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As the grueling ritual known as finals week approaches, many college students may be wondering whether toughing it out for four or more years and getting a degree is actually worth all the effort.

A new survey conducted by the National Association of College Stores on behalf of Money indicates pretty clearly that it is.

In March, we surveyed close to 4,000 college students on a range of questions related to the cost and value of their education. For the subset of students who were on track to graduate this year and had already lined up a job, we asked whether having a degree made any difference in getting hired. More than three-quarters said it did.

The results:

72% said a college degree was required for their new job and that the position was related to their field of study.

5% said a degree was required for their new job but that the position wasn’t related to their field of study.

12% said a degree wasn’t required but that having one helped them get the job.

And only 11% said a degree made no difference.

These findings are in line with other recent studies showing that a bachelor’s degree is increasingly becoming an essential in many industries, even for jobs that previously didn’t require one—a trend some are calling “upcredentialing.”

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So hang in there, future grads! Someday soon it should be worth it.

We’ll have more results from this survey in an upcoming report.