Purpose Of College

From a young age, most kids have been brainwashed to believe that college is the only path to success in life. Is it? Is college the right choice for everyone? Or are there better alternatives? This year in the U.S., there are 17,487,575 students currently attending college classes. That’s is a pretty large number of students. Why is that number so large? Is there that many people currently attending college because that’s what they want to do? Or is the number so big because the majority of those students were told that college was something that had to complete? These are questions that have been asked many different times but it seems like there hasn’t been a lack of a clear-cut answer. There are many different things to consider when looking at colleges as the only path to success.

A college education has been viewed as the key to the American dream. There are many opinions on the purpose of a college education from obtaining new information, becoming a more well-rounded individual or preparing for the workforce. Originally, the college education was primarily used to become more educated to provide services to society; however, the college education is perceived as an expectation and mandatory in becoming a useful person in society and workforce. The purpose of obtaining a college education to obtain the skills necessary to become a well-rounded individual in society.

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.

What Is College For? By Gary Gutting is an analytical article upon the importance of a higher education to the public, he begins by discussing the statistics of what college has deemed worthful to people after their education. It was evident that many found it to be useful later on in life and helped them mature and grow intellectually. Gutting also points out that although many people find themselves to be successful later on after college that not everybody had the same experience, many had to drop out for the fact that a higher education was considered to be too expensive, or dropout rates too high. It is evident that he deems college to be an investment for many people who were fortunate enough to attend, therefore, providing the habits of mind of engagement, persistence, and openness to display how they play key points to the qualifying traits of a college student.

This question and many others have been poised time and time again. Why do I need to go to college? My parents didn’t go and their life turned out fine. My friends never, have time for relax and have fun why would I put myself through that. Bill Gates, didn’t finish college look at him now. In the article "The Future is About More Than College", by Joshua Starr only 3% of Americans think a high school degree is sufficient to tackle today's work force (58). Although college is not a mandatory choice, it will dictate almost every choice you make in your life there on after.

There might be a time where people ask you, “why are you in college” or “why to decide to go to college.” People might reply by saying that they want a degree, that they want a higher paying job, or they need that for a future career that they are pursuing. Those responses are the most typical reason of why people go to college. Sure you can say that having a degree means that a person can get a better job with better pay rather than working in the manual labor fields with minimum pay. A college degree is the fundamental stepping stone to the future, it lays the foundation of where to start. College is everything to me; I’m in college so I’m able to unlock more potential in myself, to be able to make my mother proud with everything that she has done and hopefully becoming the first.

People think that having a college education is a pathway to success in life. However, what exactly is a college education? The actual meaning of it is “an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completion of secondary education.” By this definition, it is the highest level of an education before it allows us to step into the real world and start our career from everything that has been learned in college. It is also an optional opportunity for students to pursue if they choose to. Before entering college, I thought it was a place just to seek a degree to get a job satisfaction that I’ll be interested in and receive all kinds of benefits after college. What a college education really gives are many benefits for those that

Throughout a student’s journey of schooling, college is mentioned hundreds of times. Maybe even thousands. Once they reach high school the next four years are dedicated to preparing for college. Some will feel overwhelmed by this thought and others may not. While a lot of people have the option to go, many decide not to. In Charles Murray’s article, Are Too Many People Going to College he discusses a few reasons why people might not choose college. Although in my own opinion it is not always necessary to attend college, I do believe it will benefit many people. Freeman Hrabowski’s article Colleges Prepare People for Life makes a point about benefits of college which I agree with.

College is a great place for many to experience new things and to further education. However, college is not for everyone. According to the film Ivory Tower, college teaches people valuable skills such as networking with peers and extensive knowledge. College also provides students, upon graduation, with a degree and proper credentials. Based on a survey done by the Pew Research Center; the article “The Rising Cost of Not going to College,” states that “economic analysis consistently find that college graduates regardless of generation are doing better than those with less education,” this shows that there is a reasonable gap between a college degree and a high school diploma. On the other hand, it may not be worth the rising costs. Carolina Bird, author of “Where College Fails Us,” mentions in her article “in the current slowdown it has become evident that there were never, and probably never will be, enough jobs requiring higher education to go around,” (59-60) this shows some people's job outlook may not be aligned with their major. Jeffrey Selingo’s article “Is College Worth the Cost? Many Recent Graduates Don’t Think So,” says that “nearly half of college graduates in their 20s are underemployed, meaning the jobs they have do not require a bachelor’s degree,” this brings up the possibility of college not being beneficial to many. College can be needed because of higher salaries after graduation and providing people with the tools to succeed. On the contrary, going to

My purpose for attending college again is to enhance my opportunities within the field of education. I have been teaching high school level social science courses for over a decade, and I am ready to advance into administration. Having already attained the administrator endorsement on my teaching license, I believe it would be beneficial to have a degree in Business Administration to stand out in a pool of candidates. Running a school is not greatly dissimilar from running a business. If this helps me with my career goals, I will consider it to have been time well

In today 's generation a college education seems more like a choice than a requirement. From the time we enter elementary school we are being prepared for college. In this society Education happens to raise a lot of questions, for instances; “are people going to college to gain knowledge or for a good paying job?”, “with today 's technology is a degree essential to ones life?” and “ is school meant for everyone?” Education has a lot of connotations behind it which causes debates. The American society and students should be for college degrees because it expands academic knowledge, global exposure, and career preparation.

Do you know why over 18 million people go to college every year? 39% of the 18 million were people who ranged in age from 18-24. Over 447,000 more people went to a non-degree institutions for higher learning. Plus 11.3 million of the students were full-time students. College is extremely valuable because you get paid more and have more job opportunities.

The question here is, is college worth it? Many people question this especially high school students who are about to graduate. This debate is still taking place today. The common misunderstood saying is, if you have a degree you will then have a good job. But this is not the case because in today’s society there are so many people with degrees who still cannot find a job. The rate of unemployment is increasing rapidly on a yearly basis. High school students see it this way, if I can’t find a job with a degree then it’s not worth the time, and from there on they quit after high school. On the other side of the debate college education is no longer an option or a privilege, but rather it has become a necessity. The rate of students going to college is increasing every year plus the number of colleges being build is also increasing. In my believe college provides me with higher education that will help me in the future whether it’s with a job or an experience. College education means everything to me and my family because my parents left their home country and immigrated to the United States in order for me and my siblings to have a higher and better education. For me there are numerous reasons why college education is worthwhile, while other people might clearly disagree. About “80% of college graduates say yes college degree is worth it” (debate website). You do not need a college degree to become successful, there are many different paths to take. This study will

I would like to attend college because I want to be able to demonstrate not only to myself but to my family that we can do what we set ourselves to do. I would to do go far in this life and accomplish my life goals. Without college, I will not be able to do my goals. My goals are to graduate from college, one day own my own land so that I can own my own agricultural business, and have my home there too, and I want to be a high school Spanish teacher as well. Another reason as to why I want to attend college is that I want to be able to show my little sister that anything is possible, we can do whatever we set ourselves to do, as long we do not give up we will be able to accomplish great things in life. My teachers have also been a great influence

Today, many students are settling for jobs immediately out of high school instead of furthering their education in college. Students should consider how necessary college actually is for their lives in the future. It provides one with a significant amount of opportunities, a greater knowledge about their career plan, and a better sense of responsibility.