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44%59%
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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.
Джерела: дія
Реєстр тверджень
Кожне число нижче — це те, що повідомило джерело, з дослівною цитатою, на яку ми спиралися, та тим, як ми дійшли до нашої цифри. Натисніть на посилання, щоб перевірити самостійно.
2/2 джерел незалежно перевірено дослівно за вказаним джерелом
[1]Gallup / Strada Education Network — Half of U.S. Adults Would Change at Least One Education Decision
Перевірено
↗ 3 other entries
Первинне дослідження
59% of adults with some college but no degree would change at least one education decision; 42% would change their major
Витяг
“"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."
”
Дані джерела:
2017-06-01
Дата звернення
2026-06-30
Перевірка
Витяг незалежно повторно отримано та дослівно підтверджено за вказаним джерелом під час нашого аудиту обґрунтованості.
Розрахунок
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
Перевірено
Авторитетне довідкове видання
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)
Витяг
“"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."
”
Дані джерела:
2024-01-01
Дата звернення
2026-06-30
Перевірка
Витяг незалежно повторно отримано та дослівно підтверджено за вказаним джерелом під час нашого аудиту обґрунтованості.
Розрахунок
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).
Джерела: бездіяльність
Реєстр тверджень
Кожне число нижче — це те, що повідомило джерело, з дослівною цитатою, на яку ми спиралися, та тим, як ми дійшли до нашої цифри. Натисніть на посилання, щоб перевірити самостійно.
1/2 джерел незалежно перевірено дослівно за вказаним джерелом
[1]Gallup / Strada Education Network — Half of U.S. Adults Would Change at Least One Education Decision
Перевірено
↗ 3 other entries
Первинне дослідження
52% of bachelor's degree holders would change at least one education decision; 40% would change their field of study
Витяг
“"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."
”
Дані джерела:
2017-06-01
Дата звернення
2026-06-30
Перевірка
Витяг незалежно повторно отримано та дослівно підтверджено за вказаним джерелом під час нашого аудиту обґрунтованості.
Розрахунок
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
Первинне дослідження
44% of US adults regret their college major; regret highest among education (53%), business (49%) and humanities/social-sciences (48%) majors
Витяг
“"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%)."
”
Дані джерела:
2023-01-01
Дата звернення
2026-06-30
Розрахунок
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.
Застереження
Important construct caveat: the Gallup/Strada survey measures whether a respondent "would change at least one education decision" (major, institution, or degree type) -- NOT whether a non-completer "wishes they had finished" the degree. No item in this survey asks the completion-regret question directly, so both sides report the broader "would change a decision" construct. For the some-college-no-degree group that figure is 59% (the highest of any education subgroup; their most common second thought is their major, 42%); for bachelor's-degree holders it is 52%. The often-cited 51% is the all-adults aggregate, not the non-completer figure. The Gallup study is the strongest source for both sides: n=approximately 87,000, with completers and non-completers measured in the same instrument. Regret/second-thought rates vary by reason for leaving: those who left for entrepreneurial ventures or already-secured employment report lower regret; those who left under financial hardship or mental-health crises report higher regret. On the inaction side, the Dreambound 2023 survey separately finds 44% of US adults regret their college major (highest among education (53%) and business (49%) majors), a major-specific upper bound that is not directly comparable to the Gallup decision-change construct. This entry is distinct from the "go-to-college-vs-skip" pair, which addresses whether to attend at all; the question here is about leaving mid-stream after having already enrolled. The action-dominates pattern is modest (a 0.07 regret-delta) and rests on a same-construct comparison of the two Gallup subgroups (59% vs 52%); both groups have high second-thought rates, and the edge for non-completers is consistent with the concrete earnings and credential consequences of non-completion.
