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44%59%
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Spijt over niet-handelen 1.3× hoger
The Gallup/Strada Education Network 2017 survey of approximately 87,000 US adults found that 59% of those with some college but no degree would change at least one education decision — the highest of any education-decision subgroup, and their most common second thought is their major (42%). A construct caveat matters here: the survey asks whether respondents “would change a decision,” not whether non-completers “wish they had finished,” so it does not directly measure completion regret. Education Data Initiative analysis of NCES and Bureau of Labor Statistics data provides the structural mechanism: about 39% of first-time, full-time bachelor’s-seeking students do not finish within eight years, and some-college-no-degree workers earn a median of $1,020 weekly, roughly 16.5% below the average worker, while bachelor’s holders earn 51.3% more than that group — a gap that persists across a working lifetime and keeps the credential counterfactual salient.
On the inaction side, the same Gallup/Strada study found that 52% of bachelor’s degree holders would change at least one aspect of their education experience; 40% would choose a different field of study. These second thoughts center on major and institution rather than the completion decision itself — meaningful, but distinct from the non-completer experience of lacking a credential entirely. A separate 2023 Dreambound survey found that 44% of US adults regret their college major, with regret highest among education (53%) and business (49%) majors; this major-specific figure is an upper bound but is not directly comparable to the Gallup decision-change construct. The 52% Gallup figure is used as the headline because it shares the survey instrument and population frame with the 59% non-completer rate.
The 7 percentage point gap between the two subgroups (59% non-completers vs. 52% completers) is modest, and both groups report high second-thought rates. It nominally runs against Gilovich and Medvec’s general finding that inaction regret tends to dominate over long timeframes, but the edge is attributable to the concrete, measurable consequences of non-completion: a missing credential is a present, recurring barrier rather than a diffuse counterfactual. The variance in regret by reason for leaving is important context: students who left for already-secured employment or entrepreneurial opportunities report lower regret than those who left under financial hardship or health crises, so the aggregate 59% conflates meaningfully different decision contexts.
Bronnen: handelen
Bronnenverantwoording
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2/2 bronnen onafhankelijk woordelijk geverifieerd tegenover de geciteerde bron
[1]Gallup / Strada Education Network — Half of U.S. Adults Would Change at Least One Education Decision
Geverifieerd
↗ 3 other entries
Primaire studie
59% of adults with some college but no degree would change at least one education decision; 42% would change their major
Fragment
“"Those with some college, but no degree, are the most likely to say they would change at least one of their education decisions" at 59%. "Those with some college, but no degree, and those whose highest level of education is a bachelor's degree are the most likely to have second thoughts about their major, 42% and 40%, respectively."
”
Brongegevens van
2017-06-01
Geraadpleegd
2026-06-30
Verificatie
Fragment onafhankelijk opnieuw opgehaald en woord voor woord bevestigd tegenover de geciteerde bron tijdens onze onderbouwingsaudit.
Berekening
Gallup/Strada Education Network Education Consumer Pulse 2017 survey, n=approximately 87,000 US adults. The survey measures whether respondents "would change at least one education decision" (major, institution, or degree type), not whether they "wish they had completed" the degree -- no item in this survey asks the completion-regret question directly. Among the some-college-no-degree group, 59% would change at least one decision, the highest of any education subgroup; their most common second thought is their major (42%). The widely-quoted "51%" is the figure for ALL adults who pursued or completed postsecondary education, not for non-completers. URL updated to the verified Gallup poll page carrying the per-subgroup breakdown.
[2]Education Data Initiative — College Dropout Rates
Geverifieerd
Gerenommeerde referentie
39% of first-time, full-time bachelor's-seeking students do not complete within 8 years; some-college-no-degree workers earn 16.5% less than the average worker (median $1,020/week)
Fragment
“"39% of first-time, full-time bachelor's degree seeking students do not complete their degree program within 8 years." Workers with some college but no degree earn "a median of $1,020 weekly, which is 16.5% less than the average worker," while bachelor's degree holders make "51.3% higher income than SCNC workers."
”
Brongegevens van
2024-01-01
Geraadpleegd
2026-06-30
Verificatie
Fragment onafhankelijk opnieuw opgehaald en woord voor woord bevestigd tegenover de geciteerde bron tijdens onze onderbouwingsaudit.
Berekening
Education Data Initiative, drawing on NCES Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and BLS earnings data. Provides the structural labour-market context -- lower earnings, credential barriers -- behind elevated action-regret among non-completers: 39% do not finish within eight years, and the some-college-no-degree wage penalty is about 16.5% below the average worker ($1,020 median weekly), with bachelor's holders earning 51.3% more than that group. Earnings gap expressed as the page's percentage/weekly-wage figures, not an annual-dollar figure (the prior "$8,000/year" wording did not appear in the source).
