A survey by the Wall Street Journal and NBC shows that people — especially those without four-year degrees — are less convinced that college is worth it than they were four years ago. The majority of men, people who live in rural areas and people aged 18–34 said that the four-year degree wasn't worth the cost, the Journal reports.

Respondents were almost evenly split: 47% said college was not worth the cost due to student debt and because people do not necessarily graduate with job skills, while 49% said a degree was worth the cost because it could help people earn more money. That two percentage point difference has narrowed from 13 percentage points in 2013, when CNBC polled with the same question.

Most of that difference is due to an increasing doubt in the value of college among people who didn't go to college, finish college or earned a 2-year degree, according to the Journal. Studies have shown, the Journal adds, that those who graduate from four-year colleges are financially much better off than those who do not.

Pollsters interviewed 1,200 people from Aug. 5–9 for the WSJ/NBC poll, which has a margin of error of 2.82 percentage points.

《华尔街日报》和NBC进行的调查发现，与四年前相比，越来越多的人不相信读大学物有所值，尤其是没有取得四年大学学位的人。《华尔街日报》报道称，居住在农村地区和18至34岁的受访者中，多数男性认为四年学位得不偿失。

受访者几乎平均分为了两个阵营：47%的受访者表示读大学不值得，因为学生要承担助学贷款，而且学生毕业后并不能掌握职业技能，有49%的受访者认为大学学位物有所值，因为它可以帮助人们增加收入。双方的差距只有两个百分点，但在2013年CNBC对同一个话题进行的调查中，双方相差了13个百分点。

《华尔街日报》称，造成这种差异的主要原因是，没有读过大学、未完成学业或者仅取得了2年学位的人，越来越质疑读大学的价值。另外，研究发现，取得四年大学学位的毕业生，比没有取得四年学位的人经济收入更高。

民意调查人员从8月5日至9日，为《华尔街日报》/NBC的调查采访了1,200人，误差幅度为2.82个百分点。（财富中文网）

译者：刘进龙/汪皓