College Can Wait Awhile By G Jeffrey Macdonald

High school graduation marks the start of young adults’ lives, a time where they are expected to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many young adults are pressured into attending college, whether they have determined their goal or not, but is it necessary? “The Case Against College,” an article written by Linda Lee, a mother who has questioned the former belief that college equals success, claims that “not everyone needs a higher education.” College, though beneficial to many, is not for everyone and should not determine an individual’s life.

It can also be helpful for students to meet community needs.As it is stated in article “What is College For?” by Joseph R. Urgo who is the President of St. Mary's College of Maryland, “College is for students to decide what and how they want to contribute to society, to the economy, to their communities and to the well-being of their families”. Saint Cloud State University provides the opportunity to volunteer through different organizations. In these organizations, volunteer students are supposed to help in arranging and organizing specific organization’s cultural nights. In these cultural nights students also get chance to know each other and learn how to help each other. For example, I was helping the Pakistan Student Association in organizing

In the essay, “Should Everyone Go to College?,” Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill cover all aspects of this topic. They include the rate and variations of return and policy implications, and they also give many statistics to support all of their arguments. It is a very well-assembled essay that gives both sides of the topic. It is a very well put together essay that allows the reader to further understand the topic.

When I look at the word failure I didn’t see success. But that slowly changed as I read the book What the Best College Students Do by Ken Bain Chapter four. Bain, for me and I’m sure many other, have changed our view point on failure being a bad thing. He instead expressed failure as an “opportunity to learn something.” (121) As infants we grow and develop, we learn to walk by falling down a couple hundred times, and we learn to speak by babbling. By trying to walk, and trying to talk, we may fail at first. As an infant, you cannot give up when you are face to face with failure. You must get up and try again to learn. In the book, What the Best College Students Do by Ken Bain he uses people’s experiences and research to explain why failure is an opportunity to learn something new, rather than seeing failure as something bad. He asserts “people who become highly creative and productive learn to acknowledge failures, even to embrace them, and to explore and learn from them.” (100) Failure is important. If we did not get up and try again as infants, we would not be where we are today.

In the article “College is a waste of time”, Dale Stephens argues that college is a waste of time thing for most students right now. Stephens mainly claims that be educating in college is worth than be studying in outside of school and learning from experience. Stephens assumes his readers are college students and their parents. After read his article. I disagree with Stephens some points he claims in this article because he is not a creditable author I can not find much information when I do research. Then, he uses few good resource in his essay and not use strong authorities to support his arguments. Furthermore, some of his ideas are not true for college: reward competition rather than collaboration, and etc. Last and very important one is Stephens wrote this article to subjective about this issue.

“What Is College For” by Andrew Delbanco, shows the need for both a universal college system; one which caters for all of society, and one which provides a liberal education. Delbanco gives many reasoned thoughts on how, and why the college system has become restricted, to purely those of a higher socio-economic background, rather than being exclusive to people of all backgrounds. The idea of college being a platform for people to learn, advance their skills, and become whatever they want to be has seemingly diminished over time. The ideas in favor of such an educational system are put forward, but they are foreshadowed in my opinion, by the notion that people should have the same educational opportunities in life; regardless of their economic or social background. A universal education system is needed for our society to prosper, especially if it provides a liberal education; this is not just for the individuals that make up a community, but for the community, as a whole.

Lawrence B. Schlake, author of the article Not Going To College Is A Viable Option, suggest that there are many different opportunities that can lead to further success in life other than attending college. Throughout the article, Schlake references the European “gap year” and numerous other reliable options instead of college. As a superintendent, Mr. Schlake is a credible source when it comes to dealing with students entering the workforce or exploring career opportunities. The use of persuasive techniques and evidence displayed throughout the article is very effective in persuading the reader that college isn’t suited for everyone.

