College Is It Worth It?

Have you ever just stopped to think about what it must be like to be “qualified” for a job yet be unemployed and homeless? Starving on the streets because you paid everything you had to an institution that was supposed to guarantee a better life, a more stable and successful career. Obviously this is an extreme case, not everyone who pays for college ends up living on the streets and broke, but almost every college graduate is in debt. For as long as college has been around it has always meant a better life, it’s always been that people who went to college were more successful, smarter, and would make way more money than someone who didn’t go to college ever would. Lately, however, college has become so expensive that going to college will more than likely leave you in debt working for years upon years just to pay back what you owe and then start making money for yourself.

Getting a “good” job is not straightforward as it used to be. In past generations, someone in an entry-level position could work their way up the ladder simply through hard work and determination; whether or not one had credentials or a diploma mattered very little. This is not the case today. Higher education is now critical to obtaining a better job because the demand for skilled labor is rising. For this reason, the value that a degree offers is higher than that of one’s actual intelligence or merit. Furthermore, workers without college degrees will quickly be outpaced in position and salary by degree

Many students today look towards the future scared and frightened debating their future, all of them asking the same question. Is a college education truly worth the cost and the amount of debt that a student acquires over a four-year period? Many ask what are they doing this for, a piece of paper called a degree. That’s what the articles “Five Reasons Why College is Worth the Cost,” written by Reyna Gobel and “Is College worth the cost? Many recent graduates don’t think so,” written by Jeffrey J. Selingo both address. The articles take different standpoints and views on the topic. Gobel’s article siding with the view that college is worth the cost. While Selingo’s article argues that college is not worth the cost.

There is quantitative data on both sides of the debate about whether or not college is worth it, but it’s hard to measure some of the pros of a college education in numbers. Most agree, however, that college enriches people’s life in some way that isn’t just financial. Through encountering different perspective and getting a liberal arts education, people become better citizens of the world. Or so the argument goes. In his essay, "Colleges Prepare People for Life", Freeman Hrabowski argues that everyone should attend college, not just for the financial benefits down the line, but to enrich their worldview and prepare them to become better citizens in the 'real world '. While I agree with his view that college is one path to becoming a

In 1931 the phrase "American Dream" swept the world and continues to bring hope to many Americans today. James Truslow Adams book, The Epic of America, defines the term as a “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” This phrase continues to aspire hope Americans of a better life with endless possibilities. As time moves past the 1930s the pure reality of achieving the American Dream dwindles. Harsh realities quickly set in; people just are not making enough money to support themselves. Everyday costs such as health insurance, mortgages, transportation, and costs of pursing higher education depletes any chances of upward mobility on the social ladder. America creates establishes college to be a necessity by increasing tuition prices; this drastically affects the everyday American’s ability to afford it. The rising costs of achieving higher public education in the United Stated schooling system reflects the increasing enrollment rates correlating with the increasing amount of student loans creating a higher dropout rate than in previous generations.

Whether or not a college education is worth the money is controversial topic. Some people believe that going to college worth a better life. Other challenge this position, claiming that it is time and money wasting. However, the value of college is apparent, deciding whether it is worthwhile means weighing the value against the cost of attending. Although both sides of this issue has merit, it seems clear that a college education is a worthwhile investment because it is a means of gain knowledge, higher pay and stable future.

The U.S. is home to some of the greatest colleges and universities in the world. But with an overwhelming 1.3 million students graduating with an average student loan debt of $29,000 each and with youth unemployment elevated, the question of whether or not college tuition is worth the money arises (The Institute for College Access & Success, 2013). Higher education faces intimidating challenges: continually rising costs, access and completion problems, constant changing of technology, and responsibility pressures from state and federal officials. But no challenge is more intimidating than the fundamental question that many Americans face to ask themselves, "Is college worth the cost?" As a result of the economic turn down, many students who graduate are not finding well-paying jobs, either within their field of study or not.

Quote by Albert Einstein: “The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think.” Going to college is still a debatable topic today. Is it essential to life, is college worth it, and do high school students need to go are some of the many questions concerning college. Now, some may argue that college is “too expensive” and “not essential in succeeding in life”; however, it is stated that college students have a higher success rate in economics and are more prepared in the long run.

The question I want to ask and research about is “Is going to college worth it?” By worth it, I mean does the experience of college and a college degree worth the money and time spent on it? There are tons of evidences suggest that it is a right choice to go to college, but there are also some evidences counter that idea, suggesting that going to college may not be the best choice. I agree with the former idea, and I believe that not only going to college is important, but also going to graduate school is preferable. From my experience, I think that a college degree is overall better than a high school degree, and a graduate school degree is better than a college degree. There are different kinds of returns that a college degree could offer

College is a place where students learn what they want to be when they graduate and they use that knowledge they obtained from college to fulfill their dream by what they have studied, so hard for in college. Some people ask, “Is College worth it?” and the answer to that question is, “Yes.” A lot of people continue to disagree with that answer, but when it’s all said and done: college is worth it. That is why, there is still students that enroll into a 4-year college or a community college because they want to become successful in life which is the reason why they feel that college is worth it.

“…Life is on you. Now, I’d argue, is the best time to take advantage of your education. And by doing so, you might just be taking charge of your life” (Stephens 2).

Many people throughout history have said more or less the same words in many different ways, from Presidents to philosophers, from dictators to martyrs, men all through history have come to the same conclusion; knowledge is power. The question of knowledge being equal to power is not the question that has so many people preoccupied in the current economic climate. That statement as fact has been branded into the minds of young people in America and all across the world for so many generations that the point seems hardly worth debate. Now the question has become, “Is knowledge money?” The cost of a college education has skyrocketed to the point that many would be students are asking themselves, is college worth the cost?

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.

Attending college can most definitely provide more opportunities than those who do not receive a higher form of education. According to the article Is College Worth It?, “Americans with four ­year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” This statement clearly shows how the gap between having a college degree and not is exponentially increasing, making it more appealing for many people to seek out a degree in order to make better income. Many would argue that college is way too expensive, however it has been proven time and time again that over the long run of our lifetime, it is much more beneficial for us to be in debt, and pay off that debt within years, in order for our lifestyle to be a whole lot more stable rather than opting to not go to college to avoid the cost of college debt. The average cost of debt for many college graduates is about $25,000, that may seem like a whole lot of money, however, that debt is a fraction of what opportunities and economic benefits many can attain for having a college degree. One issue that the author pointed out is how there are “very few college graduates…...very few people who are prepared for college…” Based on my own understanding and experience, I can say that what the author stated is true. I have witnessed people very close to me not attend college because of limited resources and because of them being afraid of being in debt. Stories of individuals not being able to pay

Junior year is the year that most high school students have to make the biggest decision of their lives. Some students have been planning to go to college ever since first grade, but for others, junior year marks the beginning of the tedious college research and visits. Studying at a university is one of the most expensive fees that a student will have to pay in their adult life, and to know whether this is worth the money, time and effort seems impossible. For high school graduates today, college is worth it because it helps many students become more effective in their work, make more money than those who do not have a college education, and have a much less likely chance of being unemployed than a non-graduate.