Four Year Graduation Timelines

economist and he stated, “We have too few college graduates,” and “We also have too few people who are prepared for college.” (Leonhardt). Many students begin the journey of college right after high school but there are many things that colleges don’t advertise to incoming students. The first is that college is an investment, not only with your money but with your time. You need to be able to devote these next four years to studying and working towards your degree which is hard to do when you are 18-21 years old because you feel invincible, and that you are in the prime of your life. That four year commitment is one of the main reasons employers look for a Bachelor’s degree because it shows your ability to follow through and persevere. The amount of work needed to earn a Bachelor’s will differ with the major that you choose, and what college you are attending, however, the sacrifice is still the same. The second thing that colleges and universities forget to mention is that it will not be easy. Again, this will be different for each major and each college but the amount of work you put in is what you will get out of college. Lastly, there is one major aspect of college that is talked about by high school teachers to their students but it isn’t advertised by the colleges. You must learn how to self-study. In high school,6 you think you have done quite a bit of self-studying and maybe you even felt like you taught yourself that whole class. It will be very different in college and there will be no one telling you what to work on in class and when the paper is

The educational experience helps in this development by presenting students with many challenges, choices, and obstacles along the way. A college degree is a huge accomplishment and most companies know that intense work and dedication was put into earning that degree. Employers also know that college graduates are taught to express their thoughts clearly in speech and in writing and to make informed decisions. That is why most college graduates are viewed as professionals upon entering an organization.

“What’s the key to success in the United States?”(Steinberg,2010), author Jacques Steinberg starts off his article “Plan B: Skip College” with a powerful question that has been asked by many Americans. Majority of Americans first thoughts would be higher education. The ideology that obtaining a degree is the best and sometimes only way to be successful in the American economy. This has been instilled in numerous children growing up. Steinberg states “perhaps no more than half of who began a four-year bachelor's degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years according to the department of education”(Steinberg,2010). Students who tend to not excel in high school often take longer, or at times finish a higher education at all. These

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.

Coming from Cuba to The United States of America was a dream; however, a nightmare as well. I came to live to Miami when I was nine years old during fourth grade. My family constantly told me to study hard to be able to graduate from high school and go to college. In addition, learning a new culture, language, and educational system was tough for me. High-school graduation was my main goal to reach since I came to this country; yet, I had a long pathway to walk and full of challenges.

1. How would you describe the quality of your high school's educational resources (such as teachers, counselors, assistance with course selection and college admission planning, books, facilities, size and location)?

Firstly, some graduates go on to college with the expectation of endless parties and finally leaving their parents. In reality by the time those students head off, they get to experience real world issues and come out as mature young adults. This idea can be seen in Pew Social and Demographic Trends’ article Is College Worth It, it states that “College graduates place more emphasis on the intellectual growth; those who are not college graduates place more emphasis on career preparation” (Pew). College not only expands the manner of thinking in a classroom environment but also in the way an adult thinks in real life situations.

Taking a lot of classes and to graduate at a 4- year university isn't a choice for all students. Students who works full time, also to help a sick family member or to manage the own learning are worried about college classes. Students don’t have to worry about giving up on a job because of college. They will have time to do more of college work, and if students don’t have a way of doing community college and having a job they can talk with someone on campus and the campus staff will help students manage a organize

Everyone of us has wondered if we were going to go to a four year college at some point of our life right? But is it worth going to, is the question we should be wondering.Some students may wonder if a four year college is worth spending four years of their life on. On the other hand, some students may have their minds set that a four year college isn’t worth spending their time on.However, a four year college education is worth spending four years for, to help students with their future careers.

The point of college isn’t just to make it to graduation as fast as you can. That diploma isn’t going to change you. The events and lessons learned leading up to that diploma are what are going to change you. College shapes you into the person you have always wanted to be, it allows you to make decisions for yourself and to be able to grow from each and every one of them. Even if you may not notice it, you are changing every single day, and before you know it you’ve become the person you’ve always wanted to be, just like when the Emerald Mile crew, “were unaware that the events of the next several hours would mark each of them in profound and disturbing ways and would, for a select handful, change their lives forever” (Fedarko 251). Getting a higher education will change your life forever. So expect to change a lot in the next four years, and be

Today, our society thrives on the wealth and support of the upper-class aristocrats to guide our dollar sign endeavors in the right direction. They are proof, in the flesh, that college offers a life above average, a life that is comfortable and well-lived. College offers experience for the long run, a chance at higher paying jobs, and a chance to make a positive contribution to the our endlessly evolving world. Nonetheless, it is the decision every high school student faces at the end of their four-year run; is it worth the hassle or is it an unnecessary element in their daily lives.

These days it's hard to find a good paying career without at least an associate's degree. This leads many people to college. People are different, and although they all came with the same goal they pursue it differently. College students can be organized into these three groups slackers, average students, and the overachievers.

College is a narrow box that limited our life experience and choice in future. Gerald Graff says in his articles, ‘Our schools are not seeing the academic potential of the topic outside of school.’ (Graff, 268) School doesn’t give us access to the topic that they think are not important which limit our knowledge. Charles Murray also says, ‘the culture push people who don’t have academic ability or motivation to attain their degree on they just fail.’ (Murray, 238) It limits our opportunity of experiencing things other than academic works. Life learning should be a collection of knowledge and experience, both are equally significant. Knowledge alone is no useful unless we make some connection between them. Therefore, life experience is necessary.

A hot topic right now in the U.S. is whether or not college should be free. College being free means that everyone would graduate debt free and they would start helping the economy as soon as they graduate. College is expensive and with 2 siblings who have experienced it, it can be stressful at times. There are many people who just can’t afford to go to school right now. Scholarships do help a lot, but most of them just aren’t enough, and if college was free, that would mean students would not have to worry about having to pay back all of the student loans and debt.

Many first-time freshmen enroll into a four year institution with the belief that they will graduate in four years. Unfortunately, the reality of it is that only a few of those individuals actually graduate in four years. According to “California State University, Fresno: First-Time Full-Time Freshmen Four-Year Fall 2000 to Fall 2009 Graduation Rates”, about an average of 200 students graduated in four years out of about 2,000 who entered. Now you may ask yourself, how is this possible if it is said to be a four year institution? Yes, it may be established and known as a 4 year institution, but that does not guarantee an undergraduate a completion of their degree within four years. There are many contributions that play an important