As millions of students labor over college applications this month, they and their parents are pondering just how big a tuition bill they want to pay.

Students are increasingly skeptical about the value of a college degree; the proportion who are willing to borrow money for college if necessary has fallen to 53% from 67% in the past year, based on a survey of 800 college students by Sallie Mae, Reston, Va.

Parents are thinking harder, too, about why they sign big tuition checks, based on a steady stream of email I have received since writing about the college cost-to-value equation a few months ago. Here is a look at a few perspectives on the issue:

-- A path to a better-paying job: College graduates in general earn at least 60% more than high-school grads on average, both annually and over their lifetimes, and the income gap has been growing over time, says a 2007 report by the College Board, New York.

Beyond that, students who major in science- or math-related fields tend to earn more right out of college, compared with other majors, research shows. Phillip Hamilton, a St. Louis stockbroker, values the earning potential of a degree from a top professional school for his son, a high-school junior, over any prestige or network a degree from an elite liberal arts college might confer. 'Is a degree in sociology, English or communications from a 'door-opening' school really going to help with that landscaping job that awaits you?' he asks rhetorically. He hopes his son, 17, chooses a college based on the quality of its engineering, food-science or accounting program, and majors in one of those subjects. 'Then if you decide to work at a surf shop after graduation, you can still snap out of it at 27 and get a real job,' he says.

-- Preparing for a rich, well-rounded life: To Megan DeLamar Schroeder, Texarkana, Texas, planning the college experience based entirely on future income demeans its true value. 'The intangible benefits . . . cannot be reduced to some kind of short-term cost benefit-analysis, as though one is purchasing a piece of property or an expensive sports car,' she says.

She borrowed $40,000 to earn an economics degree from Stanford University in the 1980s, which landed her only an entry-level job at a bank upon graduation. She spent 10 years paying off her student loans. But the experience was worth every penny, she says. The opportunity 'to 'marinate' for four years in an amazing environment' served as a 'springboard to lifelong learning and inquisitiveness,' she says. She will encourage her 10-year-old twin daughters to hew to similar values when they start their college search, she says.

Research supports Ms. Schroeder's viewpoint. College grads generally show higher rates of civic participation, engaging in volunteer work and donating blood at more than twice the rate of high-school graduates, says the College Board study. They are less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise daily. College grads also have a much higher likelihood of being happy, says a 2005 survey of 3,014 adults by the Pew Research Center; 42% of college grads reported being very happy, compared with 30% of those who only finished high school or less.

-- Finding work you love: James Landon, Apache Junction, Ariz., says this is a good reason to attend college, and he sees big public universities as the best and most cost-effective place to conduct such a search. Four of his five children attended big public universities. Two of them had no idea as freshmen what they wanted to do, Mr. Landon says, and the universities' broad offerings of programs, majors and facilities helped them figure it out. One wound up in finance and is a successful real-estate broker; the other majored in psychology and political science and is now pursuing a foreign-service career in graduate school.

College degrees can guide students' career choices in subtler ways. Jason Wotman, 24, loves his work as a co-founder of Tailwaiters, a Great Neck, N.Y., startup that runs tailgate parties for clients at sporting events and concerts. 'It's mine, it's my baby. Every step, every ounce of progress, feels good,' he says.

His degree in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt University helped launch him as an entrepreneur, he says. His courses in marketing, human-resource management and leadership equipped him well to size up opportunities and run a startup. 'Taking it from an idea to an actual business, I felt like I had the tools,' he says.

-- Gaining an influentialnetwork: Many graduates of elite colleges swear by the value of their network of campus buddies in opening doors after graduation, and say striving to gain admission to such schools is worth the effort. However, a long-term study of 6,335 college grads published in 1999 by the National Bureau of Economic Research found graduating from a college where entering students have higher SAT scores -- a sign of exclusivity -- didn't pay off in higher post-graduation income.

What matters more, it seems, is graduates' personal drive. In a surprising twist, a stronger predictor of income is the caliber of the schools that reject you. Researchers found students who applied to several elite schools but didn't attend them -- presumably because many were rejected -- are more likely to earn high incomes later than students who actually attended elite schools. In a summary of the findings, the Bureau says that 'evidently, students' motivation, ambition and desire to learn have a much stronger effect on their subsequent success than average academic ability of their classmates.'

