Summary Of College Is A Waste Of Time And Money

In “Too Many People Are Going to College”, the author, Charles Murray’s main purpose is to encourage people to rethink college. He clearly gives very valid and educated reasons on why college isn't for everyone and how society has made everyone think that college is a norm and, in a way, a rite of passage into adulthood and citizenship. Murray is given the difficult task of proving to the people that society has marred and distorted the views of college. He does an exemplary job of executing this task. Murray presents his argument that college is not all society says it is by presenting counter arguments and either giving rebuttals or conceding.

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.

In her article “College Is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird attempts to pursued her readers that colleges are overflowing with students who don’t belong there. Her article first appeared in Psychology Today (May 1975). Since this material is outdated, I find it hard to believe that most of the responses by students and parents quoted in the article still hold true. The author has set out to pursue the readers that college is a bad and unnecessary choice for today’s youth. Yet the author holds a bachelors and a masters degree from two different universities. I would think that if she thought college was really a bad choice and a waste of time and money, she would not have gone back to get her masters degree.

In the modern world, the value and the relevance of college education is a controversial issue. People hold varied views on this issue: some people are of the view that college education is the only mean to succeed in life and to achieve one’s goals in life; some other people think that the value of college education lies in the fact that college education offers the young learners a conducive environment to grow and to be able to make mature decisions about themselves later in life. There are other people, like Caroline Bird, whose article we are going to critique in this paper, who see college education as a sheer waste of time and money for the majority of people. This paper focuses on Bird’s article “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, the paper analyses and critiques the arguments that Bird offers in support of her view that college education is a sheer waste of time and money for the majority of people. The paper concludes with a recommendation on what need to be done so as to improve college education.

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.

“Leon Lefkowitz, chairman of the department of social studies at Dental High School in Valley Steam, New York, interviewed 300 college students at random and 200 of them didn’t think that the education they were getting was worth the effort.” (Bird 220). The idea of continuing education after graduating high school can be very questionable for some students. Many students side with Caroline Bird and her theory that education serves very little purpose in the job market in her essay “College Is a Waste of Time and Money”. But inevitably, students believe that post-secondary education is beneficial in their careers which are the views of Martin Luther King in his essay and article “The Purpose of Education”. In my own views, depending on the field you are getting into, post-secondary education is not needed to establish a successful career. Students should not think they will guarantee themselves their dream job if they decide to continue post-secondary education.

Many students are always forced and pressured into the idea that you have to go to college. Students are told that college is the only way you’ll ever get a good job. But, according to Caroline Bird, that is not the case. In Caroline Bird’s essay, “College is a Waste of Time and Money”,she argues that a college education may not be the best choice for all high school graduates. She thinks that students should not be forced into college if they do not what to. College should only be for people who truly want to learn. I agree with Bird’s claim about how college education may not be the best choice for all high school graduates because it is not for everyone, may not prepare everyone, and there are other ways to make money money than having a bachelor’s degree to do so.

Does college really give graduates the tools and knowledge required to succeed? In the article “Where College Fails Us”, author Caroline Bird attempts to argue that college may not be worth as much as people are led to believe. Bird believes that with the rise in college graduates being well above the Department of Labor Statistics anticipated job needs, college is quickly becoming a waste of time. Moreover, several reasons listed depict colleges many shortcomings, including the stress it puts on students and the unrealistic expectations it gives them combined with huge financial burdens. The author believes that the successful college graduates would have been successful regardless of their education, and that the majority of students felt forced to attend. Finally, she states that before wasting your money on a college education the reader should reflect on her article and determine if there is still value in a college experience. Although Caroline Bird presents many persuading arguments against the college experience in her article, I believe her logic to be outdated and generalized, and her content lacking of discrediting information. I disagree that all college graduates are taking dead-end jobs, and universities have withdrawn from the social side of their educational experience.

It is likely that anyone doing research on the value of a general education (GE) would run across one of the many Caroline Bird articles. In a 1975 article titled “College is a Waste of Time and Money” Bird makes a logical argument against the benefits of education for the masses. Despite arguing against a college education, Bird, on the other hand, held a master’s degree and taught at Vassar College in New York, the same school she graduated. According to U.S. News & World Report (2015), “Vassar College 's ranking in the 2015 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, 11. Its tuition and fees are $49,570 (2014-15),” and “Classes with fewer than 20 students [is] (63.7%).” This indicates to me that Vassar is a prestigious college.

As the cost of college has been rapidly increasing, many have become discontented with paying unreasonable costs yet receiving few of the promised benefits. As evident in various statistics and studies, the value of college has been overestimated. Scientifically and logistically speaking, the pursuit of higher education is simply not a necessity. Dale Stephens’ article “College is a Waste of Time” highlights the key issues and flaws of the college system. The article claims “36% of college graduates showed no improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning, or writing after 4 years of college”(Stephens). These essential skills are lacking in college graduates, which causes difficulty for graduates as apply for jobs and enter the workforce.

Caroline Bird’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money” explains her beliefs on why, for some people, going to college is an ineffective and inefficient use of their time. She states that many students do not belong in college because they are there for the wrong reasons and they are not happy learning. She also gives evidence to suggest that going to college and getting a degree does not actually allows a person to make more money in their life time. Her final claim is that college does not prepare most students for the real world and the jobs they will have once they graduate.

“70% of Americans will study at a 4-year college, but less than 2/3 will graduate” (Beckstead np). In light of this staggering statistic, we notice that maybe, just maybe college should not be a thoughtless choice. Having numerous interests myself, I have considered several options to further my own career path. For example, I am interested in cosmology school but I also want to pursue a law degree. Upon much deliberation, I decided that best path for myself is to attend a state university. After reaching options, I realize that a four-year degree is not for everyone. However, everyone needs to further their education in any field of study after high school; however, college is not the only one option. Although society today will heavily push the idea of college; a college degree is a great selection but not the best choice for every young adult; however, I do think that everyone needs to continue their education. Whether the education is a Master’s Degree from an Ivy League school or a welding certificate from a community college or a military education, everyone should further their instruction to gain a specific path to earn an income. Just because you are not a doctor or a lawyer, I strongly believe, that this does not mean that you are uneducated. Contrary to the stigma

The amount of money spent in one year of college can break someone’s heart. For most people college gets them to where they want to be in life, but with hard work and dedication going to work right after high school can take you a long way. Getting out of high school and starting a career early might be what some people want, but college is always an option with all the help we have today. With whatever decision people take in life, I believe they need to love their job. At that point in their career it does not matter if they went to college or not.

At an early age, our family, schools, and media feeds have already embedded the word “college” into our young minds; we are taught that if we do not attend college we will not get a job, meaning no future and no money, something we all want, in this essay, I will be discussing the difference between those who stopped their education at an early age, those with a college education, and those who simply cannot afford it.

College students should be grateful to their family for the opportunity to go to college