The American College Student Is in Trouble

Alfie Kohn’s Article “How Not to get into College” analyses many key factors of how the current school system does not work and how we as members of society need to work together extensively to remodel the system to ensure the success of future students by valuing education over grades. By looking at how students only join clubs and and worship numerical grades only to impress colleges; students facing pressure from parents, teachers, and society to get good grades and succeed in life; and how students live through many mental health implications due to a multitude of factors surrounding their educational life, we can determine that systemic factors of this society have turned students of this generation into grade grubbers.

Students today undergo constant pressure for perfection, going through extreme efforts to meet this expectation. Alexandra Robbins, an investigative journalist and author of The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids, views modern educational culture as a danger to students because it advocates productivity over learning. On the other hand, Jay Mathews of the Washington Post believes that students today are more apathetic than stressed. Robbins perception of today’s schools is more accurate than Mathews’, for students cheat to appear smarter, burden themselves with grueling schedules to impress colleges, and develop mental disorders as a result.

In "College Isn 't for Everyone," W.J. Reeves argues that colleges have become too easy to enter and students show a lack of drive to succeed once enrolled in college. Reeves believes colleges should raise expectations when accepting students into their schools, and the students admitted continue to demonstrate responsibility during the years spent at school. He points out colleges have lowered the bar when it comes to admissions due to the fact that a college cannot exist without a funding source. Reeves argues against unwilling matriculations by drawing your attention to the fact those students are not ready for college. Reeves is specific on the areas where students are slacking most in. He cites another professor 's experience with a student where the student informed the professor of a very elaborate excuse as to why they had not come to class. He

There are many contributing factors why first year college students fail and drop out of college or university. Some students completed high school and are still not ready to face the high demand of college work level. Others think that they can handle college work but lack the skills to live as an independent to encounter the challenges and responsibilities of college life. Some students have poor

Through the years in America, more students in each generation of college are being successful and finishing college. "The latest data show that just 40 percent of Americans have finished an associate's degree or above, while an additional 22 percent attend some college but failed to graduate" (Kelly, p.1). The 22 percent of college students who are failing to graduate, could be the college students who are not being successful in college. There are many reasons why students are not successful in college. Some main reasons students are not successful in college are typical because of drugs, stress, time management and procrastination, lack of desire and persistence and also poor self-esteem and lack of self-confidence.

Colleges and Universities across America have enforced what they describe as strict admittance policies, that leave high school seniors fighting tooth and nail to receive an acceptance letter from the school of their dreams. As reports show however, once students reach this highest form of education, less and less reading, studying and academic related activities are taking place. President Obama implied that every American should have the right to a college-level education, in fact, he stresses the vitalness of a higher education in correlation to a prospering America. Chace gives us the perception that Americans today look at a college education as a leisure to middle class families. So with all of this tedious work to get admitted to a college, why are reports showing less studying going on within the school?

Although neither my parents nor my older siblings have college degrees, as a child, I don't remember ever planning my future using the phrase “if I go to college.” From a very young age, it was always “when I go to college.” For me, a postsecondary education is the logical next step in my life, the missing puzzle piece to get me where I want to go. For a long time, I believed that the only reason anyone would choose not to was because they were academically or financially incapable. In “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray refutes this belief, examining the increasing accessibility of a college education and how our culture pushes people who may not need it to attend anyways.

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.

Since the world is overpopulated, we stick the eighteen-year-olds in colleges to temporarily get rid of them. We also fool ourselves into believing that these actions are good for them. Most of these unwanted young adults eventually learn to like it, and those that don’t drop out. The conservative Carneigie Commission estimated that five to thirty percent of students are in College reluctantly. Also buy giving figures of some surveys that students took, the author states that students think education is less and less important.

In the first half of this essay, Fridman’s passionate, almost outraged diction is clearly brought into light when he says, “… [a] prestigious academic institution like Harvard, anti-intellectualism is rampant.” which impacts the reader in that even at one of the most difficult college campuses to attain admission in America, “students are ashamed to admit… how much they study.” This makes the reader feel almost hopeless because this implies that students basically cannot achieve higher knowledge without being shunned by their own social cliques. Towards the end of line 17, Fridman states, “Nerds are being ostracized while athletes are idolized…” using parallelism to highlight a direct contrast with nerds and athletes, making the reader acknowledge that this is a morally incorrect problem society has to change.

“In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000” (National Center for Education Statistics). That number seems to be rising each and ever year, and it almost seems as students feel like they have to go to college directly after high school. Maybe it is because they feel that they have to fit in, even if college is not for them. Although some students attend college for academics, sports, and other reasons, some students attend college for no apparent reason; with that in mind, students should take into consideration the time and money that is put into going to college.

In college, predicting academic success is a difficult challenge facing institutions of higher education. Unfortunately, before completing degrees, majority of students leave. Andrew Carnegie once said, “Anything in life worth having is worth working for.” High academic achievement in college certainly requires a great deal of effort over an extended period of time and is undoubtedly worth having. However, students who have high levels of frustration intolerance are at particular risk of falling into patterns of procrastination. But those who are more willing to tolerate frustration in pursuit of academic achievement tend to have higher GPA’s. In most students, studying for exams, writing for papers, and engaging in other academic behaviors

“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.

Time after time you hear about going to college; whether at work, family, friends, and even when you are in high school you might have been repeatedly told of how it can benefit you in the long run in regards to your future. They say a good education can take you far in life. Students in high school may still question the importance of a college education. In the world of today people find themselves asking, “Why is it important to go to college?” An important aspect of succeeding in today’s world is getting a better education, and it’s much more than just a degree - in college you also learn how to better prepare for assignments, perhaps one of the most important things you can get out of attending

* Attending the wrong college or university. Some students accept admission into schools they are not familiar with. Thus, they become depressed with their surroundings. Student must be content with their school, its environment, and resources. This, in turn has a negative affect on their studies.