Like a good economist, you calculated the opportunity cost of getting your college degree. Suppose that at your university, you
will pay $10000 each year for tuition, $2000 each year for textbooks, and $8000 per year for room and board. Before you left for college, your boss at your high-school job offered you a job paying $20000 per year. Assume that if you decided not to go to college, your parents would not let you live at home. What is your opportunity cost for four years of college?
The opportunity cost of going to college should include the direct costs of getting an education (tuition and books) plus the income you could have earned if you did not go to college. Over four years, the opportunity cost is equal to:
