Earning a college degree has some well-known and well-documented advantageous impacts on an individual. That is the motivation for people to delay their entry into the workforce for four or five years while they earn a baccalaureate degree. However, studies have shown significant positive impacts on the community, the state, and society caused by higher education. For example, states with more college-educated people also display better health conditions, higher earnings, lower crime, more innovation, and a general increased standard of living. In the language of our current module, higher education is a positive externality. The person deciding to attend college is doing it for the benefits she will receive from this new knowledge and experience. However, it is also true that there will be positive spillover effects on her community and state