【英语国际】美国人越发觉得念大学没用

As the price of higher education continues to rise through a shaky economic recovery, fewer Americans are considering college a good investment, especially compared to other needs for savings.

In a survey of 3,000 people, 63.5% said a college education is still a good financial investment for young adults given rising costs, compared to 79.1% last year and 80.9% in 2008. The declining sentiment is reflected across all age groups - 63.5% of those aged 18-29 said college is a good investment, compared to 76.7% last year. Just 61.5% of those over 65 years old said it is a good investment - 82.1% said the same in 2009.

A separate study released last month by Payscale, an online salary and compensation information company, ranked 852 institutions across the country by the colleges' returns on investment over 30 years.

The July priorities survey, released Tuesday by financial services group COUNTRY Financial, shows a shift in saving priorities through an uncertain economy.

Most Americans - 42.8% - said this year that saving for their own retirement was more important than saving for their child's college education, indicating an increase from last year's 40.7%. Consequently, the proportion of those who prioritized saving for their child's education decreased - to 40.7% this year from 47% last year. This year, 16.5% said they were not sure, marking the greatest uncertainty over the last four years.

'It's understandable why Americans are questioning how to prioritize college education and retirement funding, particularly with the skyrocketing costs in both areas. But with graduates likely to earn $1 million more in their lifetime than non-grads, college remains an important investment in a family's future despite the rising price tag,' said Keith Brannan, vice president of Financial Security Planning for COUNTRY Financial. 'The good news, however, is that people are putting their retirement savings first. You can always borrow to pay for college, but you can't borrow for retirement. With the proper planning, Americans can achieve their financial goals for both.'

This year's proportion of those who prioritize retirement savings, however, is in line with the 43% surveyed in 2007. There was least uncertainty in 2008, and 47.1% prioritized saving for their own retirement, the greatest proportion over the last four years.

Whereas those in the lower-income bracket tended to save for their child's education over their own retirement - 53.2% versus 23.8% for people making less than $20,000 - those on the other end who make more than $100,000 a year erred toward prioritizing retirement savings - 38% said saving for their child's education was more important, 52.5% prioritized retirement.

Almost 31% of those surveyed took out loans to pay for college, and 64.3% of those who borrowed have paid them off. Of those who took out loans, about half said their loans had little to no impact on life decisions like getting married, buying a home or saving for retirement.

But younger respondents reflected greater loan burdens. Of the 18-29 year-olds who took out loans, 40% said education loans have significantly impacted their life decisions, 37.7% have been somewhat impacted, and 14.4% have been affected, but not much. Just 7.9% said loans have not affected their decisions at all.

Younger Americans, however, were also most likely to say parents shouldn't have to pay for any college costs for their children. Of those ages 18-29, 15.2% said students should be the ones to pay for their own education. Across all age groups, more than half of the respondents said parents and children should share higher education costs.

在经济复苏缓慢的背景下，高等教育的价格仍然呈上涨趋势，越来越多的美国人认为大学并不是一个好的投资，尤其相对于其他储蓄的需求来说更是如此。

AFP/Getty Images美国人越来越觉得念大学没有用。在一个针对3,000人的调查中，63.5%受访者认为，虽然大学教育费用上涨，但是对年轻人来说仍是好的金融投资，去年和2008年持此意见的受访者百分比分别为79.1%和80.9%。百分比下降的趋势在各个年龄群都有体现──18到29岁的受访者有63.5%认为大学是好的投资，去年为76.7%。而65岁以上的受访者只有61.5%认为大学是好的投资，2009年持相同意见者则占82.1%。

网上薪酬调查公司Payscale上月发布了一个研究报告，将美国852家大学按照过去30年内的投资回报进行排序。

金融服务机构COUNTRY Financial周二发布的七月储蓄优先顺序调查（July priorities survey）显示，在经济前景不明朗的环境下，人们的储蓄选择的优先顺序发生了变化。

大多数美国人（占42.8%）表示，今年退休储蓄比孩子的大学教育储蓄重要，相比去年的40.7%有所增加。同时，以孩子教育储蓄为先的比例就下降了，从去年的47%降至今年的40.7%。今年，16.5%的人持不确定的态度，是过去四年来比例最大的一年。

“美国人对于如何安排大学教育和退休储蓄的疑惑是可以理解的，尤其当两部分的费用都在迅速增长。但是大学毕业生一生中比非毕业生能多赚100万美元，从这点来看，虽然费用上涨，大学对于一个家庭的未来依然是很重要的投资。”COUNTRY Financial金融安全计划副总裁布莱南（Keith Brannan）说，“但是好消息是，人们正把退休储蓄放在首位。你可以为大学借钱，而不能为退休借钱。有了合理的计划，美国人可以兼顾两者。”

今年把退休储蓄放在首位的人数比例与2007年的43%一致。2008年，持不确定态度的人数比例最少，47.1%将退休储蓄放在首位，是过去四年来比例最大的一年。

然而，低收入人群更倾向于为孩子的教育储蓄，年收入在2万美元以下的人群有53.2%将教育储蓄放在首位，23.8%将退休储蓄放在首位。而高收入人群，也就是年收入10万美元以上的人群则相反，38%认为孩子的教育储蓄更重要，而52.5%将退休储蓄放在首位。

大约31%的受访者靠借贷支付大学费用，64.3%的借贷者已还清借款。半数的借贷者表示他们的贷款对结婚、买房或退休储蓄等生活决策有很少或没有影响。

但是较年轻的受访者似乎承担着更大的贷款负担。借贷者中18到29岁的受访者有40%表示教育贷款对他们的生活决策有很大影响，37.7%表示有一些影响，14.4%表示有影响但不大。只有7.9%表示贷款对他们的生活决策毫无影响。

然而，较年轻的美国人也表示父母不该为孩子支付大学费用。18到29岁的受访者中，15.2%表示学生应该自己支付教育费用。所有受访者中有多半人表示父母和孩子应分担高等教育费用。