Part 6: Cross-Text Matching · C1 Reading & Use of English

Practice activity

Is University Still Worth the Cost?

Read the four experts' opinions below. For each question, choose the text (A, B, C, or D) whose writer expresses the stated opinion.

AClara Nguyen — careers adviser

I still encourage most students who have a clear academic interest to apply. A degree remains a powerful signal to employers in many fields, and the intellectual habits formed at university — reading critically, arguing from evidence, managing long projects — transfer far beyond any single subject.

That does not mean every course at every institution is a wise investment. Students should examine graduate employment data, talk to recent alumni and be honest about debt. Blind faith in the university brand is outdated; informed choice is not.

BMarcus Adeyemi — tech entrepreneur

For the industries I hire in, a portfolio of real projects often outranks a transcript. I have employed self-taught developers who never set foot on a campus and outperformed graduates with impressive grades but little practical experience.

University can still be valuable for networking and for disciplines that require formal accreditation. But treating it as the default path for every eighteen-year-old is lazy advice. Apprenticeships, bootcamps and disciplined self-study deserve equal respect when the work itself is the best proof of competence.

CIngrid Falk — higher education researcher

The debate is often framed as a simple yes-or-no question, which obscures more than it reveals. Returns on a degree vary enormously by subject, institution, family background and the state of the labour market at graduation. Averaging all of that into a single slogan helps no one.

What public policy should focus on is transparency and alternative routes. When young people can compare costs, likely outcomes and non-university pathways side by side, fewer will stumble into debt for the wrong reasons — and those who do choose university will do so with clearer eyes.

DPablo Ruiz — sociology lecturer

Reducing university to a financial transaction misses half its purpose. For many students, especially those who are first in their family to attend, campus life expands cultural horizons, builds confidence and creates friendships that shape adult identity.

I worry that an exclusively economic framing pushes institutions to strip away the slower, less marketable elements of education — wide reading, debate, time to change one's mind. If we value only immediate salary uplift, we will get narrower universities and narrower citizens.

Question 1

Which writer warns that judging university only by salary outcomes could impoverish education itself?

Answer for question 1

Question 2

Which writer says practical evidence of skill can matter more than formal qualifications in some sectors?

Answer for question 2

Question 3

Which writer stresses that the value of a degree differs greatly depending on multiple factors?

Answer for question 3

Question 4

Which writer still recommends university for many students while urging careful research beforehand?

Answer for question 4