College Is Not Worth Money

In Caroline Bird, “College is a waste of time and money,” Bird discusses why college is not necessary for everyone. She states that many college students are in college not because they want to but because they have to. Bird came to realize that college students don’t feel needed. They are led to believe that getting a college degree is important because it’s a way of getting higher chance of financial success which from Bird’s point of view is not always true. She gives examples of college students who have graduated and came to realize that college was 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.

In his essay, “Yes a College Education is Worth the Cost,” writer Rodney Smith discusses how students of this generation don’t care about receiving a great education for the future. Throughout his essay he explains how a college education is worth the cost. He stated that people between the ages of 18-34 say they would much rather get a job and make money than spend money to go back to school to obtain a higher degree. Smith’s family grew up in Oklahoma and they viewed education as an investment. Smith was influenced by his father’s upbringing and attended college and law school just like his father. By establishing and building his case about how education is worth the cost, uses a great deal of evidence, his argument is well organized, and he gains the audience’s attention. Background of the author

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.

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 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.

In their article “Should everyone go to college?” Stephanie Owen, Senior research assistant, and Isabel Sawhill, former Vice President of the Brookings Institute, argue that many factors lead to individuals not being able to attend college. They go on to claim these factors to be school choice, career field, graduation, and area of study. The article states that while on average the rate of return is usually positive, there are cases in which it is negative. One of their focal points is what it cost to attend college and its affordability. Claiming that with the rise in the cost of college, which progresses at a faster rate than that of the job wage increase, that college is becoming less affordable. In their conclusion a three step policy plan is included for individuals who plan to attend college. While realistically I agree that yes, some individuals should not go to college, my optimistic side would like to believe that everyone should and can go to college without it becoming a sour investment.

In recent discussions of Is College Worth It? By John Green, a controversial issue has been whether, people should attend college or get a job after they finish high school. On the one hand, some argue that people can get a monthly income better than if they have a degree. From this perspective, some people they do not want to attend college. On the other hand, however, others insist that people should attend college after they finish high school. In the words of John Green, one of this view’s proponents, “after graduating from college, I actually made $1 per hour less when I started working as an assistant at Booklist Magazine, but the job was better in every way” (video). According to this view, he was working at Stake and Shake and he was getting better salary than what he got after graduate by 1$ less but money is not everything in life. Then he proved to the audiences through his experience that he was more comfortable with working as assistant at Booklist Magazine even he is making less money. Because he got a better job, got the knowledge, and work on something that he like. In sum, then, the issue is whether to attend college or work without a degree. My own view is that attending college is worth it even if it will cost some sacrifices of things that we can get it in the future. After, all, I have chosen to identify as a college student at Winona State University. Though I concede that choosing the university and working to enroll and pay the

College is where you go to get higher sources of education. Many high school students dream of attending college in order to attain more knowledge, yet so many people fail to realize the cost of college. Attending college, currently, is nearly impossible to do without being in some sort of financial debt or seeking out government help. According to the American Association of University Professors, “two-thirds of American college students graduate with substantial debt, averaging nearly $30,000 (if one includes charge cards) in 2008 and rising.” (AAUP, 2012) Although going to college is beneficial, there is an argument on whether or not going to college is worth the possible debt incurred. The goal

“… A college degree is the surest ticket to the middle class,” says President Barack Obama (10, “College Education”). However, many disagree. Only 44% of people say that college is worth it from a previous 75%. This is understandable because tuition is the highest it has ever been and is still rising; meanwhile, student debt has surpassed $1.2 trillion (4, “Is College Worth”). Is college really worth the money? It depends on many factors such as the student, major, college, and time taken to graduate. But for the average student, it is definitely worth it; in fact, a college degree has never been more valuable because it increases the chances of having better wages and benefits, more job opportunities, and marketable knowledge. Anthony Carnevale from Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce says that ““the only thing worse than going to college is not going to college,” meaning students must decide between risking lower wages and higher chance of unemployment or paying for college (4).

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.

Americans have always believed that going to college is beneficial in many aspects and leads to a promising financial future.Recently, people have started to challenge this belief. Back in the day, if you had a college degree you were almost guaranteed a job. As Sir Ken Robinson puts it “You’re better having a degree than not, but it's not a guarantee”. Robinson has a valid argument; education trumps ignorance, but at the same, you don’t always have a high paying job waiting for you. Common sense seems to dictate that if their isn’t a job awaiting you then why waste money on a degree? This imposes another debate; are colleges worth the price of admission? In Andrew Hacker’s recent studies, Hacker seeked to compose an answer. He concluded that

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.

Now days, many people are told that they must graduate high school with good grades, so that they can get into a good college and be successful in life. Many people follow this because it’s what they have been taught their whole life. Most won’t even ask themselves, is college worth it, or is there a better alternative out there. College can be worth the time and money that is invested, for a lot of individuals, if they use it correctly. On the other hand, college isn’t for everyone and there are many reasons that make it not very appealing for these individuals. I consider college to be worth it if you use it correctly, even if it isn’t the best financial investment. While there are many people who think college is worth the time and money invested, there are others who disagree.

High school students are often stressed how important college is and how vital it will be for their future, but students often wonder if the thousands of dollars spent to further their education is worth it. According to the New York Times, “Student debt, meanwhile, has topped $1 trillion” (Leonhardt, 2014). Having that much in student debts, often questions individuals attend college or to join the work force right out of college. There are a lot of advantages of attending college as well as disadvantages of attending college. As an individual, you have to be the one to decide if it will be worth it or not. Some may view it is not worth all the debt in the long run, whereas some think it is worth every penny in the end. I have always had strong values when it came to education, therefore I think college is worth every penny.