In 2014, there were over 17.3 million students enrolled in American undergraduate programs, a 31% increase from fourteen years ago in 2000 (National Center for Education Statistics). In this day and age, most Americans need a degree to ascertain career opportunities in the future; there are options for virtually all backgrounds to receive a postsecondary education. Due to the variety of education options in the United States, there are numerous opportunities for one to reach their “Utopia” when coming to school. In an idea world, there must be a school for every student to have their individual needs met and provide the perfect college experience. Through synthesizing famous texts such as Hamlet, The Aeneid, Utopia, and The Prince, I will describe the “Utopian” college setting that will successfully prepare a student like myself for the transition into adulthood. While college is both intellectually stimulating and challenging, there should be no challenge to be prepared for the “real world.” While I am grateful for my opportunity to attend college, postsecondary education is far too often seen as a necessary step towards adulthood, but is at the cost of a luxury item. Unlike Hamlet, I will not be graduating from college without any debt. Therefore, my “Utopian” college experience will be at no or little cost to ensure a fair chance of financial stability after graduation. Everyone should have the chance to attend college if they desire to pursue their education without
Should college be free? A current universal problem poses this question. In today’s world, full of public education standards that hold students maybe too high and in a generation bogged down by student debt, this issue qualifies as a problem more than many are maybe even willing to admit. While the prospect of free college proposes excellent ideals such as a stronger and smarter generation, no student loan problems, and a higher educated society, the truth may actually lie in the reality that making college free would do more hindrance than good and is not the answer to these problems. Free college would increase economic problems, according to Andrew P. Kelly, who says it would only shifts the cost to someone else. As well, it would also hinder our education system. Michael J. Petrilli writes that making college free would “probably shift billions of dollars a year from programs that help talented poor kids access higher education and improve our schools”. Although the concept of free higher education is becoming appealing to the general population, it ultimately would create more problems than it solved and do virtually nothing of huge significance to increase the level of intelligence in modern society.
College is becoming increasingly expensive, ranging from 60,000 dollars to around 10,000 dollars. In the United states, 75% of people feel that “college is too expensive”(Source F). But to what extent should money rule an individual's life? The same survey also reported that 86% of people feel as though “college has been a good investment for them personally.” (Source F) This statistic proves that money should not control the life of an individual because although college is expensive a vast majority of people enjoy it. A college education not only prepares someone for a career in the future, but allows academic experimentation, higher pay as an adult and teaches students skills that young adults with only a high school degree may lack.
Throughout the USA college tuition has increased drastically; in the last five years Georgia colleges have had 75% increase along with other states such as Arizona whose tuition has increased by 77% (NPR). Since 2006 the tuition in Utah has increased by 62.8% and is rising throughout the U.S. (Desert News). Between 1885-2016 the price of college has increased between 2.1% to 4.3% per year beyond inflation (CollegeBoard). Through calculations, that equates to about a hundred precent increase since 1885. It’s no secret that college tuition has skyrocketed, increasing student debt and leaving prospective students to ask “Is College Worth It?” college education is beneficial in that it teaches students valuable life lessons in responsibility, prepares students to enter the workforce and can be relatively inexpensive. The eduction is “college education” is worth every penny but America has created clichés to define the college experience which are expensive and unnecessary. In a radical new world a college education is required in many high paying jobs, which leads to the question “Is the experience of college all it is built up to be?” Through recent research, many articles and news mention about the value of higher education seem to only take account of is the financial aspect. A college education is worth what one makes it and is an investment in a future and in one’s self. The purpose of college the education is to be prepared to go into a the workforce having gained the
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.
The authors introduce the idea that, college will not be an equal opportunity or necessary for everyone, by evaluating the pros and cons or college, using phraseology to convey the adversity of choosing higher education, and utilize a persuasive tone, drawing readers into the message of the essay. Education must be personalized to produce the most success for each individual. In the essay the authors present the contrast of tuition cost rising faster than family incomes to emphasize that students should carefully consider their options for higher education before committing a considerable amount of time and money to a degree that could potentially be worthless (Owen & Sawhill, 2013, p. 212). Owen and Sawhill reveal that choosing
In " Free College Doesn't Fix Everything,” Richard Reeves, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. Said that Community colleges in the United States can, in theory, provide an important service. not everyone has the same opportunity to earn a bachelor's degree. Most high school students from rich families will end the university, some of humble origin will join them. At this time, the system of institutions in the United States serves to reinforce inequality from generation to generation, rather than reduce it. However, some students do not get into college, or do not finish their studies, and this is not only economically-financial situation is also due to the weakness that has America in education. However,
Dreams are not cheap. I have dreamed of having a college degree for twenty years, one of the hurdles that I struggled with overcoming was the shear rising cost of higher education. In the articles, The Problem with Obama’s “Free Community College” Proposal and Obama’s Dream of Free Community College is Headed to Congress, high dropout rates and low percentages of students earning a bachelor’s degree are touched upon. While reducing the cost of college or providing free community college may not be enough to raise the dropout rate, we need to look at the other non-quantifiable costs of getting an education. If we want to enable American’s to earn that dream, we need to address the whole needs of the student and not just throw money at them.
