Is There Such a Thing as a Rip Off Degree?

The fact that so many young graduates are struggling to find work and that studying for a degree is so expensive means that students are being ripped off. Ultimately, if a degree doesn’t help you into a related career, it’s a waste of money.

University Profit - Going to university is very expensive and puts most students in a lot of debt. However, many young people feel an increasing pressure to do a degree because of the perception that it is the only way to land a so-called good career. This means universities can take advantage of students by offering lower quality degrees, knowing that there will likely be demand. Therefore, many degrees give universities a tidy profit at the expense of students who don’t actually benefit, a blatant rip off.

Many degrees give universities a tidy profit at the expense of students who don’t actually benefit, a blatant rip off

Degree Outcomes - The last government was criticised by Labour and the Liberal Democrats for making it harder for those from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend university because of their crackdown on rip off degrees. However, the law specifically targeted degrees with high drop-out rates and poor employment prospects. Any course that few people are motivated to finish and that does little to help you get a job can legitimately be called a rip off.

Better Alternatives - Proponents of the crackdown on rip off degrees have often pointed to the better alternatives on offer. For example, apprenticeships are often degree level and combine learning on the job with earning money and almost always lead to a decent career, something that can’t be said of many university courses these days. Ultimately, if the alternative to a university degree is cheaper but still leads to a better outcome, the degree is a rip off.

Despite the idea that many degrees are a rip off because of the poor job prospects they offer, there is actually no such thing as a rip off degree. University is about more than just the job you get at the end of it and in many cases, it is not the course that is the problem.

Economic Factors - Degrees are generally seen as being a rip off because students struggle to gain employment once they have graduated. However, this is a problem with the economy and labour market rather than the degrees themselves. Before the 2009 financial crisis, even media studies graduates had wide ranging job opportunities.

Beyond Academic Considerations - Going to university is about more than just gaining academic or practical skills relevant to getting a job and the value of a degree cannot be measured simply by its graduates’ earnings. University can develop all kinds of benefits from time management and communication skills to independent living and lifelong friendships. With increasing numbers of graduates doing jobs not directly related to their degree, it is these kinds of skills that are immensely valuable.

It is not degrees that are a rip off but rather broader inequalities lower down that mean, even before university, there isn’t a level playing field

Broader Educational Problems - It is wrong to blame many graduates’ poor outcomes simply on the content of their degree course because this masks other problems in the educational system. Britain’s class system, for example, has a huge influence on employment prospects. Graduates’ wealth and connections are still significant no matter what degree they do. It is therefore not degrees that are a rip off but rather broader inequalities lower down that mean, even before university, there isn’t a level playing field.