The Atlantic discusses a number of studies from around the globe that illustrate the cost of not getting a college degree.  

Some highlighted stats include:

-- The typical income gap between the a college graduate and the a high school dropout has never been higher. Today, college grads earn 80 percent more than people who don't go to high school.

-- A 2009 McKinsey report estimated that if we raised our education performance to the level of Korea, we could improve the US economy by more than $2 trillion. We could, in other words, add the GDP of Italy to our economy with education reform.