephanie Hughes (1:21)

Another ingredient, says Weiner, many recent college grads have struggled to find work, and their stories resonate with would-be students.

Also, says Catherine Hill with the education nonprofit Ithaca SNR, higher ed hasn't worked out for a lot of people. There are more than 43 million adults in the US who started college, may have taken on some debt, but never got a degree.

Catherine Hill (1:42)

Those people haven't experienced the benefits of going on to higher education, and in many cases, it's probably made them worse off.

Stephanie Hughes (1:49)

Top that off with a heavy dollop of worry about what AI is going to do to the labor market, and you end up with the current stew of uncertainty. That's tough for colleges, which are also seeing fewer international students and a dwindling number of young people.

Catherine Hill (2:03)

I think schools are going to be very challenged in terms of net tuition revenue.

Stephanie Hughes (2:07)

Hill says one potential source of new students are the old ones, those millions of people who started college, but never finished. I'm Stephanie Hughes from Marketplace.

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Kimberly Adams (3:42)

More than 2 million young people between the ages of 19 and 24 could lose Medicaid coverage in the next couple of years as new work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks phase in, according to a new report from the Urban Institute. This is in the 40 Medicaid expansion states, plus Washington, DC., where low-income adults who don't have kids or a disability are currently able to get free or low-cost health coverage through the government. And it's despite the fact that nearly 90 percent of young adults should still be eligible to keep their insurance under the new rules. Marketplace's Samantha Fields has more.

Samantha Fields (4:20)

A lot is changing soon for many people on Medicaid. In most states, starting January 1st, to keep their insurance, low-income adults will have to prove they're working or volunteering at least 80 hours a month, that they're in school at least half time, or that they should be exempt from those requirements because they're a caregiver or too sick to work.

And they'll have to submit that proof every six months, twice as often as they do now.

Leo Queo (4:45)

Just by virtue of people having to do more paperwork, you see these dramatic estimates of the number of people who will lose their coverage.

Samantha Fields (4:56)

Leo Queo at Georgetown Center for Children and Families says the risk is particularly high for young people.