* The wages you could have earned if you had worked full-time instead of attending college.
* The benefits you could have received from working full-time, such as health insurance and a retirement savings plan.
* The personal expenses you will incur while attending college, such as tuition, fees, room and board, and transportation.
* The potential for lower future earnings if you do not complete college or if you choose a major that does not lead to a high-paying job.
To calculate the opportunity cost of attending college, you can add up all of these costs over the period of time that you will be attending college. This will give you a good estimate of the total financial sacrifice that you will be making in order to earn a college degree.
Here is an example of calculating the opportunity cost of attending college:
* You are a high school graduate who has been offered a full-time job that pays $15 per hour.
* The job offers health insurance and a retirement savings plan.
* The total cost of attending college for you will be $25,000 per year.
* You plan to attend college for four years.
So, the opportunity cost of attending college for you would be:
* The wages you could have earned if you had worked full-time instead of attending college: $15 per hour x 40 hours per week x 52 weeks per year = $31,200 per year.
* The benefits you could have received from working full-time, such as health insurance and a retirement savings plan: $5,000 per year.
* The personal expenses you will incur while attending college, such as tuition, fees, room and board, and transportation: $25,000 per year.
* The potential for lower future earnings if you do not complete college or if you choose a major that does not lead to a high-paying job: $10,000 per year.
The total opportunity cost of attending college for you would be:
* $31,200 + $5,000 + $25,000 + $10,000 = $71,200 per year.
This means that you would be sacrificing $71,200 per year in order to attend college. This is a significant financial investment, but it is one that can pay off in the long run if you earn a college degree that leads to a high-paying job.