Ivy League Schools

Throughout high school, students are prepped for college. Almost the entire curriculum revolves around getting into or being prepared for college. Many of these students are independent and intelligent individuals. College may be the perfect place for them. Linda Lee contemplates the fact that even though statistics show that college graduates make the most money, the statistics also point out that these students were “the brightest and hardest-working” students. There are also students that fall between the cracks of these statistics. Some students may be skilled in certain areas, but do not make the test scores to apply for a university. Others may be on the

Many middle to lower class families cannot afford to send their kids to school and with Ivy League schools like Harvard and Princeton giving out generous financial packages to their student, who mostly come from wealthy background. The poorer students are on the losing end because they are not given the opportunity for aid. As Terry Hartle, the senior vice president of the American Council of Education, says, "Smart poor kids go to college at the same rate as stupid rich kids." What this is saying is that the wealthy families have vastly more opportunity to succeed in the college system even though they have equal or lesser smarts. Well respected schools such as NYU are now admitting students based on the financial fit not by merit.

Every fall millions of American adolescents gear up to apply for the thousands of colleges and universities across the nation. For many students this process is a simple-natural progression through a linear educational track in which no extra preparation, beyond a paper application, is required. However, for many students college preparation can begin as early as conception. Alexandria Robbins follows the stories of nine students from Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland. Whitman is known for and could be summarized by a simple term in which Robbins’ book is also titled: Overachievers. The author explores the hectic nature of helicopter parenting, bureaucratic admission processes, the culture of Ivy (a term describing the upper

At the beginning of the essay, the writer expresses the difficulties experienced by high-school graduates in gaining admission to universities, nowadays. She states,” College as America used to understand it is coming to an end” through Rick Perlstein (Addison 3). To show contrast between the past and modern days, Addison brings another character to the scene. She states that Perlstein had a ‘beatnik’ friend alongside him. The term ‘beatnik’ makes reference to a person of the artistic Beat generation of the 1950s and 60s. During that period, college education, offered in universities, was highly regarded. To further her argument, she claims that admission to universities, nowadays, relies solely on their Curricula Vitae.

In the essay, Two Years Are Better Than Four, the author, Liz Addison, gives her opinion on the importance of community college. The main point that she is trying to convey to her audience is that going to a community college is not harming the essential college experience. For some individuals, such as herself, the two-year college experience is exactly what they need to further their education. Community college is an affordable place that can “foster dreams (Addison)”. Throughout the reading, Addison makes compelling statements to prove the point which she is trying to make.

More people than ever before are attending college due to the endless opportunities that it provides. Louis Menand, a college professor and the author of “Live and Learn: Why We Have College,” explains the meaning of college through three theories that have been developed. Theory 1 supports the idea of the sorting-out process that separates the highly intelligent from the less intelligent. Menand’s second theory explains that college provides opportunities for developmental growth, personal growth, and teaches individuals about the world around us. These are valuable lessons that will not be learned anywhere else. Theory three supports the idea of people attending college to specialize in a specific vocation. I

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.

First they reveal that there is not enough information available for prospective students to research possible colleges to decide if that institution would be beneficial for them (Pg.220, Para.1). They proceed to document several efforts that attempt to solve this problem, such as the College Scorecard and PayScale college rankings (Pg. 220, Para.3). However they claim that these efforts are not enough and more must be done. The authors insist that in addition to providing information, students need assistance with increasing the ROI of their college education. They suggest that colleges should work to ensure that more of their students graduate (Pg.221, Para. 3). Also, students should have help discovering how much financial aid they are eligible for, as they often underestimate the amount they could earn (Pg. 122, Para. 2). Owen and Sawhill reveal that future college students are often confused when it comes to choosing an institution and finding help to graduate and pay tuition. Therefore they use pathos to connect with their reader’s compassion for these students. Suggestions on how to assist these students are offered. Overall the argument is strengthened as the authors unveil certain needs of students through

Accordingly, Marty Nemko, in his article, establishes college to be a deceiving business that is suitable only to a selective, precise percentile of high school graduates. In addition, Nemko states throughout the self-explanatory article that deciding to proceed to college will not necessarily guarantee a successful, effective outcome for students. Moreover, he covers most areas that involve, or revolve around, college. For instance, education, unemployment, debt and jobs subsequent to college are some of the risks that one must ponder and determine if college is worth it in the end. Furthermore, Nemko discloses the actuality of college and how it is unfavorable for most people. However, he does not discourage high school graduates to still

Ever since you were little, your parents have been talking about this wonderful thing called college. They told you that you have to go there to get an education before you can get a good job. Many kids have dreamed of going to college, and being able to get the job of their dreams. By putting in hard work and dedication to good grades in high school, you had high hopes that you would be able to get into an Ivy League school. The American dream of being able to go to college to get a degree is sliding away from many people due to rising costs. With increasing tuition prices and job loss, the college dream is slowly and surely slipping away from many students and their families.

Have you ever had an extraordinary desire for something, only to have someone tell you it is out of your reach? Does that make you try harder, or completely give up? In Professor X’s essay, In the basement of Ivory Tower, (X) he goes into great detail stating how his students have the desire to maintain high academic standards in order to receive a promotion, to further their career, or because it is a job requirement. However, these same students cannot possibly pass their classes due to their lack of abilities. Initially, I found myself believing the author was hostile and unhappy in his career, although, the more I read this article I found myself shifting opinions, and I began to appreciate what a controversial topic college education truly is. Professor X discusses how some students are unfit for college. I believe that college isn’t for everyone. Furthermore, society has set expectations that everyone should attend college. As a society we have lost track of the value of apprentice programs.

Although there is trust between Wall Street and their “atomic family” Harvard and Princeton, Wall Street’s “extended family” such as Yale and the University of Pennsylvania do not receive the same level of trust and fairness. Since Wall Streeters tend to favor Harvard and Princeton when recruiting, they really only give Harvard and Princeton graduates the opportunity to succeed in investment banking. By doing so Wall Streeters treat their “extended families” from other schools unfairly. This is evident when Ho writes, “investment banking recruiters at Princeton and Harvard explicitly express how the do not care if undergraduates are trained in finance because a skilled background… [it’s] not really what they are looking for” (186); what they are looking for is the Harvard or Princeton degree they will graduate with. Whereas, there could be plenty of skillful undergraduates at other Ivy League schools such as Yale; but those

It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.

Mr. Deresiewicz provides his experience with his students to show what his observation of the average Ivy League attendee is to be. That conclusion is that they are neither passionate, or curious about the ideas and concepts they are taught. We can trust his opinion on this because of his reference to the years he has been in the system. He then comes to the conclusion that a superb education does not have to be attained by attending an Ivy League school, “I’ve come to see that what we really need is to create one where you don’t have to go to the Ivy League, or any private college, to get a first-rate education” (209). With the previous knowledge of his time spent in the elite school surrounding, Deresiewicz effectively convinces the audience that an Ivy League education is not necessarily the best there is to offer. William gives the readers an insightful and reliable background that allowed the readers to gain his trust and be dramatically persuaded by his observations and opinions.

For the past half a century education has been heralded as the key to success. Parents across the country preach to their children that, providing they acquire a college education and degree, the world is their oyster. The documentary “Ivory Tower”, directed by Andrew Rossi, calls that whole notion into question. The biographical film opens at the University of Harvard, the nations oldest institution of higher learning, on move-in day. Hundreds of new students and their parents flood the campus grounds of one of America’s most prestigious universities. From there, in order to provide a complete overview of the complete college experience, several other types of colleges are shown; such as community, 2-year, and vocational schools. Each is examined in turn to determine both the positive and negative aspects.