Shushanth Gunukula

3/23/16
Independent Research
Pd. 1
Data Collection Analysis
I choose to do an existing data analysis for my project because it best fit my research
topic. Since my quantitative data project cannot be structured into a lab experiment, I planned to
look at data from various professional data studies. I examined different research papers from
certified authors because there is a lot of research and data associated with my research question
of the financial analysis of education. I also clearly analyzed how each of the research studies
relates to my research question because it has many factors. Thus, choosing an existing data
analysis was the best option for me.
My thesis primarily examined the financial benefits of college in the long-term while
financial benefits of high school in the short-term. The data I examined included college
graduates facing underemployment and large amounts of debt and the rising college wage
premium. The underemployment and debt that college students face is actually an indirect
benefit for forgoing college because it is a detriment for college graduates in the short-term.
However, the college wage premium supports benefits for students attending college. College
wage premium is how much more total salary, college graduates make than workers with only a
high school diploma. The data shows college wage premium increases over time, thus showing a
college education, is beneficial in the long-term.
My results supported my thesis of financial benefits of college in the long-term and
financial benefits of forgoing college in the short-term. There is a significant gap between what a
college graduate earns and what a high school graduate earns, as it has nearly reached
approximately two million dollars over a lifetime. This shows benefit of a college education in

the long-term. However, college graduates also face many instances of underemployment which
is being employed in a job that does not require a college degree even though the worker holds a
college degree. The rising percentage of underemployment in the last decade due to many people
attempting to receive a college degree has made the degree far less valuable, with nearly 10
percent of Americans being underemployed. Also, college graduates face thousands of dollars in
debt immediately after they graduate from college making student loans the largest in the U.S.
These problems for college graduates make forgoing college beneficial in the short-term. In
conclusion, my data clearly supports my thesis on the various financial benefits of attending
college or working after high school.