Part 3/3: The Real Truth About Educational ROI After High School

In this episode, Mark Salisbury tackles one of the most misunderstood concepts in post-secondary planning: return on investment. He makes the case that ROI genuinely matters, then exposes the shaky data behind popular ROI rankings, using the University of Michigan's College Scorecard numbers to show how figures like "average annual cost" and "median earnings" are drawn from a small, unrepresentative slice of students. Mark pushes back on higher-ed marketing claims that tie ROI to brand-name alumni networks, and challenges the notion that a liberal arts education's payoff magically emerges decades later. Instead, he reframes ROI through a "play to keep playing" lens borrowed from Simon Sinek, arguing that the real return is whether an educational investment expands or constrains a student's future options. He closes with an invitation to use his grant-funded Pathways Planning and Insights program, a free resource designed to help parents navigate the financial side of post-secondary planning alongside their students.