Get College Degree, Live 9 Years Longer

Sure, college costs a lot of money and you won’t necessarily get a job after you graduate, but good news! At least you'll live longer in your loan-induced poverty, because higher education is linked to longer life. An annual report from the CDC shows that those who obtain a bachelor’s degree or above live about nine more years than those who never graduate high school. Education is also linked to other healthy habits, USA Today reports:

• In 2010, 31% of adults ages 25 to 64 who had only a high school diploma or less smoked. Just 24% of those who had attended some college smoked, and only 9% of those with a bachelor’s degree smoked.
• Also in 2010, parents with less than a high school education were more likely to have obese children than were parents who had a bachelor’s degree or higher.

"Highly educated people tend to have healthier behaviors, avoid unhealthy ones and have more access to medical care when they need it," explains the report's lead author. You know what that means: Get a bachelor’s degree and you’ll have nine extra years to pay off the student loans that are crippling you! (More higher education stories.)