People say college doesn't matter. They're right and wrong.
It's Been a Minute
NPR
4.6 • 8.8K Ratings
🗓️ 10 October 2025
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
About 19 million people are going to college right now. But one recent poll from Gallup shows that the percentage of Americans who view college as very important is at an all time low, dropping from 75% in 2010 to 35% now. Those who say it's not very important increased from 4% to 24% in the same time period. This is a pretty dramatic change that goes beyond ballooning costs.
Brittany chats with Elissa Nadworny, an education correspondent for NPR, and Kathryn Palmer, reporter for Inside Higher Ed, to get into what’s behind this changing perception – what politics has to do with it – and whether college is still worth it.
(0:00) Is going to college still beneficial?
(2:04) What's behind people thinking a college degree isn't necessary?
(7:54) Why colleges should be responsible for their students's success
(10:23) Why Republicans benefit from college but still discredit it
(16:39) 'Wait WHAT?!': Trivia about the poppiest moments from last week
(21:22) Responding to your comments :)
Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse
For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at npr.org/podclub.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. |
| 0:05.0 | Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors. |
| 0:09.0 | On our new show, Sources and Methods. |
| 0:11.5 | NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, |
| 0:15.3 | helping you understand why distant events matter here at home. |
| 0:19.1 | Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:25.0 | In your reporting, do you think college is viewed as just as important as it used to be? |
| 0:31.6 | Catherine, you want to go first? |
| 0:32.7 | No. |
| 0:33.4 | I don't. |
| 0:34.9 | You don't want to go first or you think it's not viewed as important? |
| 0:39.0 | Oh, yeah. |
| 0:39.5 | No. |
| 0:39.8 | I do not think that it is perceived to be as important as it once was. |
| 0:46.4 | Yeah, I think people are... |
| 0:47.9 | They're certainly changing in how they think about college. |
| 0:50.8 | And yet, a lot of people are still going. |
| 0:55.6 | Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, |
| 1:00.8 | a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident. |
| 1:16.9 | We are well into the fall semester for many American college students, but increasingly, |
| 1:20.3 | Americans are wondering, is college still worth it? |
| 1:26.0 | One recent poll from Gallup shows that the percentage of Americans who view college as very important is at an all-time low, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.