Case Study: Is Success Achievable Through Funding Of The GLC?

We have all heard of this intense rollercoaster ride that we are on called the American Dream. The term was coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931 defining it as “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Since it’s arrival, the Dream has evolved from a pursuit towards “freedom, mutual respect, and equal opportunity” (Shiller) to later one of greed described by Shiller as being “excessively lustful about homeownership and wealth” beginning in the 1960s. Traditionally, the American Dream included features of a nuclear family, that is one with a breadwinning father, a housewife, and two kids, owning a white picket fence home, thriving without financial worries, and a happy family. There has been a shift in focus for the Dream caused by the Millennial generation and in turn they have included features that place an emphasis on equality in all aspects of their lives from family life to the workplace placing their own twist on the Dream. The American Dream has evolved over time to include equal opportunities, college education, and happy family.

Shannon Williams is an African-American male, who attends DePaul University. He’s currently a junior majoring in Communication and Media in order to pursue his dreams of working with a professional sports organization. Over the years, Mr. Williams has encountered a lot of adversity. Getting dismissed from NIU back in 2012, he fell victim to the statistic of being a college dropout. He didn’t know what his next move would be as he sat at home from the couch with no source of income, friends nor vision. Within 6 months, he started to realize that he messed up a big opportunity and took college for granted. Mr. Williams got another opportunity to enroll back in school at Wilbur Wright College, in the fall of 2012. This time around, he wrote down

The dream of going to college may vanish for them, since scholarships that were once need-aid are becoming merit-based scholarships. As well as, financial support from the government only covers a small amount of the tuition. Many families have a financial problem that hinders their students’ future since

The American Dream is the idea that financial success, upward social mobility, and overall prosperity can be achieved with perseverance and hard work. It’s the idea that anyone, even the very poor, can make a better life for themselves if they are willing to work for it. It’s an idea that has become integral to American society, encouraging us to put in an effort to see our dreams come to fruition. However, when it comes down to individual experiences, it turns out that accomplishing the traditionally agreed-upon American Dream gets a lot messier than it’s made out to be. Using the books Nickel and Dimed and The Color of Water, as well as the movie Enron- The Smartest Guys in the Room, both similarities and differences can be found when it comes to what achieving the American Dream really means.

Only four students went straight to the workforce, when a century ago, this was not the case. With students now consistently going straight to college after high school, state universities should be free to state residents since we have public high schools. In Kalamazoo, Michigan, students who attend high school in Kalamazoo starting in ninth grade, can have from sixty-five to one hundred percent of their tuition covered (Teicher). This is known as “The Promise.” The Promise guarantees any student from Kalamazoo a scholarship that pays either a majority or all of their tuition (Teicher). This scholarship can be used for any state school, fifteen private schools, and other state schools around the United States that are less than the highest tuition in Michigan (Teicher). Since The Promise’s first wave of scholarships, there has been definite improvements in college attendance. For black students, there has been a three percent rise in college attendance and overall forty-eight percent of scholarship recipients graduate college (Teicher). While this has shown an impact, there certainly are other factors that lead to the fifty-two percent that do not graduate, such as not being taught time management, academic skills, or how to take advantage of their sources (Teicher). Despite this fallback, “The Promise” has definitely started an era of higher college graduation rates and those who lack financial support a method of

The American Dream, often associated with glamour and power, can simply be encompassed by financial stability. It is believed that, with hard work, this dream can be achieved; however, it has been proven that this may not always be the case. While some are able to achieve the American dream, others face much more difficulty doing so. An individual’s class and category of work is a large factor in their achievement of the American dream. The American Dream, essentially financial stability, may be achieved through hard work; however, those in lower classes may struggle to improve their way of life and achieve the American Dream.

