The Biggest Decision Of My Life
Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree. College was the first life-changing decision that I had to make, I knew that going to college would help me in the future, but I was scared to start something new. Senior year was approaching and it was time for me to begin the college application process. My common app essay was going to be the first impression that my future college would have about me and I wanted to make sure that it was going to be a good one. There were multiple topics that I could have chosen from, but I decided that it was best for me to write about a time that I had failed and how it affected me in the future. The
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After finishing the paper I knew that I had to give it to someone so that they could edit my work, but it was a struggle because I was scared of letting people into my head. I had never really expressed my feelings when Damien passed away and it was hard to share with people. I was also worried that people would judge me for failing the regent so I kept the essay to myself for as long as I could.
I knew that sooner or later I would have to show someone my essay so I asked my friend, Brianna, for help. She edited my essay and she pointed out the fact that I strayed too far from prompt and wrote too much about Damien. It was hard to take criticism on this topic since it was so personal to me. I knew that Brianna was trying to help me so, I took a look at the paper and I tried to cut out the thing that were unnecessary and write more about the actual prompt, but it was really hard. I began showing my essay to more of my friends and I got a lot of the same remarks from people saying that I wrote too much about Damien and not enough about the test. Before this paper, I never took people 's criticism when writing, but I began to realize that they were just trying to help me and that it was not personal. When I went home the next day I started my essay from scratch and changed the focus from Damien to the test. After this, I compared the essays and I still liked the first essay more, but realized what my friends were talking about the first paper had
Going to a four-year university or college is not always the best choice for many students. This is due to what many of these colleges and universities offer their students that come from a lower socioeconomic background. This essay will aim to demonstrate the issues that students may face when they pursue a postsecondary education.
parents or even society. Pharinet begins her essay by trying to engage the reader on her credentials by giving statistics on the dropout rates of college students. Pharinet quotes, “it is estimated that in the U.S., approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate.” By the end of the essay, she convinces her readers concerning different careers students can obtain without a degree and how they can find happiness and success in those choices.
“Who Gets to Graduate’ by Paul Tough, publish May, 2015 in the New York Times discusses. The story of a young girl’s mindset on college. It begins with her starting in college and first failure on a test. It highlighted the doubts she had in her abilities. This opening introduces the article’s man discussion, which involves low income students who want to earn a four year degree but experience “troubles” along the way. It then discusses statistics that show dropout rates are highest with low-income students. The author included ability versus economics status.
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
America had a huge industrial revolution in the late 1800’s. The process was slow, but many changes were made. Americans found it more profitable to make a living on a farm. There were many changes in our nation like new technology, a lot of immigrants into our country , and different/new views on our government. All of these factors helped to promote a huge industrial revolution.
In the last decade, students and parents alike have begun to question the effectiveness of receiving a college education. Stories of students graduating college with outstanding student loans, being unable to find a job, or feeling overqualified for a position continually increase. In the same manner, the number of students apprehensive about refraining from entering the workforce for an additional four years while simultaneously spending thousands of dollars for an education that in the end may not assure them a job with an adequate income, increases. The issue then is to determine whether or not the cost of college is worth the outcome.
In the essay “College Value Goes Deeper Than the Degree” author Eric Hoover claims a college education is important to one 's well-being so they can get a job and be productive in other parts of life. Promoters of higher education have long emphasized how beneficial college’s value and its purpose. Many believe the notion that colleges teach students are life skills to apply anywhere, they also work hard to earn a degree and learn specific marketable skills which they can use to get a good job. Though obtaining a college education and a degree is helpful in countless of ways, it is not necessary to pursue a college degree in world where a college degree is seen different now, people without turn out fine, the growing average of debt that students who attend college have to pay off and people without a degree can obtain many jobs that do not require college degrees.
It has been a heavily debated topic over whether college is worth it or not. In “College’s Value,” college professor Eric Hoover explains his studies of college degrees and concludes that attending college has greater benefits than we expect. Nowadays, when families think of college, they think about the amount of financial burden instead of what they will gain from attending. In this article, Hoover states, “Yet the perceived benefits of attending college go well beyond the dollars” (Hoover 1). He writes how diplomas help receive better and higher paying jobs. Hoover is persuasive by using statistics, interviews with undergraduates and graduates, and acknowledging the opposing views as well as refuting them.
Attending college has become the societal and educational norm in this day and age. We high school students feel a tremendous pressure to work for a college degree in order to be successful. College is a very important stepping stone between childhood and an entrance into the workforce. While many studies indicate that obtaining a college degree leads to higher wage jobs, more recent studies disagree. This is extremely concerning as a prospective college student in the dawn of my application process. Not only is it terrifying to think that a well-earned college degree is unnecessary for a future job, but it is incredibly frustrating. After years of hard work just to simply get into college, it might lead
In recent conversations of the increment of the student loan debt, a controversial issue has been whether a college degree is worth getting. On the one hand, some argue that earning a college degree is a major life achievement that some consider to be part of the American dream. From this perspective, we can see that a college degree opens up more opportunities and possibilities of employment with a higher pay and position. On the other hand, however, others argue that many people succeed without college degrees. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 30 projected fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate’s degree, six require a bachelor’s degree, and six require graduate degrees. In sum, the issue is whether a college or career path is worth the debt or not.
“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.
Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of
I propose initiating the “Listen-Up Project” in our schools. The idea for the Listen-Up Project comes from the waning funds for music education in schools as well as the want and need for more and better music education programs. Communities and lower-income schools such as this one do not always have the funding to provide for the demand of these programs. Quality programs can have profoundly positive effects on students’ character as well as their academic achievement. This program would be a nonprofit, volunteer and donation-fueled project. While this is only a theoretical business model right now, I would like to explore making this program a reality in the future. The goal of the Listen-Up Project is to provide a safe environment that
Usually when a person thinks of the poor and the homeless, they think about those that are living and sleeping on park benches or under bridges. They think of those who are dirty, with ragged clothing, worn out shoes, and those begging or panhandling for food. The truth of the matter is that poverty and homelessness can affect people of any age, race or gender. More Americans are at the risk of poverty and homelessness today. There are many circumstances that can cause a person to live in poverty and become homeless. The lack of affordable housing, low paying jobs or lack of employment, and insufficient federal aid all contribute to poverty and homelessness.
The hardest decision in my life was the one that changed my life. It changed every aspect of how I live and who I am today. With that in mind, there are a lot of stories regarding this particular decision and the events leading up to it. The most important decision, however, which lead up to the decision in question, was the choice to start fresh.