Menanggung utang mahasiswa yang besar untuk gelar 4 tahun vs. memilih jalur pendidikan yang lebih murah
Jika Anda bertindak
Mengambil utang besar untuk gelar 4 tahun
44%
Jika Anda tidak bertindak
Memilih jalur pendidikan yang lebih murah
59%
Persentase orang yang kemudian menyesali setiap pilihan. Diagram batang dan catatan lengkap ditampilkan di bawah.
Keuangan
Terakhir ditinjau 2026-05-13
Kualitas bukti 4.38/5
Skor tinjauan delapan dimensi terhadap
rubrik kualitas
. Setiap dimensi dinilai 1–5.
D1 Verifikasi sumber
4/5
D2 Otoritas & independensi sumber
5/5
D3 Akurasi tingkat penyesalan
3/5
D4 Keterbandingan sumber
3/5
D5 Pola Gilovich
5/5
D6 Kualitas prosa
5/5
D7 Kelengkapan peringatan
5/5
D8 Kualitas sampel
5/5
Rata-rata4.38/5
Data proksi — tidak ada survei penyesalan langsung untuk keputusan ini. Tingkat diturunkan dari skor kepuasan dan data hambatan akses daripada pertanyaan yang langsung menanyakan tentang penyesalan. Lihat peringatan di bawah.
Penyesalan atas tindakan
Mengambil utang besar untuk gelar 4 tahun
44%
44% orang dewasa AS yang disurvei menyesali jurusan kuliah mereka — sebuah proksi untuk penyesalan jalur-utang, bukan ukuran langsung
Orang dewasa AS dengan gelar kuliah 4 tahun
retrospektif, tidak ada kerangka waktu tetap
Penyesalan atas kelambanan
Memilih jalur pendidikan yang lebih murah
59%
59% orang dewasa AS dengan sebagian kuliah tetapi tanpa gelar akan mengubah setidaknya satu keputusan pendidikan
Orang dewasa AS yang tidak menyelesaikan gelar kuliah 4 tahun
retrospektif, tidak ada kerangka waktu tetap
% menyesal dengan pilihan ini
Mengambil utang besar untuk gelar 4 tahunMemilih jalur pendidikan yang lebih murah
44%59%
inaction dominates — Tidak bertindak mendominasi — sebagian besar menyesali karena tidak bertindak.
Keputusan terkait
Keputusan yang serupa secara semantik — area yang sama, kompromi yang berbeda.
Berinvestasi di pasar sahamMenyimpan uang di tabungan
15%48%
Ketidakaktifan mendominasi
Penyesalan tidak bertindak 3.2× lebih tinggi
A 2023 Dreambound survey of over 1,000 US adults found that 44% regret their college major (49% among bachelor’s-degree holders). This is only a proxy for regret about the debt-financed degree path: the survey’s own top reason for regret was a mismatch of interest (56% wished they had studied something they found more interesting), well ahead of finance-linked reasons such as a lack of job opportunities (23%) or low pay (21%). On the inaction side, the 2017 Gallup/Strada survey of nearly 90,000 US adults found that 59% of those with some college but no degree would change at least one of their education decisions — the group that most closely maps to people who pursued a cheaper path and stopped short of a 4-year degree. The resulting delta (-0.15) places this entry in the inaction_dominates category, but the two figures measure different constructs and the gap is sensitive to how each side is framed.
The Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking adds context on the action side: 47% of adults who attended college said they would have completed more education in hindsight, and 15% of borrowers with debt from their own education were behind on payments or in collections. A Fortune report on a 2025 ResumeGenius survey of Gen Z workers found that one in four wished they had not gone to college or had chosen a more financially rewarding field. These figures frame the question differently — attainment regret, payment strain, and college-or-not regret are each distinct from regretting the debt itself — but together they point to a mismatch between major choice, debt load, and labor-market outcomes as the recurring theme.
