The Analysis Of Opportunity Cost On Take Postgraduate Entrance Exams

In recent years, with the rapid development of higher education and the demand of job market for college graduates has been saturated, college students' difficult employment has become a universally accepted fact by the society. Accompanied with the phenomenon' of college students' difficult employment, another phenomenon "Graduate Rush" began to appear frequently and cause the attention of people, entrance exam for graduate has become the second to the College entrance examination which is the biggest exam in China. People can not help but to ask:is entrance exam for graduate really so profitable? Is entrance exam for graduate more attractive than any other investment plan? What leads the graduate crush, and for what reason more and more undergraduates take part in the entrance exam for graduate?Inquiry for postgraduate as a "choice" is derived from each participants' rational judgment. This "choice" is a result of institutional arrangements and the influence of social environment. The opportunity cost of the graduate as a perspective of research has also gradually got the attention of people. But the research about opportunity cost of postgraduate exam are almost from the Angle of the economics, the angle of sociology can provide us with a more widely Perspective which can equip us with "sociological imagination" which can let us make in-depth analysis to postgraduate exam as a kind of education investment.Taking part in the postgraduate exam as a personal education investment, although it will achieve one's expected earnings, in turn it will also takes a lot of virtually time, money and energy, which is called the "opportunity cost" for postgraduate exam. For the participants, the so-called "opportunity cost" means the benefits directly from the job. As an investment, the benefits from the graduate is the fundamental motivation for the participants. But as more and more graduate students enter into employment market, whether the return on this investment worth the the original expect. Is the opportunity cost for postgraduate exam going to increase or reduce. All this questions will be the starting point of this study.Proceeding from Coleman's rational choice theory, combined with the human capital theory and the framework of the social stratification and social mobility theory.We will research on the existing achievements of the Graduate Rush, and analyzes the reason of the graduate rush, to know the motivation and purpose of college students who want to be graduates. At the same time through the empirical investigation, with the help of the cost-benefit analysis in the human capital theory for education investment, to make a Quantitative comparison between the investment and the benefit. I make a analyze for postgraduate and employment according to the ratio of return on investment and Mincer earnings model.through the contrast analysis I get the conclusion:The benefit of taking part in the graduate exam do not make obvious Superiority compared with the direct employment, the opportunity cost is increasing. According to the analysis above .this study discussed the influence of Institutions system when the individual is making a choice beyond the individual rational choice comprehensive and environment system. What leads individuals' rational choices to collective irrational Choices.Finally, this paper argues that to make the graduate crush back to rational, the three aspects of the country, schools and individuals must make common efforts, so that the graduate education can develop in a healthy way.