Bronnen: niet handelen
Bronnenverantwoording
Elk getal hieronder is wat elke bron rapporteerde, met het letterlijke citaat waarop we ons baseerden en hoe we tot ons cijfer kwamen. Klik op een link om rechtstreeks te verifiëren.
1/2 bronnen onafhankelijk woordelijk geverifieerd tegenover de geciteerde bron
[1]Gallup / Strada Education Network — Half of U.S. Adults Would Change at Least One Education Decision
Geverifieerd
↗ 3 other entries
Primaire studie
52% of bachelor's degree holders would change at least one education decision; 40% would change their field of study
Fragment
“"Approximately half of all U.S. adults who pursued or completed a postsecondary degree would change at least one aspect of their education experience," with "52% of bachelor's degree holders who say the same." Across all adults, "36% would choose a different field of study," "28% would select a different institution," and "12% would obtain a different degree type."
”
Brongegevens van
2017-06-01
Geraadpleegd
2026-06-30
Verificatie
Fragment onafhankelijk opnieuw opgehaald en woord voor woord bevestigd tegenover de geciteerde bron tijdens onze onderbouwingsaudit.
Berekening
Gallup/Strada Education Network Education Consumer Pulse 2017 survey, same n=approximately 87,000 sample as the action side. The 52% bachelor's-holder figure is directly comparable to the 59% non-completer rate because both come from the same survey instrument and population frame. The previously-cited "33%" did not appear in the source and has been replaced with the traceable 52% completer figure. Completers' second thoughts are primarily about field of study (40% would change it) and institution rather than the completion decision itself.
[2]Dreambound — 2023 College Major Satisfaction Survey↗ 1 other entry
Primaire studie
44% of US adults regret their college major; regret highest among education (53%), business (49%) and humanities/social-sciences (48%) majors
Fragment
“"Over 4 in 10 (44%) of U.S. adults regret their college major." "Education majors (53%) were the most likely to wish they studied something else," with business and humanities & social sciences "close behind, at 49% and 48% respectively." "The most common reason U.S. adults regret their major is interest in another subject (56%)."
”
Brongegevens van
2023-01-01
Geraadpleegd
2026-06-30
Berekening
Dreambound 2023 College Major Satisfaction Survey of US adults. The 44% headline figure is about major regret specifically, making it an upper bound on inaction regret. The prior excerpt claimed regret was highest "in liberal arts and humanities fields"; the source actually ranks education (53%) and business (49%) above humanities/social sciences (48%), with the most common reason being interest in another subject (56%). We use the Gallup 52% bachelor's-holder figure as the headline inaction-regret rate because it comes from the larger, same-instrument sample and measures overall education regret rather than the major-only subset.
Kanttekeningen
Belangrijke constructkanttekening: de Gallup/Strada-enquête meet of een respondent "ten minste één onderwijsbeslissing zou veranderen" (hoofdvak, instelling of diplomatype) -- NIET of een niet-afronder "wenste dat hij het diploma had afgerond". Geen enkel item in deze enquête stelt de afrondingsspijtvraag rechtstreeks, dus beide zijden rapporteren het bredere "zou een beslissing veranderen"-construct. Voor de groep met-enige-hogeschool-zonder-diploma is dat cijfer 59% (het hoogste van elke onderwijssubgroep; hun meest voorkomende bedenking betreft hun hoofdvak, 42%); voor bachelordiplomahouders is het 52%. De vaak geciteerde 51% is het geaggregeerde cijfer voor alle volwassenen, niet het cijfer voor niet-afronders. De Gallup-studie is de sterkste bron voor beide zijden: n=ongeveer 87.000, met afronders en niet-afronders gemeten in hetzelfde instrument. Spijt-/bedenkingspercentages variëren naar reden van vertrek: wie vertrok voor ondernemersinitiatieven of reeds verzekerd werk rapporteert lagere spijt; wie vertrok wegens financiële nood of geestelijke-gezondheidscrises rapporteert hogere spijt. Aan de inactiezijde vindt de Dreambound 2023-enquête afzonderlijk dat 44% van de Amerikaanse volwassenen spijt heeft van hun hoofdvak (het hoogst onder onderwijs (53%) en business (49%)), een hoofdvakspecifieke bovengrens die niet direct vergelijkbaar is met het Gallup-beslissingsveranderingsconstruct. Dit item is te onderscheiden van het "ga-naar-de-universiteit-vs-overslaan"-paar, dat gaat over de vraag of je überhaupt gaat studeren; de vraag hier gaat over halverwege vertrekken nadat je je al hebt ingeschreven. Het actie-domineert-patroon is bescheiden (een regret-delta van 0,07) en berust op een vergelijking met hetzelfde construct van de twee Gallup-subgroepen (59% vs 52%); beide groepen hebben hoge bedenkingspercentages, en de voorsprong voor niet-afronders is consistent met de concrete inkomsten- en diplomagevolgen van niet-afronding.
