Altering The Mind Essay

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, of the students seeking a bachelor's degree at a four-year university, on average, only 59% of them graduate within six years. It is unfortunate to note that even with the extra two years, students still struggle to persist through graduation, due to numerous hindering factors. Hence, the issue of college success now lies within the central realm of scholarly research, with numerous scholars applying previously known psychological theories to education, including Kurt Lewin’s force-field analysis model, Abraham Maslow’s need reduction theory for motivation, and the self-efficacy and attribution theories. Together, these theories have provided a framework to discover

Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle in their book “Rereading America” feel that commencing college is a very disturbing experience. So many things we have to deal while starting college, but the major challenges are expanded difficulty levels and higher expectation which we are not familiar over the years of high school. In order to solve this issue, we have to remodel ourselves by taking up the challenge and rethink about our strength and flaws. To succeed in college we need to be mentally strong and dedicated towards our goal.

She recalls the struggles, the fun, her failures and even her success in the end (Harding, 2011). The personal story shows the real road it takes with decisions we make “when entering college, Harding wrote that she began college because she felt it was expected of her”(Harding, 2011). College students often make choices based on what they perceive as pressure to do so by others like councilors, parents and even society. They enter college thinking this is what my plan should look like and not making choices that are the best for them. Harding said that in the end “ we all become graduates of one of the finest universities in the world- and already, nobody much cared how we got there”(Harding,2011). To me this shows that even if you pass by the skin of your teeth, you can still fail in the end. A diploma is not the end result that maters the most. Students need to choose colleges that appeal to their needs and goals and not just go to get a diploma. If students spend no time studying weather boarded or not liking their studies, then what difference does the diploma make in the end. Students would just have a degree that often goes unused in life but the costs is ever mounting to these students. The financial cost, the cost of failure, loss of energy and time, causes many students to never finish their education or even to avoid going in the

Starting in high school, students are not given equal opportunities to excel because of family background. Furthermore, the admissions process itself has its flaws—legacies, minorities, and athletes are being chosen over exceptionally gifted valedictorians. Even after college, the problems do not end; possible joblessness and student debt are unavoidable. On top of these major problems, educators and parents continue to convince kids everywhere that college is the only option to become successful, and choosing another path is heavily looked down upon. The newest generation’s life is centered around the climax of college while at the same time, more and more students are unable to attend universities because of cost or rejection, but this is a paradox. The more high schoolers work hard, the more high schoolers will get turned down to their dream schools, and the more the college admissions process effectively become a lottery, leading to “many highly talented, brilliant, creative people thinking they’re not” (Robinson). The widespread college problem has no easy fix, nor does it have a single solution. Rather than working to fix the unfixable, adults must stop putting such emphasis on the college pathway, and instead stress that there are other options. The future of the job world is unknown; there is no way to know if an expensive college education is the right choice. College, with all of its flaws, is just one option in preparing for the future; it is not necessarily the best. Therefore, the single word, “college,” should stop dividing the academic from the non-academic or the successful from the unsuccessful, and instead be considered a single path in an array of worthy

“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.

Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa want students, professors, and administrations to hold themselves to a high standard to achieve greatness, not just expect it despite the amount of effort they put in. The arguments they make in chapters one through three are valid points and is what has made this book have so much impact on its readers. The current attitudes and lack of effort at our colleges and universities, the effects that a student’s background has on their level of achievement, and emotions on their academic success all have a direct correlation to the decline in our education system, hence the reason they are expounded on. Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa chose topics that need the most change to create the most change for the desired outcome. Which is, a high quality education system and environment, purpose driven faculty, and academically successful students.

As of late, there has been major contention about the standards of American education, one of the major points being the cost to obtain a degree. Current societal standards have condition people to aim for a prestigious degree that will help make it 's holder successful. Of course, society defines success, for an individual, as being highly intelligent, outgoing, wealthy, and family-oriented. Yet, many American citizens are still stuck trying to meet the first item in the success definition. If a person refuses to attend post-secondary school in fear that the certificate of completion will offer no return on investment, or decides to quit due to financial hardships, then how can society uphold its expectation of that person 's success? Much work needs to be done to assuage the fear of a wasted investment, to motivate an individual to continue attending school despite financial difficulties, and to help individuals achieve the expected level of success that comes from higher education.

