Blog Post #9

If we view college education as a good, with a price level of the return of the educational level degree from tuition payment, then we should see a shift of demand from degrees with lesser financial return to degrees with a greater financial incentive. Will the student body in pursuit of higher education follow microeconomic principles when completing a college major? Or is college as an outlet of freedom and fields of study are chosen for ease of completion?

RQ: With the rising cost of college tuition, will there be a demand shift in the types of studies that students will choose to major in?

The other side of the question is that the major decision is based on factors like race, gender, socioeconomic background, and high school education level. Or that students seek college as a source of freedom and ease of completion is often chosen when choosing a degree to pursue.  

Often times people will argue that since there is gender and racial oppression, they tend to seek out different fields of study. This concept connects to Xueili Wang's studies on her paper “Why Students Choose STEM Majors: Motivation, High School Learning, and Postsecondary Context of Support.”