As poverty grows throughout the United States, it continues to make it more difficult for our future leaders to become successful if they do not have the equal opportunity to pursue their personal American Dream. David H. Freedman discusses his thoughts on the American Dream and how poverty can get in the way of such success by asserting, “In the view of proponents, that money could also benefit people who aren’t poor but aren’t affluent either. They’d gain access to higher education, an escape route from oppressive jobs and relationships, greater opportunity to invest in their children’s well-being and education, and time to spend on artistic or other mostly nonpaying endeavors” (David H. Freedman). Devastated by the dreams of others freedom and success can still be achieved through the American Dream, even if poverty has affected someone as long as the self-determination to make decisions that will benefit in the future outcome of what they feel is the American Dream. Against the odds of barriers that lie in the way of success; such as, poverty, education, even sometimes religion and ethnicity, the American Dream is still achievable according to Steve Tobak, a well known writer, as he described “The American dream is not a guarantee, there has to be hard work to achieve a goal. There are many factors that play into having the feeling of the American Dream” (Steve

However, college education not only delivers a degree or diploma, but also intellectual growth and a more promising future of financial stability and happiness. With things like fees, financial aid, housing and transportation, it is understandable for any individual to be frustrated with the many obstacles college may throw. However, college is only as difficult as one may approach it. It is an overwhelming statistic that “student debt has increased significantly,” within the past few decades (Leonhardt). With plenty of opportunities for financial aid, students can ease the tension of their wallets by taking advantage of the convenience scholarships provide.

For the purpose of this paper, the American Dream will be defined as the idea that you can achieve financial stability through hard work, which often means going to college. The term “college” refers to any undergraduate or graduate program at a secondary institution. This paper aims to examine the relationship between

Since 1995, 82 percent of White first-time college students have enrolled at the 468 most selective colleges and universities, compared to only 13 percent of Latino students and 9 percent of African American students (Witham, Malcom-Piqueux, Dowd, & Bensimon, 2015, p. 14). How can society promote the concept of the American Dream, when there are so many barriers in equity that hinder underserved students from matriculating through higher education? While the “American Dream” has been defined numerous times, one common definition is that of James Adams, who

The American Dream has been desired throughout history and only a handful of people became successful and achieved it, however the majority did not experience those achievements and their hopes of obtaining it were crushed as more time had passed. They were deluded by those who triumph and attempted to strike at the opportunity by traveling to America that entranced them through the falsely exaggerated rumors such as the streets being paved in gold. The amount of obstacles that blocked them from acquiring that dream has proved too much, however it is still increasing at an alarming rate in the present. This rate has influence several literatures and proven that the American Dream incredibly flawed due to the countless economic setbacks.

The American Dream has been a long debated topic since the beginning. Recently, the American Dream has significantly decreased in popularity along with the chance of it becoming a reality. Some feel that the American Dream is just a piece of propaganda, constantly shifting ideas to keep the country’s attention and warping their expectations. Statistically, the idea that anyone can make it is absurd. The chances of someone getting rich and out of poverty differ drastically throughout the country. Despite high taxes and expensive college tuition seem to be the issues to blame, they are not the greatest contributors. In the Bible Belt of America, a child who is raised in the bottom five percent has a four percent chance of making it to the top five percent (O’Brien). In the article “Are the Suburbs Where the American Dream Goes to Die?”, Matthew O’Brien documented that the

There has been a moment in everyone’s life where they have dug too deep to jump back out and abandon the end goal. Students across the country that begin their junior year of high school are thinking about which choice of colleges they have in mind. One of the major problems that keeps a student back like solid steel chain is the tuition it cost for University admission. Students working their hardest throughout their high school career and having the ever conscious situation of financial problems stress them out. Students become discouraged when one of the main reasons for being unable to attend their dream college, is their inability to afford the yearly tuition cost of attendance. Students are then forced to face reality, in the sense that,

What we call the American Dream, the founding fathers called the pursuit of happiness. The American Dream is built on the promise that individuals from all walks of life can find success and prosperity here. It shapes from our opinions, desires, interests, cultures, geographical locations, and religions. Some presume the dream of becoming an engineer, a medical doctor, an athlete, a politician, or even maybe following their father’s footsteps and carrying on the family tradition of owning a restaurant. Sometimes, achieving this success is associated with the conception of receiving an education, especially a college education. The common debate of today’s society has always been whether

As the cost of education increases, many students search for assistance to help cover that cost. That form of assistance could come from burdensome financial aid or a scholarship that provides the student with an education free from debt. That’s why I am writing you today Mr. Alan Hall on behalf of the Student Scholarship Committee, bellow we have outlined the (1) the benefits to the student, (2) the benefits to you, and (3) how you can take action to help.