Does college really give graduates the tools and knowledge required to succeed? In the article “Where College Fails Us”, author Caroline Bird attempts to argue that college may not be worth as much as people are led to believe. Bird believes that with the rise in college graduates being well above the Department of Labor Statistics anticipated job needs, college is quickly becoming a waste of time. Moreover, several reasons listed depict colleges many shortcomings, including the stress it puts on students and the unrealistic expectations it gives them combined with huge financial burdens. The author believes that the successful college graduates would have been successful regardless of their education, and that the majority of students felt forced to attend. Finally, she states that before wasting your money on a college education the reader should reflect on her article and determine if there is still value in a college experience. Although Caroline Bird presents many persuading arguments against the college experience in her article, I believe her logic to be outdated and generalized, and her content lacking of discrediting information. I disagree that all college graduates are taking dead-end jobs, and universities have withdrawn from the social side of their educational experience.

It has been a heavily debated topic over whether college is worth it or not. In “College’s Value,” college professor Eric Hoover explains his studies of college degrees and concludes that attending college has greater benefits than we expect. Nowadays, when families think of college, they think about the amount of financial burden instead of what they will gain from attending. In this article, Hoover states, “Yet the perceived benefits of attending college go well beyond the dollars” (Hoover 1). He writes how diplomas help receive better and higher paying jobs. Hoover is persuasive by using statistics, interviews with undergraduates and graduates, and acknowledging the opposing views as well as refuting them.

“In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000” (National Center for Education Statistics). That number seems to be rising each and ever year, and it almost seems as students feel like they have to go to college directly after high school. Maybe it is because they feel that they have to fit in, even if college is not for them. Although some students attend college for academics, sports, and other reasons, some students attend college for no apparent reason; with that in mind, students should take into consideration the time and money that is put into going to college.

In “Two Years Are Better Than One” by Liz Addison, the author explains that two year colleges are better than four. She begins with a quote of Rick Perlstein, her professor, who believes college is no longer important compared to how they used to be. On the other hand, the author claims that college will always matter. In fact, she argues that community colleges are better because they don’t only let you have the college experience, but they allow less fortunate students to continue their education. “The community college system is American’s hidden public service gem.” The author states that as any other four-year university, community colleges should also receive credit and more recognition. She gives an example of how a newspaper had an article describing a “college application essay” workshop for low income students, the author shares with us that she was upset that the newspaper ignored community colleges. She explains that community colleges help students to begin and to pursue their dreams. I believe community colleges, surely are better than four-year university, because community colleges prepare you to later on move on to a university, if you choose to.

by Mary Ellen Flannery, seven out of ten students will graduate with some debt, and these

As adolescents begin their senior year, the topic of college often runs without hindrance, often causing extreme stress. As the monetary value, as well as the time spent, begins to accumulate in their minds, students often find themselves bound at the wrists figuring out a way to balance as well as afford college living. In many cases, the upcoming graduates are unsure about their career path, almost enhancing their stress in choosing a school that would cater to their needs. It is almost then they begin to ponder whether or not University/college life is for them, which is could be an extremely advantageous shot in a, for example, high achieving family. Whilst college does allow for a plethora of doors to be opened, the lack of time, effort, and money can hinder one 's ability to properly choose a university. Though school can help with the stepping stones of life, they do not entirely ensure a proper future, therefore many may opt out of school; however, with the correct actions, they may turn out extremely successful, which may not have even happened without the release of the burden of school.

“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.

By taking this time off to explore what life has to offer, this decision has made several students feel more mature as young adults. They were able to understand who they have become, and able to handle pressures in life that came along such as basic stereotyping, patience with others, and feeling more mature than their peers when they return to college. With using a year in between school and college, one can defer their application to college and go figure out what type of person they will become. Some get upset with going to college that first year and by taking the year off, most students come back with some life changing skills that enable them to have the traits, skillset and firsthand knowledge to deal with the first year of college situations such as parties, ethics, and alcohol. Most students feel that by taking this time off, it helps in their growth and not just mentally, but spiritually. One female even lost faith during her first year as a result of her experience. After hearing of the rape of one of the orphans, she recalled her religious doubts: “How can God let this happen?” (Shea, J. pg. 570). Many colleges are allowing more students to apply for a gap year. “In 2009, Princeton University launched a fully subsidized international volunteering gap year option for incoming undergraduates to encourage an international perspective and