Californians who are over 65 years of age have a somewhat different slant on a number of issues related to higher education. Probably the most dramatic difference concerns the necessity of college education itself. By more than a two-to-one majority (65 percent compared to 31 percent), older Californians believe that a college education is not necessary for many people. Californians under 65 take nearly the opposite view: 59 percent believe that a college education is necessary for everyone, and only 36 percent question this.
Older Californians are also more likely to think that too many people are going to colleges. Forty-two percent of older people think that it is a very serious problem that too many people are going to colleges rather than trade schools. Only 22 percent of the under-65 population feel this way.
Older people also place a much greater emphasis on individual responsibility. They are more likely to feel strongly that students who don't pay for a college education won't appreciate it (59 percent of older people strongly agree with this statement, compared to 43 percent of Californians under 65), and they are much more likely to think that individuals who can't afford college should make sacrifices rather than look to the state for help. A healthy majority (54 percent) of older people would rather see needy young people make sacrifices themselves (such as working part-time and living at home) rather than get state aid that comes from other sources. Once again, the percentages are reversed for the under-65 population, where the majority (52 percent) supports state aid for these students, even at the cost of cutbacks elsewhere.