Check out our alumni interviews, and you’ll learn that most of the successful people on our site gained a lot from their college years. You’ll hear funny stories, life changing experiences and mentors who made a difference. Another thing you’ll learn, is that many of these people found college a priceless learning experience, but didn’t necessarily pursue their degree major.

It’s difficult for recent grads to find jobs, as the unemployment rate is high and companies are finding balance and making do with fewer employees. This year, employers say they'll hire 22% fewer college graduates than last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, an organization of career counselors. However, colleges expect to see the highest number of graduates in a decade, an article in The Wall Street Journal online states. It says the average starting salary for graduates who do get jobs, meanwhile, dropped to $48,515 this spring, down 2.2% from the same time last year, according to NACE.

Many students are opting to continue in high education to avoid being in the less than desirable job market. Graduate applications for 2007-2008 were up 8 percent nationwide compared to the year before, according to the most recent numbers from the Council of Graduate Schools. Schools such as Northwestern University and Harvard are already tracking double-digit increases this year. It may be a smart move, when it comes to keeping up with salaries in the long run. College grads who went to graduate school instead of the job market during the early '80s recession didn't suffer the same wage losses, says Ms. Kahn, the Yale economist.

A story printed in the New York Times states there is evidence that a college degree doesn’t even mean you will earn more money. Of course, those precious four (or more) years are invaluable in determining character, but they may not be in making money. The story references research that states the earning power of college graduates still far outpaces that of less-educated workers. But, research completed by two economists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank Levy and Peter Temin, shows that “a college degree does not ensure a bigger share of the economic pie for many graduates.�

Instead of new grads, the top 1 percent of Americans, who earn on average $1.1 million, took in 21.8 percent of the nation’s income, their largest share since 1929, the study shows.