Robert VerBruggen notes the paradox inherent in the debate over college access: As a national policy, too many students are going to college, but for the individual, college is often the best option.

The rampant overselling of college (to use George Leef’s term) misallocates resources, both for the nation as a whole and for many individuals who attend. Just look at the low graduation rates at many public universities; often, fewer than half the students graduate in six years. Persuaded that they have go to college, some students borrow heavily and find they can’t make it.

For those who can make it through, however, the degree is a valuable credential, as Robert implies here. This seems to be the case even if the actual learning from college has been slight. Although one does not need a college degree to be an office manager, for example, the degree will open more doors and may lead to higher income. The Griggs v. Duke Power story supports the idea that college degrees have replaced legally risky aptitude tests.

And for those with the talent for intellectually demanding jobs, not going to college can be disastrous. The Pope Center has published a couple of personal stories by highly intelligent people who “weren’t ready” for college at age 18 — and then found themselves underemployed and under-rewarded in the marketplace.

Jay Schalin worked as a freelance newspaper reporter but found the lack of a degree kept him from getting a permanent newspaper job. He writes, “I soured on the low pay, the demeaning story assignments, and being the old guy with no future amidst callow youth who complained about having the very job I wanted and who regarded me as a chump for wanting it.”

Brian Jackson had heard that plumbers do well. Working for a plumbing firm, he says, “I spent countless long days down in sewage ditches and crawling underneath houses fixing broken pipes. To my great dismay, I didn’t earn the money I was hoping I would.”

Clearly, Jay and Brian should have gone to college, and both eventually did. Indeed, as long as the credential is more important than the learning, maybe mediocre students should try, too — although some will lose out and a lot of time and money, theirs and others’, will be wasted.