The inaction-side 59% should be read carefully. Gallup’s “some college, no degree” group includes people who chose trade or vocational paths deliberately and are satisfied with them, people who lacked access due to cost or location, and people who entered the military or workforce directly; the 59% is a broad “would change at least one education decision” measure, not specifically “I regret not getting a 4-year degree.” The wage premium for a 4-year degree over vocational qualifications varies substantially by field: licensed trades (electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers) show compressed wage gaps relative to many humanities or social science degrees, while technology, healthcare, and finance fields show larger premiums. Because the inaction proxy casts a wider net than the action proxy’s major-only frame, the inaction_dominates direction is directional rather than precise.
Sumber: tindakan
Buku besar klaim
Setiap angka di bawah ini adalah apa yang dilaporkan masing-masing sumber, dengan kutipan kata demi kata yang kami andalkan dan bagaimana kami sampai pada angka kami. Klik tautan mana saja untuk memverifikasi langsung.
2/3 sumber diverifikasi secara independen kata demi kata terhadap sumber terkutip
[1]Dreambound — 2023 College Major Satisfaction Survey↗ 1 other entry
Studi primer
44% of US adults regret their college major (49% of bachelor's-degree holders)
Kutipan
“"Over 4 in 10 (44%) of U.S. adults regret their college major. While 23 percent cite a lack of job opportunities and 21 percent report low pay as the source of their misgivings, 56 percent simply wish they'd studied subjects that actually interested them. 49% of those with a Bachelor's Degree regret what they studied in college."
”
Data sumber dari
2023-10-01
Diakses
2026-05-13
Perhitungan
Dreambound 2023 survey of over 1,000 US adults (surveyed October 2023 via the Prolific platform); 44% of all respondents and 49% of bachelor's-degree holders regret their college major. This measures major-selection regret, which is a PROXY — not a direct measure — for regret about the debt-laden degree path. A person can regret their major while still valuing the degree credential and the debt taken on for it, so this figure likely overstates regret about the debt itself. The survey's own top reason for regret is a mismatch of interest (56%), not finances (lack of jobs 23%, low pay 21%).
[2]Federal Reserve — Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 — Higher Education and Student Loans
Terverifikasi
↗ 1 other entry
Laporan pemerintah
47% of adults who attended college would have completed more education in hindsight; 15% of borrowers were behind on student-loan payments or in collections
Kutipan
“"Forty-seven percent of adults who attended college (and either completed at least an associate degree or were not currently enrolled) said that they would have completed more education in hindsight. ... Fifteen percent of borrowers with debt from their own education reported that they were behind on payments or in collections for one or more of their student loans."
”
Data sumber dari
2023-05-01
Diakses
2026-05-13
Verifikasi
Kutipan diambil ulang secara independen dan dikonfirmasi kata demi kata terhadap sumber terkutip selama audit pendasaran kami.
Perhitungan
Federal Reserve SHED 2022 data (released May 2023). The 47% "would have completed more education" figure speaks to education-attainment regret broadly rather than to debt-financed 4-year-degree regret specifically. The 15% behind-on-payments / in-collections figure captures financial strain from the debt itself and is used as a corroborating source for the action-side picture; it is not a direct regret measure.
[3]Fortune — Gen Z has regrets: 1 in 4 say they wish they hadn't gone to college or would've picked a higher-paying industry
Terverifikasi
Sumber referensi
1 in 4 Gen Z adults wish they had not gone to college or had chosen a higher-paying field (ResumeGenius survey of 1,000 Gen Z workers, 2025)
Kutipan
“"One in four Gen Z adults say they regret going to college or wish they had chosen a higher-paying field like tech, finance, engineering, or health care. Financial concerns -- specifically the cost of tuition relative to early-career earnings -- were the most commonly cited reasons for regret. A Tallo survey of more than 2,000 adults aged 18-30 found 62% are not in the career they intended to pursue."
”
Data sumber dari
2025-07-20
Diakses
2026-05-14
Verifikasi
Kutipan diambil ulang secara independen dan dikonfirmasi kata demi kata terhadap sumber terkutip selama audit pendasaran kami.
Perhitungan
Fortune reporting on Gen Z college regret (July 2025), citing ResumeGenius survey of 1,000 full-time Gen Z workers. The original URL (fortune.com/education/articles/gen-z-college-regret/) returned HTTP 404; updated to the live canonical URL. Source date corrected from 2024 to 2025. The 1-in-4 figure (25%) captures the narrower subset who regret the college-or-not decision, not just the major choice. Used as context for the broader action-side regret pattern; the 44% major-regret figure from Dreambound is used as the primary regret rate.