Advocates of this form of higher education contend “a college degree is certainly no guarantee of financial success, but it is nearly a prerequisite for moving up the income ladder if you're poor” (Rampell 1). While college has the ability to aid in the advancement of a person’s financial standing, it proves to be a fruitless investment for some students. Even with the accreditation a diploma offers, millions of graduates struggle to earn a salary that ensures the benefits of their major investment. Academic philosopher Gary Jason insists “the rising price of college tends to erase the potential returns of a college education for students of only average ability” (Jason 1). The essence of Jason’s argument is that with a multitude of programs available as an appropriate substitute, college proves to be a waste of time and money for students pursuing careers that do not demand a diploma. The financial burden of college is growing, and in some cases, it cancels out the benefits. Believers in the college dream’s claim rests on the questionable assumption that all students will successfully obtain a diploma and follow a career path that will result in profits from the
The rising cost of college tuition and student debt is a necessary evil. Many students will gladly undertake the burden of having debt in order to attain what they seek the most, a college degree. A college degree is a prestigious accomplishment; a testament to a student’s iron will. It stands as a symbolic achievement, carrying the hopes and dreams of the families who didn’t have the opportunity to continue their education. Even if the United States manages to implement free college tuition and eliminate student debt, the value of a degree shouldn’t be undervalued.
Vivian Le Ms.Rose English 3P, Per.2 14 May 2015 College Is Worth It High school graduates attend college for many different reasons whether for career development or increasing one’s knowledge. Students who do graduate from college with a degree have increased job opportunities and financial advantages. However, more and more graduates are rethinking going to college because they are not “college material” or don’t have enough money to pay for their tuition. Although many people believe that college is not necessary to be successful in the future, in actuality attending college is critical because obtaining a college degree allows students to gain more knowledge and advantages for their future.
The average college student will graduate with 37,173 dollars’ worth of debt and 40 percent of college students will drop out. (Cite should everyone go to college) Despite this, higher education typically allows an individual to follow their passion and make a living off it. In addition, college provides an intrinsic value that enlightens the individual. Although higher education requires a large investment that may not return its original value, I contend that this investment provides one the ability to typically earn significantly more money and pursue their passion.
In the United States, known as the land of opportunity, becoming a success, gaining wealth, and having an elevated standard of life can come through many pathways. There is not a single road towards personal success. Despite numerous paths, the most traveled is one of a college degree. This is no coincidence, because employers everywhere look to recruit people who have these degrees. However, what if someone who has the right intentions, great potential, and inexhaustible motivation cannot attend because of monetary reasons? This is why the United States should fabricate a tuition-free nation.
Today colleges are growing more and more necessary for attaining a solid path towards a successful career, yet the rapidly increasing cost of tuition is driving students away from their dream of attending college, due to the preposterous amount of money that is now being demanded by colleges across the nation and world as a whole. It is sad to see students being turned away from a successful future due to the money-hungry nature of the universities that dot the globe. More and more impossible it is becoming to have a “rags-to-riches” scenario that used to highlight the American Dream, as if a student doesn’t have the riches to afford a higher education and the tuition that is drug upon its coattails, then our society is doomed to be clothed in rags forever, unless major changes are brought about to restructure and end the indefatigable growth of tuition rates across the board.
In this society of scratching and winning mega Jackpots or investing in your talent and earning more than a brain surgeon will ever earn in a life time, many parents today worry that their children might abandon education in search of alluring horizons that promise wealth without a college diploma. If the young people would stop to think about it, only a very small percentage of the population have such luck coming their way. College is and will always remain important because somethings, some experiences in life not even money can buy but a college can make you experience and reason like a diplomat. Ultimately, what is at stake here is the young people who have abandoned reality for utopia. Student loans and lack
Everyone has or should have an ideal; something which he can look forward to, of which he may dream, and for which he may strive. In our colleges we come across many defects or limitations. We often discuss these among ourselves. And in course of these discussions, and as a result of them, we come to cherish a vague notion of what would be an ideal college, at last, what we would regard as an ideal. Here of course I speak mostly for myself.