Should Everyone Go To College? By Stephanie Owen And Isabel Sawhill

The choice of whether or not one should attend college has been a great topic of interest over the past few years with the increase of college tuition. This increase of college tuition questions whether attending college will pay off in the future since numerous amounts of students are left with an excessive amount of student loan debt. Stephanie Owen, a former research assistant at Brooking’s Center and current research associate at the Urban Institute, alongside Isabell Sawhill, co-director of the Center on Children and Families and a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, wrote Should Everyone Go to College? In an attempt to answer that question. In their report they breakdown the cost and benefits of going to college often relying on logos throughout the

In the essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” writer Charles Murray explains that not everyone is in need of going to college for three main reasons: a liberal education should be gained in elementary and middle school, many people already have knowledge and skills necessary for a technical career, and many students are in college to “buy an admission ticket-the B.A.” (246) and ensure employers consider their resume. Murray does not argue anything against college itself but more against society and especially the education system. Murray also accuses guidance counselors and parents of “automatically encouraging young people to go to college straight out of high school being thoughtless about the best interests of young people” (249).

I have been asked to give my professional opinion on which article to publish in this week 's edition. The two articles I have to choose from are “Are too many people going to college?” by Charles Murray and “Should everyone go to college?” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill. In short, Murray’s article explains throughout the article that the basic knowledge essential to a being an American can be learned in k-8. Murray explains that high school can be the place where students learn about their career paths and there would be no need for college. Murray believes college is not a necessity in today 's society if we can teach more in elementary, middle, and high school. Owen and Sawhill’s article can be summarized, in short, with their theses, “While the average return to obtaining a college degree is positive, we emphasize that it is not universally so. For certain schools, majors, occupations, and individuals, a college may not be a smart investment. By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice” (Owen and Sawhill PG#). Both articles use rhetorical strategies to convey the purpose of their article to the reader. Charles Murray uses interesting anecdotes, understandable logical reasoning, and relevant statistics to facilitate his non-traditional ideas clearly to the reader. On the other hand, through the use of credibility Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill uses assertions, logical reasoning, and

Mike Rose uses his relatives’ experiences along with his own to show that college is not for everyone. This point of view is supported by Owen and Sawhill in ‘Should Everyone Go to College?”. “It is a mistake to unilaterally tell young Americans that going to college… is the best decision they can make.”

Typically, all students are told that college is their best option. Without college a well-paying job cannot be obtained. However this may not necessarily be true. Stephanie Owen, a senior research assistant for the Brooking’s Center on Children and Families, and Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow in economic studies, argue that college is not the best option for every student. Instead students should review the information on various colleges to decide if college is beneficial for them. To support their claim, the authors use data on the return of investment for various colleges and suggestions for ways to make information more available for students. Combined, these tactics strengthen their argument so that it is rather effective.

Stephanie Owen's and Isabel Sawhill's report "Should Everyone Go To College" debates whether or not college is the right option for everyone. They begin with the fact that not all degrees or college graduates are equal. Choosing the right degree has a lot to do with the success of a college graduate. People who choose to go to college need to look at the job outlook for the degree they want to get while attending college. Those who choose a degree that has a lot of jobs and opportunities for success will find that college could possibly pay off. The people that do not do their research before getting their degree might struggle finding jobs and be forced to take a job that they could have had without a college education.

The topic of “Are Too Many People Going to College?” was presented by Charles Murray, the W.H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise. In today’s world college is a must due to many employers seeking educated individuals. Murray develops an interesting conversation by demonstrating that many high school graduates who are seeking to go to college do not need a degree depending on their career paths. Murray provides the analogy of a high school graduate who is looking to become an electrician but is not sure if college is the most logical decision. Murray acknowledges the fact that a B.A. does not necessarily led to a higher income than one with a degree. The logical argument of money is brought to attention and is stated “the income for the top people in a wide variety of occupations that do not require a college degree is higher than the average income for many occupations that require a B.A.” (Murray 247). Although this is his main point, he understand that it varies due to the occupation one is leaning towards. There has been individuals without a college degree that are making millions of dollars, but it varies. Murray claims that getting a B.A. is going to be the wrong economic decision for many high school graduates (Murray 246); however not everyone wants to be an electrician or any other hand held jobs that doesn’t necessarily need a degree, but if one wants to be a lawyer, doctor, or anything require a degree, college is the answer. Having a degree in a