Time after time you hear about going to college; whether at work, family, friends, and even when you are in high school you might have been repeatedly told of how it can benefit you in the long run in regards to your future. They say a good education can take you far in life. Students in high school may still question the importance of a college education. In the world of today people find themselves asking, “Why is it important to go to college?” An important aspect of succeeding in today’s world is getting a better education, and it’s much more than just a degree - in college you also learn how to better prepare for assignments, perhaps one of the most important things you can get out of attending

Numerous college students today feel like they are not adequate enough. So much is put on their plate, and above it all, in order to keep moving forward academically towards a career, they must prove themselves. This idea is explored in “College Pressures” by William Zinsser. He talks about why students are driven to try so vigorously in order to earn a step ahead, but the reasoning is arguable.

Albert Einstein once said "everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole existence thinking it is stupid". There are many students who relate to that fish believing they are unintelligent and useless. Believing that they cannot possibly succeed in the education system. The education system is failing to teach students and bring out their maximum potential. Everyday thousands of students drop out of school because they are failing to succeed. Gerald Graff argues in his article “Hidden Intellectualism” that the educational institution are failing to nurture students. Therefore, Graff believes that some students would be more willing to learn and have better success if they were taught things that interest them rather than subjects that interest the teachers. I agree with Graff because he writes about the misconception of intellectualism and how individuals think that solely the "geeks or the nerds" can have academic success. Individuals are completely forgetting that some students hidden intellectualism is found not in book smarts, but rather street smarts, suggesting that teachers should tap into students hidden intellectualism so that it can no longer be hidden.

Psychologist Carol Dweck found that students perform better if they believe that they are intelligent “you can always greatly change how intelligent you are” than if they think “you have a certain amount of intelligence, and you really can’t do much to change it.” She also believes that when a student has a positive attitude, it makes them push themselves harder when others would desist. She believes that there is no limit on their learning potential and challenge is viewed as a way to improve themselves. ” They know that their intelligence can be built through experience and effort, and are not held back by the idea of inborn restrictions.”1

Educating is very important to become a better person and have a better living. According to Center of College Affordability and Productivity, “80 percent of college bound students have yet to choose a major” (Vedder, Gillen, Bennett, et al., 28). Freshmen students do not know what they will encounter during the first year of college. This high percentage of students not knowing what they want to study demonstrates that, even though there will be a reduction in college costs it will not benefit them as much. Even when having a major chosen the typical undergraduate will switch their major two to three times. It’s good that they are seeking ways to increase graduation rates, but is it really worth it if people do not know what they want to study? The problem with college students is that they are taking classes that they do not need. Colleges need to have strict regulations imposed in order to have higher graduation rates in college students because obtaining a three year bachelor’s degree is not a reliable it does not have established metrics, finding a job when graduating with a three year bachelors can be difficult, and not a real college experience.

Collegiate institutions in the United States are increasing their student pool immensely each year as more and more students are taking the step into higher education. Students are beginning to realize the importance that a college degree holds in their future. In his book College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be, Andrew Delbanco emphasizes what college holds for an attendee, and what the attendee should intake, but also justifies the purpose of college concisely through elaborate explanations regarding his reasoning. Higher education in the United States is becoming the means through which individuals are attaining the “minimum qualification for entry into the skilled labor market” (Delbanco, 25), which is otherwise known as a Bachelor’s Degree. But to successfully graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, one must be admitted to college. More than often, however, college applicants cannot get into the school that they desire to step forth into. Certain aspects of their application do not surpass the qualifications that are held by the school, such as standardized test scores. Standardized test scores should not decide the next step for dedicated students, and should not limit their potential as successful individuals, hence should not restrain the student from attaining a Bachelor’s degree. It has been clearly recognized that individuals with a BA degree can far surpass those with solely a high school diploma, “...and there is abundant evidence that people with a college degree

Student success all depends on the amount of work that is put into the work, if a student puts in little effort that means the student doesn't really value their educational success. The research conducted that was produced was mainly research and interviews because those are probably the most efficient way to get information about the topic. Anaheim High Schools can improve student success if teacher were more willing to get involved in a student’s education instead of just handing the student a worksheet.

What do think when you hear student success? Many people think different things. For example, student success could be a student having a good job in something they specialized on, and are living on their own without anybody's help. There are several different ways student succeed and ways to change schools in order for their students to succeed as well in this article. For instance, Anaheim High Schools can improve student success if we have longer school days, make the student be interested in school and on what they are learning, and having more after school programs that interest kids and will keep their minds off of bad things.