Are Too Many People Going To College Summary

In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.

In the essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” writer Charles Murray explains that not everyone is in need of going to college for three main reasons: a liberal education should be gained in elementary and middle school, many people already have knowledge and skills necessary for a technical career, and many students are in college to “buy an admission ticket-the B.A.” (246) and ensure employers consider their resume. Murray does not argue anything against college itself but more against society and especially the education system. Murray also accuses guidance counselors and parents of “automatically encouraging young people to go to college straight out of high school being thoughtless about the best interests of young people” (249).

Rhetorical strategies are ways in which authors craft language so as to have an effect on readers. Charles Murray, in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College?” uses various forms of persuasion to convince readers that attending college is not and should not be a stereotypical norm for all millennials capable of obtaining a degree. The synopsis of his claims essentially lies in these three statements: college should not be a place where core knowledge is learned, college does not benefit everyone’s career path, college should not be required to achieve a higher educational understanding of a vast variety of interests. Murray peeks readers curiosity to his claims by making critical, emotional, and logical appeals. By appealing to all forms of persuasion, Murray’s opinions on this topic might just change the way reader’s view college.

Charles Murray’s essay proposes that American colleges are being flooded with individuals who are either unprepared for higher education or who are simply forced into attending college and can’t succeed because of the lack of certain innate abilities. Murray’s essay goes on to take issue with the idea that the pursuit of a traditional college education is somehow strategically creating a separation of the American class system. While Murray makes many salient points with regards to America’s obsession with college education as a standard into a class of the intellectual elite, the essay fails to take into consideration the various motivators that can lead to student success, despite

Within the article, “Are Too Many People Going To College?”, by Charles Murray, he goes over the reasons why we don’t necessarily need to go to college to be successful. By this, he is talking about how most liberal arts should be taught properly within grades K-8. What I mostly agree on with him is the topic of how four years of college is ridiculous. From personal experience and the practicality of learning important information, I strongly believe that students should have to spend four years at college. Why learn something irrelevant and have the possibility to fail if you learn the material for your future career sooner and successfully.

There is no escaping the fact that the cost of college tuition continues to rise in the United States each year. To make it worse, having a college degree is no longer an option, but a requirement in today’s society. According to data gathered by the College Board, total costs at public four-year institutions rose more rapidly between 2003-04 and 2013-14 than they did during either of the two preceding decades (Collegeboard.com). Students are pressured to continue into higher education but yet, the increasing costs of books and tuition make us think about twice. Sometimes, some of these students have to leave with their education partially finished, leaving them with crushing debts. It is important to find the means to prevent these

In this article, Murray argues that many people go to college when it is not actually necessary for them to do so. He begins by explaining that obtaining a liberal education, while it is important to cultural participation, is not a good reason for everyone to go to college. Instead, he says that this education should occur much earlier, beginning in elementary school. Murray also believes that the in depth analysis of information that occurs college is too difficult for most people to enjoy, and many simply aren't academically capable. Even for those who are able, he claims that four years of college is much more than most professions actually need. He states that many people believe that getting a degree is the key to getting a

Marty Nemko, in the article, “We Send Too Many Students To College,” acknowledges that colleges have become obscenely expensive and that it is possible to be successful without going to college. Arguing that too many students are sent to college without realizing that it is not imperative, Nemko targets parents in his claims that colleges focus on educating in the cheapest way possible and most importantly, that the advantage of past college graduates in the job market is declining. One of his main reasons is that even though the average college graduate makes more money, hundreds of thousands of students in the bottom half of their high school class do not succeed in higher education. Nemko’s article is the most persuasive article on whether college education still has value as he argues that college is not beneficial to everyone through demonstrations of hyperbole, and figurative language.

Colleges are noticing a drop in students’ interest in a higher education, because it forces them to fall into poverty. Obtaining a higher education is a dream of many working class citizens, but the price to go to a choice college is not available economically. The majority of students use some type of student loan, they have become the norm for attending college (Johnston, Roten 24). College is becoming unaffordable to many lower class students. With tuition prices this high, students are backing out of school and looking for jobs that only require a high school diploma. Student loans should help people, but it is only hurting them because they feel like they can never repay it. Especially since student debt continues to rise. “Student loan debt rose by 328 percent from $241 million in 2003 to $1.08 trillion in 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York” (Johnston, Roten 25).

Families are now aiming low when it comes to college- or are simply not going at all. Money could play a huge part in this decision- after all, the cost of college has skyrocketed over the years, and so has the amount of student loan debt. This is something even Leonhardt admits, stating that, because of this, only about 33 percent of young adults get a four-year college degree today, while another 10 percent receive a two-year degree (Leonhardt). And even though many colleges offer financial aid packages, that money may soon be cut and the cost of college will continue to grow. It is true that, in my personal experience, just because a student is awarded financial aid does not mean they have a golden ticket to University. This leaves many desperate students the only option of taking out as many loans as they think they can handle- often more than they should. Debt is not a new issue for America, but it is still a problem. Although David Autor, an M.I.T. economist, laments: “not sending [young adults] to college would be a disaster”, no one can ignore the rising rates of loan defaults, and some think it

“K-8 years are the right years to tech the core knowledge and the effort should get off to a running start in elementary school” (Murray 234). Charles Murray’s “Are Too Many People Going to College?” gives the readers inside information about how college could truly affect college students. He had multiple points about how college truly is not for everyone, but if you want to be financially well off, then going to college and getting your bachelor’s degree would be the way to go. One of the points that Murray made was that, students who acquire “core knowledge” tend to do better than students who have acquired traditional education. Core knowledge, according to the author, is an education that tends to become more difficult the higher you go ending the senior

Education breed a breath of vision and understanding to people. University as a place where affords the higher education for students is a necessary part for composing the foundation of modern society. With the rapid development of society and the enhancement of the status of education, more and more students choose to take a college degree after graduating from high school. From the point of the view of some students who would like to step into society earlier, although university plays a relatively important role in education, it takes a long time to get a college degree for young people. Compared with studying in college, taking working experience off campus is more significant for these students.

In today’s world, a college diploma seems to rank as highly valuable in the job market. With that in mind, it 's no surprise that high school graduates are swarming to college campuses with good intentions of being successful academic achievers, ultimately leading to a high paying career. Of these students bearing high school diplomas, are those who are perfectly qualified to meet the demands of college course work, and those who are underprepared for such an endeavor. Over the past few decades, Higher education has no longer been an exclusive luxury for high-class, academically successful students. Now, students who experienced an unsuccessful high school career are being supported and encouraged to attend college more than ever before. While this poses a great opportunity, predominately, it presents implications affecting a large population. Ultimately, by encouraging underprepared students to attend college, society only creates predicaments that are damaging to community colleges, tax payers and all students alike.

Murray argues that many of the population have the right intellectual capacity to stand college education but due to societal pressure, a higher percentage of students, up to 40% struggle in high school and enroll for a college education in order to secure their future with what they call a degree. This can be shown in Murray’s statement “most people go to college to improve their chances of making a good living” (Murray, 442). Murray claims that the stress placed on college education by society has made most students enthusiastic and are willing to go to college and participate in other smaller courses due to the demand on going to

Many students enter college with serious doubts about their financial security, academic readiness, and the career path they want to follow as an undergraduate. These anxieties are coupled with the external pressures these young adults face from both their parents and society stressing that they need to attend college and excel in order to have a better, more successful life. Dealing with stress over whether or not to attend college seems reasonable today when the worth of a college education has become such a contentious point of debate among contemporary social analysts. Critics of the modern higher education system allege that the market has become a bubble where the market price is excessively growing while its intrinsic value remains unchanged,