Is College The Best Option?

A Short Rhetorical Analysis of Andrew Delbanco’s, “A College Education: What Is Its Purpose?” Andrew Delbanco was born in 1952. He became a teacher at Columbia University and still teaches there as the director of American Studies. Delbanco has published multiple books with the essay of “A College Education: What Is Its Purpose?” included in them. The tone of the article is serious and informative.

Two of the essays I chose for the Is College the Best Option theme is Liz Addisons’s Two years better than Four and Gerald Graff’s Hidden Intellectualism. In Liz Addisons’s essay, Two Years Better than Four she shares her own experience, having attended two community colleges that provided her a launching pad for her career. Addison expressed much elation for her experience in opening her mind to the varieties of experiences that followed her journey to earn a bachelor degree as a large animal veterinarian.

“Colleges Prepare People for Life” by Freeman Hrabowski, is an informative essay about how college is a crucial step for the preparation of a successful future job opportunity as well as future life. Hrabowski is the current president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and has been in that role since 1992. “In 2012, President Obama named him chair of President’s Advisory Commission on Education excellence of African Americans” (Hrabowski, 2013, p. 259). This quote goes to show the amount of knowledge and respect Hrabowski has earned throughout his life by proving himself and his ideas to others. Although college is a crucial step for the preparation of a successful future job opportunity as well as one’s overall wellbeing of life; some might disagree that college is the key to success. From this essay, messages within the text will be made known by analyzing the real meaning behind Hbrabowski’s words. As well as reasoning, as to why a college education is essential to one’s overall quality of life.

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

Both writers have a unique approach to whether college is important or not, presenting statistics within their arguments. In summary, higher education might not be for everyone because of wasted time, learning is not for everyone, and trade jobs. Individuals who attend university might not choose the correct career, resulting in time loss. Completion of a college degree does not secure a rewarding career. Most individuals are not inclined toward learning.

After carefully reading both articles, I have to say that I agree more with Caroline Bird. Throughout her article Bird made exceedingly valid points as to why going to college isn’t always beneficial and I can relate to her points and opinions. I believe college isn’t for everyone and it surely it’s not always the key towards a happy and successful future, at least that’s how I see it. College is like one of those toy machines you spy at your local supermarket. It lures you in with all the cool prizes and colorful designs, but it’s only goal is to take your money and in the end you weren’t lucky enough to win that cool prize no matter how much money you keep putting in. That’s the same way college works, they only want your money and they could

In Freeman Hrabowski’s piece, “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” he mentions the differing opinions between going to college and choosing another path. Many people find college too expensive, and once a student graduates, he or she will face enormous debt and potentially risk still being unprepared for the working world. Hrabowski acknowledges this, and also notices that many students who do attend college occasionally make the wrong decision in terms of choosing a school and major. But while the stakes are high, he argues that college not only provides financial stability, but also allows students to become more virtuous citizens in the long run. He does this by providing information to backup his claims, using a passionate tone to explain his beliefs, and paralleling college attendance with good intentions.

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.

From growing dissatisfaction with things such as classroom size, a lack of innovation in teaching curriculum, and standardized test scores, to the low ranking the U.S. receives across the board in a number of educative subjects when compared to other countries, there is no avoiding the fact that our education system, is in fact, failing. From the given choices of essays, Michael Lind’s “Intellectuals Are Friends” best captures the fatal flaw in our education system: the belief that by providing more education and sending more people to college, the social inequality in society will be addressed and students will be made better off in their life pursuits. However, it’s not right to say that college is for everyone because not everyone can hold up under the pressures of college. That doesn’t mean to say that these students can’t be just as successful as college students in

evolve into a human being who will change and innovate the world, so a question like this startled me and made me really confused as to why but it also caught my attention. Murray provides us with reasons, examples, and statistics on why he believes people should or should not go to college. In his article Murray talks about the compensations that come with a degree, the reality about college, bachelor of arts, liberal education, core knowledge, and the four years spent at university. Three particularly points that sparked my interest were: the truth about college, the supposed rewards that accompany a college degree, and the four years you spend at your desired institution. I will be discussing the many flaws that are contained within his arguments and will be utilizing logical fallacies, diction, to describe why.

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.

Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting. In no way saying that the average student cannot meet the requirement and achieve success over the amounted work, it would also be ridiculous to expect every graduate to pursue going into higher education with the expansion of work that will be given.

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.

Andrew Delbanco’s essay “A college Education: What is its purpose?” gives three reasons why college still matters. Delbanco teaches at Columbia University, where he’s the director of American studies and has written several books on the meaning and benefits of college. Delbanco, begins his essay by discussing what college means to each individual student. He states, “For many more students, college means the anxious pursuit of marketable skills in overcrowded, under resourced institutions. For still others, it means traveling by night to a fluorescent office building or to a “virtual classroom” that only exists in cyberspace.” (1) Delbano successfully uses pathos to appeal to his audience’s emotions, his personal experience and anecdotal combine to persuade his readers to consider or realize the importance of receiving a college education, however his essay contains minor flaws that can counteract his claims.

I believe that college can change people’s lives. I believe in the transformative power of education. I believe that college opens up a world of possibilities for students. Shortly after arriving to a college campus, I knew that if given the chance, I would never leave. As an undergraduate I studied political science as well as public and nonprofit administration.