Everyone should go to college: many people grew up hearing and believing that this was true. President Obama even calls high education “an economic imperative.” Two women authors, Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, wrote “If they [Americans] choose wisely and attend a school with generous financial aid and high expected earnings, and if they don’t just enroll, but graduate, they can greatly improve their lifetime prospects,” published in 2013 in the article, Should Everyone Go to College? Owen and Sawhill begin building their credibility with numerous amounts of statistics, educating their readers with variations in the return to education, and by utilizing visual aids to allow their audience to better understand such information. By doing

Marty Nemko, in the article, “We Send Too Many Students To College,” acknowledges that colleges have become obscenely expensive and that it is possible to be successful without going to college. Arguing that too many students are sent to college without realizing that it is not imperative, Nemko targets parents in his claims that colleges focus on educating in the cheapest way possible and most importantly, that the advantage of past college graduates in the job market is declining. One of his main reasons is that even though the average college graduate makes more money, hundreds of thousands of students in the bottom half of their high school class do not succeed in higher education. Nemko’s article is the most persuasive article on whether college education still has value as he argues that college is not beneficial to everyone through demonstrations of hyperbole, and figurative language.

The articles written that are completely devoted to either extreme of the issue are numerous. Pharinet says that college is not for everyone, supporting her position by saying that “approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate” (635). Yet, Robert Perry aligns with the opposite side, saying that “we need more, not fewer university and community graduates” because his state is facing a shortage in workers who fulfil requirements for their positions (625). Humphrey agrees with Perry, proposing that “for any individual student, going to college is clearly better than not going” (she also cites economic reasons). Although these writers are very strong in their positions on one side or the other, they fail to acknowledge the fact that the decision to go to college depends on more than just the economy or the graduation rate. Although these two considerations are significant, the age of the graduate, prior commitments (such as a family business), and how much money and time is desired to be spent on the education as a whole. Thus it is reasonable to consider community college or vocational school depending on the specific situation of the graduating student.

In their article “Should everyone go to college?” Stephanie Owen, Senior research assistant, and Isabel Sawhill, former Vice President of the Brookings Institute, argue that many factors lead to individuals not being able to attend college. They go on to claim these factors to be school choice, career field, graduation, and area of study. The article states that while on average the rate of return is usually positive, there are cases in which it is negative. One of their focal points is what it cost to attend college and its affordability. Claiming that with the rise in the cost of college, which progresses at a faster rate than that of the job wage increase, that college is becoming less affordable. In their conclusion a three step policy plan is included for individuals who plan to attend college. While realistically I agree that yes, some individuals should not go to college, my optimistic side would like to believe that everyone should and can go to college without it becoming a sour investment.

In “The Great Debate: Is College Still Worth It?” author Ricardo Azziz endorses post-secondary education by stating its economic advantage in today’s society. The author begins his article by introducing a survey done by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, which shows that the majority of college graduates believe college education is worth its cost. Not only are people convinced of the value of a college education, adults with a degree of some sort (bachelor’s degree or associate degree) tend to earn more than those without one. But also, post-secondary education gives people a better chance at achieving the “American Dream” through diligence and hard work. Azziz states that “college graduates were 5.3 times more likely to leave the bottom quintile than non-college graduates”. In addition, in times of an economic downturn, individuals with a college degree are often able to better cope with the difficulty than those without. However, amidst the benefits of college, Azziz does not forget to address the reality that attending college is still, without a question, an expensive endeavor.

In Stephanie Owen’s and Isabel Sawhill’s article “Should Everyone Go to College” the return on the investment in college is briefly broken down. The article “Should Everyone Go to College” opens up with a widely known claim that a college degree is necessary to enter the middle class. Owen and Sawhill test this claim by comparing the return on an education of general types of degrees and colleges. The article states that on average high school graduates make around $15,000 less a year than graduates with a bachelor’s degree. To further the prove the return on your investment in education the articles states that by the age 50 a person with a bachelor’s degree makes around $46,500 more a year than a high school graduate. This accumulates to

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.

Are too many people going to college? This is the question that has pondered many over the past few years. With increasing tuition and increasing attendance, college is becoming “not everything that it is cracked up to be.” Charles Murray, an author from the American Enterprise Institute, wrote an article in 2008 entitled “Are Too many People Going to College?” In the article he makes the arguments that the concept of college is slowly changing. Social norms are decimating the system, people get way too ahead of themselves with their life plans, and the system is suffering as a direct result. Murray indirectly states that too many people are going to college, sending the current system into shambles. Murray effectively states his opinion through persuasive writing, a simple structure, and notable examples that draw the audience into the essay.