How I Bluffed My Way Through College Essay

High school graduation marks the start of young adults’ lives, a time where they are expected to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many young adults are pressured into attending college, whether they have determined their goal or not, but is it necessary? “The Case Against College,” an article written by Linda Lee, a mother who has questioned the former belief that college equals success, claims that “not everyone needs a higher education.” College, though beneficial to many, is not for everyone and should not determine an individual’s life.

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

In a May 2003 persuasive article published by USA Today titled “College isn’t for Everyone”, the author W.J. Reeves states “about 15 million people in America are enrolled in college.” This is a staggering amount considering the fact that many people are in college for all the wrong reasons. About half of the Americans enrolled in college are there because they feel they owe it to their families. Only a small number of Americans in college actually feel it is necessary for successful lives. In this article, Reeves recollects on his experiences as a college English professor at an institution in New York. He speaks of how he believes that many students truly do not want to be in college. You can tell this by his stories of tardiness,

Cureton and John Tagg both look at the bigger picture. In “Collegiate Life: An Obituary,” Levine & Cureton discuss larger reasons for why students behave the way they do in college–hope and fear. From these two emotions, they show how other attitudes–consumer expectations, psychological “damage,” and a utilitarian approach to learning–are a result of these two greater forces (Levine & Cureton 712). On the other hand, Tagg, in “The Decline of the Knowledge Factory: Why Our Colleges Must Change,” places the blame for the failure of higher education on universities. He writes that students’ disinterest and professors’ complaints are both due to the failure of the universities. Edmundson’s essay is given context and an explanation in Tagg’s

In the essay “College Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree” author Eric Hoover claims a college education is important to one 's well-being so they can get a job and be productive in other parts of life. Promoters of higher education have long emphasized how beneficial college’s value and its purpose. Many believe the notion that colleges teach students are life skills to apply anywhere, they also work hard to earn a degree and learn specific marketable skills which they can use to get a good job. Though obtaining a college education and a degree is helpful in countless of ways, it is not necessary to pursue a college degree in world where a college degree is seen different now, people without turn out fine, the growing average of debt that students who attend college have to pay off and people without a degree can obtain many jobs that do not require college degrees.

A look back at the institution of education over the past 20 years will reveal that once upon a time a bachelor’s degree was long since considered the marker of ultimate success, the highest level of achievement that one could make in their lives. In those days, if for some reason you failed to march across the stage on graduation day after an epic, four-year stretch of high tuition, long nights studying, and unrelenting professors that found great joy in riding your back, then you had indeed failed at life.

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 her article “College Is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird attempts to pursued her readers that colleges are overflowing with students who don’t belong there. Her article first appeared in Psychology Today (May 1975). Since this material is outdated, I find it hard to believe that most of the responses by students and parents quoted in the article still hold true. The author has set out to pursue the readers that college is a bad and unnecessary choice for today’s youth. Yet the author holds a bachelors and a masters degree from two different universities. I would think that if she thought college was really a bad choice and a waste of time and money, she would not have gone back to get her masters degree.

Higher education has a vast history; beginning in the early colonial period and spanning ten generations. With its wide range of history, aspects of higher education have changed as the ideals and reforms of society adjusted. Albeit, the missions and purposes of college have remained the same. In this paper, I will clarify the three main missions and purposes of higher education. Then, I will shift the focus of the paper to the area I would like to pursue in higher education and how it reflects those purposes.

College, a universal, fundamental concept that the globe utilizes. Through a wide array of variations, countries across the world have developed their own meaning of what higher education is. However, the underlying tone of it all is the same, furthering one’s knowledge. With a vast number of schools from a broad range of locations trying to pull the population in, colleges compete with different tactics ranging from education relevance to evaluation. Consequently, problems have arisen from these approaches, addressed along the lines in an article called “A New Course” by Magdalena Kay, an associate professor of English at the University of Victoria and an educational film, “Ivory Tower” by Andrew Rossi, a graduate of Harvard and Yale University and a filmmaker. Furthermore, these problems change the meaning of college itself, no longer seen as an education, but as a commodity.

In the article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird explains why higher education is not always the right choice for students after high school. The author believes that students do not come to the decision to attend college on their own but they are expected to and pressured by parents, advisors, and society. In the beginning of the article the author argues that colleges use techniques to sell themselves just like any other product on the market. They advertise what they have to offer and tell students what they want to hear. She also feels that campuses, stemming from the riots in the 1960’s, have started to

The immense cost of education has turned a degree into an investment, and to fail to obtain it would result in a waste of money that would forever define the financial future of person. Although many students do fail for a multitude of reasons, it is no secret that this change in perspective has lead to schools being easier on students to ensure they

Children are taught from the time that they can walk that they will be happy as adults as long as they try their best in school, enter an excellent college, and choose a rewarding career. Since happiness is what many would call an ultimate goal in life, students do not wish to fail any three of these aforesaid objectives. The current American education system seems to encourage perfection in all aspects of school life. In turn, a majority of students fall prone to stress by over exerting themselves; they only know that all others are doing the same and that therefore, they should be as well. In the article “High anxiety over college admissions,” Christopher Chiang, a board member for the

College success has become a most desirable goal. However, many students struggle through college. In fact, according to the Website Ask.com, approximately 15 percent of college students receive a degree. Because I’m willing to earn a degree like many other successful students, I find that college is the stepping stone to my dream goals. I know that college is difficult, but I realize that attaining my dream of a college education will require me to understand the benefits of what I’m learning, to prepare for obstacles, to seek advice, and to create effective and reasonable strategies will help me achieve my goals.