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Recent college graduates who as seniors scored highest on a standardized test to measure how well they think, reason and write-- skills most associated with a liberal arts education - were far more likely to be better off financially than those who scored lowest, says the survey, released Wednesday by the Social Science Research Council, an independent organization.

It found that students who had mastered the ability to think critically, reason analytically and write effectively by their senior year were:

⿢Three times less likely to be unemployed than those who hadn't (3.1% vs. 9.6%).
Recent graduates

A survey of 925 young adults who graduated college during the economic recession, offers a snapshot of how they were faring two years later:

74$ were receiving financial help from parents

65% had student loans, owing an average $27,200

46% owed an average $1,880 on credit-card debt

22% had "moved back home" with their parents or relatives

9% had student loan debt averaging more than $50,00

Source: Social Science Research Council

⿢Half as likely to be living with their parents (18% vs. 35%).

⿢Far less likely to have amassed credit card debt (37% vs. 51%).