What is the central idea of what do you want (really, really want) out of your college education?

The central idea of the article is that education is not just for getting a job and getting lots of income. It could also be used as a means to examine ourselves and try to find out what constitutes true happiness to our lives.

Explanation:

The informational text "What Do You Want (Really, Really Want) Out of Your College Education?" by Richard Gunderman talks about the life of academics and then jobs and getting lots of money. But despite this "success" of getting a high paying job, sometimes there can be no happiness in one's work. And it is things like this that constitutes the very essence of a person's worth and meaning in life.

Of course jobs are a required necessity for an educated person to work to pay off his educational debts. But that does not mean doing what one doesn't love. The author states that "the true worth of a college education" is the "realization that the purpose of college is not merely to prepare for a job or career". It is more than that. It helps us "find our path in life", and "discover what it means to live, and to develop habits that make life truly worth living". Only then will our lives be well lived and we are happy with what we do. At the end of the day, happiness trumps over any financial gain.