What College Students Value Most Might Surprise You
For years, most of us have measured the value of college by what comes after graduation: the salaries, job offers, and career opportunities. We’ve scrutinized whether it was all worth the tuition. Yet today, students are measuring college’s value a little differently. Today, students want to leave college with more confidence, having discovered what matters to them and having found a place where they belong.
A new survey by Qualtrics and Buro Happold collected responses from 1,007 college students across the United States. Researchers asked students to evaluate different aspects of their college experience, from personal growth and belonging to academic development, career preparation, and financial return. According to Joshua Bay’s piece in Inside Higher Ed, the results challenge the assumption that students view college primarily as a financial investment.
In fact, personal growth ranked No. 1 among students’ measures of college value, while economic return came in last. Nearly three-quarters of students, 74.2%, said that personal growth and gaining a sense of purpose in college had very high value. Students particularly appreciated opportunities to try new things, become more mindful, tackle academic challenges and build confidence.
“If you think about college, it’s a time for students to find their place, their people and their purpose,” says Elliot Felix, a partner at Buro Happold and co-author of the report.
MORE THAN A PAYCHECK
Michael Darfler, another co-author of the report, noted that personal growth is something students can feel happening in real time, while the financial benefits of a degree may take years to come to fruition. It’s an immediate change. It’s highly likely that a student will leave a tough class feeling more capable or discover a new passion long before landing a first job.
When it comes to defining value, students perceive this a bit differently. First-generation students and veterans reported some of the highest perceptions of value, while transfer students and students with disabilities reported some of the lowest. One factor that really stood out was belonging.
Of the students who felt a strong sense of belonging, 74% rated their college experience as highly valuable. Then for those with a low sense of belonging, numbers dropped to just 43%.
For transfer students, finding that connection can be especially difficult. They’re often stepping into an established campus community while navigating unfamiliar policies, academic requirements and social circles. It also highlights the importance of colleges helping students feel connected rather than leaving them to figure it all out alone.
This is also why helping students feel connected matters. In a June 2026 Washington Post article, transfer student Benny Geller described how attending an orientation specifically for transfer students at American University helped him feel more at home.
“It just helped me feel a bit less like a stranger on campus,” he said.
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