Sumber: tidak bertindak
Buku besar klaim
Setiap angka di bawah ini adalah apa yang dilaporkan masing-masing sumber, dengan kutipan kata demi kata yang kami andalkan dan bagaimana kami sampai pada angka kami. Klik tautan mana saja untuk memverifikasi langsung.
[1]Gallup — Half of U.S. Adults Would Change at Least One Education Decision↗ 3 other entries
Studi primer
59% of US adults with some college but no degree would change at least one of their education decisions; 51% of all US adults would change at least one aspect
Kutipan
“"Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults would change at least one aspect of their education experience. ... Those with some college, but no degree, are the most likely to say they would change at least one of their education decisions, 59%. ... Those with some college, but no degree, ... are the most likely to have second thoughts about their major, 42%."
”
Data sumber dari
2017-08-01
Diakses
2026-05-13
Perhitungan
Gallup/Strada Education Consumer Pulse survey of 89,492 US adults (interviews June 2016–March 2017). The inaction-side population for this decision — people who pursued a cheaper path and stopped short of a 4-year degree — maps most closely to the "some college, but no degree" group, of whom 59% would change at least one education decision. This is the best available proxy for inaction regret; it is a "would change something" measure, not a direct "regret choosing the cheaper path" measure, and includes those who would change their institution or major rather than their degree level.
Catatan
Kedua sisi adalah PROKSI — tidak ada survei yang secara langsung menanyakan kepada orang apakah mereka menyesal mengambil (atau menghindari) utang mahasiswa untuk gelar 4 tahun, sehingga kedua angka mengukur konstruk yang berbeda dan tidak sepenuhnya sebanding. Angka 44% sisi tindakan mengukur penyesalan pemilihan-jurusan di antara pemegang gelar, bukan penyesalan tentang utang itu sendiri; seseorang yang menyesali jurusannya mungkin tetap percaya bahwa gelar dan utang terkaitnya sepadan, dan alasan utama penyesalan menurut survei itu sendiri adalah ketidakcocokan minat (56%), bukan keuangan. Angka Federal Reserve 47% "akan menyelesaikan lebih banyak pendidikan jika ditinjau ulang" dan 15% menunggak pembayaran, serta angka Fortune/Gen Z 25% "berharap tidak kuliah", membingkai pertanyaan secara berbeda lagi. Angka 59% sisi kelambanan adalah kelompok Gallup "sebagian kuliah, tetapi tanpa gelar" yang akan mengubah setidaknya satu keputusan pendidikan — sebuah ukuran luas "akan mengubah sesuatu" yang mencakup mereka yang akan mengubah institusi atau jurusan ketimbang memperoleh gelar 4 tahun, dan yang mencakup orang yang memilih jalur vokasi karena alasan non-finansial (dinas militer, pembentukan keluarga dini) atau menghadapi hambatan akses. Karena proksi kelambanan adalah jaring "akan mengubah apa saja" yang lebih luas daripada bingkai "hanya-jurusan" pada proksi tindakan, arah inaction_dominates (delta -0,15) sensitif terhadap bagaimana setiap sisi dioperasionalkan dan harus dibaca sebagai arah, bukan presisi. Premi upah untuk gelar 4 tahun dibandingkan kualifikasi vokasi sangat bergantung pada bidang: pekerjaan tangan dengan sertifikasi berlisensi (teknisi listrik, tukang ledeng, teknisi HVAC) menunjukkan kesenjangan upah yang lebih kecil daripada peran yang menuntut gelar profesional. Kedua sisi berbeda dari entri go-to-college-vs-skip yang ada, yang mencakup keputusan biner kuliah-vs-tidak; entri ini berfokus pada pilihan jalur (gelar 4 tahun berutang tinggi vs community college, sekolah kejuruan, atau magang dari pemberi kerja) di antara orang yang menempuh suatu bentuk pendidikan pasca-sekolah menengah.
