Future Hard Work Pay Off

In Stephanie Owen’s and Isabel Sawhill’s article “Should Everyone Go to College” the return on the investment in college is briefly broken down. The article “Should Everyone Go to College” opens up with a widely known claim that a college degree is necessary to enter the middle class. Owen and Sawhill test this claim by comparing the return on an education of general types of degrees and colleges. The article states that on average high school graduates make around $15,000 less a year than graduates with a bachelor’s degree. To further the prove the return on your investment in education the articles states that by the age 50 a person with a bachelor’s degree makes around $46,500 more a year than a high school graduate. This accumulates to

David Leonhardt explores the question of whether or not college is worth it in his article. He discusses the challeneges that college graduates often face that make many students wonder if its all really worth it. Because there is growing concern regrding things like student debt, the struggle to find work and being stuck in a job you feel overqualified for its easy to draw the conclusion that college just isnt worth the trouble. However, Leonhardt goes on to explain why not only college is valuble, but why having a four-year degree has probably never been ore valuable. Leonhardt sites data based on an analysis of Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institue in Washington which shows

According to the article Is College Worth it? Clearly, New Data say by David Leonhardt, Labor Department statistics by the Economic Policy Institution in Washington released that the “Americans with four-year college degree made 98 percent more an hour” on average than “people without a degree” (1). However, this claim automatically assumes that the degree caused the higher earnings and failed to consider the fact that those who complete college are already more likely to be financially successful whether they attend university or not. In “Alternative Funding Resources for Higher Education”, Nicolas Barr responds to Leonhardt’s assumption of lower or free college tuition increase productivity by providing his research that shows that first, “education beyond a basic level does not increase productivity” and second, “that firms seek high-ability workers but unable to distinguish them from those with low-ability” (719). He explains that the assumption that higher education increases productivity is false. That does not mean that higher education is not associated with an increase in productivity, it simply means that there are more influences like “natural ability and family background” on the productivity of a student (720). Furthermore, Critics such as Leonhardt claim that “college degree is worth $1 million over the lifetime of a worker” (2). However, he failed to calculate the worth of each major. There are so many other factors to consider such as unemployment rate, the demand, and the salary of each job. For example, it assumes that a Bachelor of Arts in art history has the same outcome than a Bachelor of Science in quantum

As it is heavily believed and statistically proved by Document A, Earnings and Unemployment Rates Based on Educational Attainments (2015), the higher the degree earned, the more money attained, similarly the higher the degree earned, the lower the unemployment rate. This proves the worth of college by giving numerical comparisons of those who invested in it verses those who didn’t. The median weekly earnings of $1,730 from someone with a professional degree put up against the $678 from someone who only graduated from high school shows a very obvious difference. This information greatly supports the decision of going to college by displaying the “in the long run” advantage of college through the amount of money you can make in the future with the degree you earn

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 previous claim gives a reliable perspective about choosing to pursue a college education, even if some majors are more limited than others. Research proves that having a degree provides more opportunities for employment rather than not. Statistics from the article on collegechoice.net show “the hourly wage for college graduates is roughly double than that of non-college graduates” confirming that although college students must pay off debt, their income is still valued higher than high school graduates. The article provides yet another fact as to how college graduates benefit from earning their degree because “for common careers not requiring higher education, those with higher education still tend to earn more in the exact same roles.” Corporations feel more confident hiring an employee who has more experience and training in the desired position rather than without, and seem more willing to give a pay increase. The article also states that college, in reality, is not as expensive as it appears. A fact from collegechoice.net claims with the average cost of a public four-year university being $8,890, the average total financial aid comes to $5,770, which is more than 50% of the cost. “While 66% of students do receive direct government aid in the form of grants or subsidized loans, and an even greater percentage receive either private or public aid”, the previous claim from “Special Report: Is College Worth the Debt” provides a perspective of how much the government and other associations are willing to help students who are serious about their education. If someone truly strives to pursue a degree while working hard to receive aid from the government and scholarships, the cost then lowers immensely. This article proved

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

As kaufman states in her article, “Yes, college is worth it, and it’s not even close. For all the struggles that many young college graduates face, a four-year degree has probably never been more valuable.” In today’s studies, it has shown that the pay gap between college grads compared to others has reached a high point, with college students making 98 percent more an hour, which has increased from 89 percent five years ago. If more high school students planned on going to college and graduating the pay for these students would decrease. As many teenagers do not choose to face the challenge of college, the pay for those who do graduate increased.

Today, when someone graduates from high school, it is pretty much expected that they will go to college. In fact, there is more of an emphasis on college education in America today than any other time in history. However, it is also the most expensive time in history to attend college, and with student debt now approaching one trillion dollars and tuition continuing to rise, it leaves the question (Owen and Sawhill 212). What is college truly worth anyway?

Most can agree, yes, it does pay off to go through college, no matter what price one may pay in actual currency. College is the last step before starting a career. The career one strives for is the reason college is even an option. College helps set up and plan the future. The students attending college or plan on doing so in the future are the future of the United States! These children need to have the ability to reach success. “Investing in our nation’s students means investing in our nation’s future” (College cost act…).Schooling is in a person’s life to educate them

One must consider their choice of major, cost of school, where they are attending school, and a variety of other factors. Depending on the situation college may not be a smart investment (Owen and Sawhill 209). I agree with this notion that some people are not meant for college, but we as a society still push the idea of college which creates conflicting thoughts in the mind of a student. When discussing the benefits of attending college the biggest supporting reason revolves around further expanding one’s knowledge in order to earn a higher income. They use ethos in their appeals but they fail to provide evidence of this. They may show numbers that are skewed showing the difference in salary of a high school graduate and a college graduate but they don’t show the majors that earning that high income. They don’t show the number of college graduates without a job and how much debt they are in. Owen and Sawhill do a tremendous job in their report of giving us those numbers and statistics to back up their

Right now in our society a college education is no longer an option or privilege, but rather a necessity. We are practically raised and conditioned to believe that one needs higher education in order to succeed in life. There is a saying that says "if you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Nowadays, going to college is common in United States. According to the statistic, there are more than 70 percents of the student are going to college after high school graduation. After high school millions of kids get a start in life without any higher education. Going to a college or a university of some sort is one of the wisest choices a person can make. Does the time and effort that individuals put into

David Leonhardt shows that “a new set of income statistics answers those questions quite clearly: Yes, college is worth it, and it’s not even close. For all the struggles that many young college graduates face, a four-year degree has probably never been more valuable.” (Web)

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.