月，又有数百万莘莘学子踏上了漫漫申请大学之路，他们以及他们的父母都得考虑为这个学位掏多少钱的问题。

越来越多的学生开始质疑大学学位的价值：弗吉尼亚赖斯顿市（Reston）学生贷款市场协会（Sallie Mae）一项针对800名大学生的调查显示，愿意借钱上大学的学生比例从去年的67%降至如今的53%。

我在几个月前开始撰文探讨上大学的支出与回报问题，随后电邮便源源而至，很多家长表示，如今在巨额学费支票上签字时也得三思了。以下便是有关这个话题的一些观点：

──大学学位是高薪工作的敲门砖：纽约大学理事会（College Board, New York）2007年的一份报告显示，不管是单年的年薪还是一生的收入水平，通常说来，大学毕业生要比高中毕业生高出至少60%，而且这一差距还在持续加大。

除此之外，研究还显示，科学或数学相关专业的学生刚毕业时的收入水平就会高于其他专业的学生。圣路易斯市的菲利浦•汉密尔顿（Phillip Hamilton）是一位股票经纪，他的儿子即将高中毕业。他认为，比起名牌综合性大学所能带来的声望和人脉，顶尖职业学校的高收入就业前景更值得看重。他打了个比方：你在一所所谓的能开启机会之门的大学学什么社会学、英语或是传播学，毕业了做的是却园林景观工作，你这个学位真的有用处吗？他希望自己17 岁的儿子选择一所工程学、食品科学或是会计学特别强的学校，专业也就选择这三者其中之一。他说，这样的话，就算你刚毕业时去了家冲浪用品店上班，到27岁时想干点正经事了，也还找得到工作。

──大学学位可以帮你过上丰富多彩的、有品味的生活。德克萨斯州德克萨卡纳（Texarkana）的梅根•德拉玛•施罗德（Megan DeLamar Schroeder）认为，仅仅参照未来的收入水平来选择大学会贬低大学生活的真正价值。她说，就像买房子或是昂贵的跑车一样，一些无形的好处是无法通过短期的成本效益分析得到体现的。

上世纪80年代，她贷款4万美元，去斯坦福大学学习经济，毕业时只在一家银行谋到了一份最底层的工作。她花了十年时间才付清了贷款，不过她说这些钱花得非常值。她说，在一个绝妙的环境中"浸淫"四年的经历让她保持了终生学习的习惯，永葆求知欲。她说，等自己十岁的双胞胎女儿选择大学时，她会鼓励她们秉承同样的价值理念。

研究证实了施罗德的观点。大学理事会的调研显示，大学毕业生通常表现出更高的公民参与意识，投入志愿者活动及无偿献血的人数是高中毕业生的两倍多，吸烟人数较后者少，坚持日常锻炼的人数则更多。皮尤研究忠心（Pew Research Center）2005年针对3,014名成年人的调查显示，大学毕业生的幸福指数也更高，他们当中有42%表示自己非常幸福，而那些高中及以下学历者中这一比例只有30%。

──大学学习可以帮助你找到自己喜欢的工作：亚利桑那州阿帕奇强克逊（Apache Junction）的詹姆斯•兰登（James Landon）说这是上大学的一个很好的理由，他认为大的公立大学是开展这一调研最佳也是最经济省钱的地方。他有五个孩子，四个都上了大的公立大学。兰登说，有两个孩子刚入学时并不知道自己以后想做什么，不过这样的大学有着数量庞杂的课程、专业以及师资，帮助他们最终找到了自己的方向。一个孩子选了经济学，如今是一位成功的房地产经纪；另一个选择了心理学及政治学，如今在研究生院负责外事工作。

Christian Hansen Photographer for The Wall Street Journal

詹森•沃特曼年纪轻轻就开始了创业

大学学位有时还会以更微妙的方式引导学生选择自身的职业。现年24岁的詹森•沃特曼（Jason Wotman）是纽约格雷特内克（Great Neck）Tailwaiters公司的创始人之一，这家新公司为客户举办体育赛事及演奏会活动期间的车尾野餐会。他说，这是我自己的公司，是我自己的孩子。公司迈出的每一步，每一点一滴的发展，感觉都好极了。

他说，在范德比尔特大学（Vanderbilt University）拿到的人力和组织发展专业的学位帮助自己成为了一名企业家。在市场营销、人力资源管理以及领导力课程上习得的知识使得他能够把握机遇、白手起家。他说，我觉得自己拥有了将创意转化为现实的利器。

──大学学习帮你建立起广泛的人脉：许多名校毕业生都表示，毕业之后大学校友的人脉资源为自己开启了机会之门，当初为了进入这些大学所付出的艰辛和努力是完全值得的。不过全美经济研究局（National Bureau of Economic Research）曾针对6,335名大学毕业生开展了一项长期的调研，他们于1999年发表的调研报告称，在入学时学生SAT学术能力评估考试成绩普遍很高──这表明这些学生出类拔萃──的学校，学生毕业后收入不一定就很高。

对收入影响更大的似乎是学生的个人奋斗。有一个非常奇怪的现象，学生当年申请却遭拒的学校水平越高，这位学生今后就越有可能得到高收入。研究者发现，那些申请过多所名校却没能上成的学生──十有八九是被拒了──今后的收入通常会高过那些得偿所愿的学生。经济研究局在调研报告摘要中称，显然，相较学术能力，学生本人的动力、雄心以及求知欲对于今后的成功起到了更为重要的作用。