College Is A Waste Of Time And Money

The rise of college tuition along with room and board have lead many to believe that college isn’t worth the money. This among with the other factors of how getting a job into society is more difficult and that a college degree no longer competitive due to the high abundance of them. On the other side, many others urge the importance of a degree. They bring up how more jobs today require degrees, the return investment, and many other things.

Caroline Bird’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money” explains her beliefs on why, for some people, going to college is an ineffective and inefficient use of their time. She states that many students do not belong in college because they are there for the wrong reasons and they are not happy learning. She also gives evidence to suggest that going to college and getting a degree does not actually allows a person to make more money in their life time. Her final claim is that college does not prepare most students for the real world and the jobs they will have once they graduate.

Dale Stephens, founder of Uncollege, a social movement supporting self-directed higher education, has a very strong belief that college is a waste of time. In his opinion piece for CNN appropriately title “College is a waste of time”, Stephens shows the downsides of going to college such as the cost of it, the consequences of failing, and how it does not prepare you for the real world. The Wabash National study held a survey asking college students and graduates what they came away with out of college. With all the data they captured, the study concluded that the majority of the groups tested believe the only things they learned from school were life lessons. The fact of the matter is, although you learn life lessons throughout your experience in college, ultimately it is a waste of time because it does not help you much academically.

After finishing high school people go through a dilemma on whether or not they want to continue their education. They could either go to college or begin working as just a highschool graduate. Going to college is a necessity. College takes four years and maybe another four years of studying. They is very little in comparison to an average 80 year lifetime. That’s not much time at all! College costs $20,000 - $30,000, college is like putting an investment into yourself and in hope that you’ll prosper and get a deserving career. Many jobs require special skills and that’s where college degrees come in. College brings many job opportunities, whether it be flexible or just high paying. Debt could easily be payed off if college is completed because of the better income.

Located in the 14th Edition of The Norton Reader, an article written by Carolina Bird titled “College is a Waste of Time and Money” can be found. In the article Bird argues that though college may be beneficial for a small percentage of students, but for the majority it is a waste of time and money. The benefits of a college degree can rely on many contributing factors, but for some college is simply a waste of time and money. Though most of the sources used in Bird's article are over four decades old, the argument today is still very strong. One example includes the idea that most students believe that college is the best thing for them to do for their future, and therefore they enroll, only to realize they are not happy and drop out. For other students their dream may have always been set on a specific career, putting college into the plan, but following graduation the job market for their degree is scarce. Within these two examples one would find support for the argument that college is a waste of time and money.

Grants and scholarships are important at every college because they keep students interested in their goals to graduate. People that attend college are individuals that want to make education very important in their life, obtain a successful career, and live a wealthy life. Students who gain a college education often have higher lifetime earnings and experience a variety of other benefits, including a better quality of life.

Many recent college graduates have faced record levels of unemployment. This situation has lead people to question what they value about higher education. Some high school students and their parents are wondering if a college education is worth the cost. Others, however, believe that a college prepares students for more than just a job or career. Many people then present the counter argument that people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg did not have a college degree, but unlike them most people are not geniuses and do not have the same entrepreneurial opportunities available to them, let alone the innovative ideas and proper timing. A college education is worth the cost because it is a requirement for many jobs, college graduates make substantially more than high school graduates, and college provides more opportunities for personal growth and networking.

In the debate about whether college is worth attending, many argue that college is worth it but others argue that college is not worth it. Those who argue that college is worth it contend to say that college graduates make more money, college allows students to explore career options, and not going to college will cost people more money in the future but on the other hand, those who argue that college is not worth it contend to say that college graduates are employed in jobs that do not require degrees, students who do not graduate waste their own money and the governments money, and student debt can cause another financial crisis for students who are already struggling with financial aid. While it is true that college does cause many problems already, college is worth attending and worth all the problems at the end of the road.

After someone completes high school, their first step is figuring out what kind of career they want to pursue. Most careers require a college degree just to apply. At this point, they should decide what their major is going to be and see what college is best for them to attend. Every college requires “general education” classes that the students must pass to graduate. Taking these extra mandatory classes is just time lost that college students will never get back.  General ed classes are also a waste of money, as many students acquire major debt from trying to pay for these required classes. If students were able to only take courses that help them in completing their major, more students would actually finish the classes and get their degree instead of dropping out. Universities should not necessitate students to take these general education courses that have nothing to do with the their major.

It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.

The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is a requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers through logical reasoning using numerous statistics, but fails to convince readers and discredits her ultimate goal through a disconnect in her use of analogies.

Is college worth it? Secondary education is what we are told to do. Knowledge is a valuable asset to have but we try to achieve it mostly because that is the option we decide to choose. Whether it was our own or it was influenced by family or professors. But the question I want college and incoming college students to think about is, are we really going to be out in four years, especially if we have other variables that conflict with our goal. And sadly the answer is no because there is a low amount of students who actually complete in four years the majority in five or six. So, are we really just told what we want to hear?

Most Americans believe that going to college is the only way to guarantee a successful life. People plant the thought of college being an immediate must do after high school into high school seniors heads. I disagree with the belief of college being the only way to a successful life and future for these high school seniors.

Recently, a lot of college students who are spending amount of money on school and after graduating they still can’t find a job, that make higher education background becomes a controversial question. Education background has become the focus of our current society, more and more people are beginning to be aware of the necessity of education and some people believed college degree is not important. As far as I am concerned, no matter in workplace, or in our social life, it is necessary for everyone to have college education background.

College is not only just a time for education. It is also a time for fellowship and time to establish relationships. Half of the time spent with others takes place on campus in the dorms, the other half, elsewhere. Visitation is a huge part of the everyday life of a college student. Everyone has friends, they want to come visit them, some of the same sex and others of the opposite. Being that Charleston Southern is a parochial college their visitation policy is stricter than those of a regular college. There is nothing wrong with a Christian school having its limits upon this subject, but it should only go so far. After all, it is still a college.