CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In a new study done by Wallet Hub, experts listed cities from least educated to most educated all based on degrees. Out of 150 cities, Corpus Christi ranked 142.
18-year-old Jackson Gomez told Action 10 News that a lot of his friends aren’t even thinking about getting a degree or going the college route.
"In my high school, only five of us are going to big schools. The rest of them are going to trade schools or smaller schools,” Gomez said.
Gomez plans to go to a four year university and he’s aware of the huge financial commitment he’ll be making.
“It’s really insane what you have to do get to this higher levels to what people would say is successful,” Gomez said.
Administrators at the Island University know students worry about the costs of going to school.
President and CEO at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi Kelly Miller said they want everyone to succeed.
“For the last 6 years we will not have raised tuition and fees. Since I’ve been President, we’ve increased scholarships over 30% and we have team of people that will work with you to get financial aid,” Miller said.
Meanwhile, financial experts do expect some of the most educated cities to shift rankings in the near future because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on schooling.
“Our senior class right now is part of that COVID cohort so its smaller but another year from now and we think we’ll start to see very large increases,” Miller said.
For dedicated educators like Madeleine Fontenot, building a love for learning starts at a young age. The Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History, where she serves as Director of Education, focuses on outreach for a lifelong path of learning.
"Year after year they come back and they remember that and that makes a difference for them and they want to pursue a career in one of the fields that they learned about here,” Fontenot said.
With these efforts, the Corpus Christi ranking has a chance to keep climbing.
