The College Dropout Boom Analysis

In their article, Levin and Rouse say that in the United states the dropout rate has fallen since the 1970s. They state that programs should be enforced to promote dropout prevention. While these programs may be expensive, more high school graduates benefit the economy in the long run.

We are told to “go to college” by family, media, and teachers, but we are never given an explanation on why it’s important for us to get a higher education. The importance of higher education is so we can obtain a career that can support our needs and wants. It’s also important because it gives you an advantage when trying to get a job. Employers require a higher form of education, which is necessary for our society to advance. There aren’t many jobs that accept people with a high school diploma as their highest form of education. Employers want people that know what they’re doing, and so does our society. In order for people to go into the career field they want, they need to go to college to learn everything that comes with that career.

First reason why you should go to college after high school is because of future opportunities. When applying for a job you wanna look your best and you want to look professional and experienced at whatever you want to do. Going to college after high school can prepare you for the real world and make you more responsible. The more experienced you look in whatever field you wanna do the jobs will be looking for someone with at least some experience. Even if you do not agree with going to college after high school you will still want a job and college can make you look like a

In the reading “The College Dropout Boom,” the author, David Leonhardt, describes the college admissions system as being ruthlessly meritocratic. When looking at the word meritocratic, one can visualize it as the construction of two parts: the word merit and the suffix “-ocracy”. The word merit can be defined as the deserving of reward for past actions and the suffix “-ocracy” is understood as a form of governing body. Therefore, meritocracy without context means a form of governing body which rewards deserving individuals based upon their past actions. From this definition, it is quite obvious why David Leonhardt used the word meritocracy to describe the college admissions system. According to Leonhardt, students are admitted into college

All of this information draws many people to the same conclusion: college is unnecessary. They assume that college is too expensive, or that it doesn’t adequately prepare people for the real world, or that the time spent in college can be used for significantly better things. This thought process is entirely fair. Ultimately, a college education isn’t necessarily for everyone, as the high number of dropouts

College is a very important stepping stool to your future, too your life. Others might say it’s not worth the money, that plenty of people were successful without college, I disagree. Only very small hand full of people make it without a degree.

In today's world college is a major aspect of our society. However, many argue whether or not everyone should actually go to college. Not everyone should go to college for two main reasons. Not everyone that goes to college can graduate because they don't take it seriously or they are just not smart enough and they end up just wasting money. Second, not everyone can afford college and depending on what job you get, you might acquire so much debt it will very hard to pay off later and college might not be worth it.

The major reason of going to college is to get a good job. College prepares us with academic knowledge in order to succeed in the future. Many people think that a higher education is essential to prepare a person for their future. As

Even though tuitiion costs have raised by almost 50% over the course of 30 years people still argue that college is still worth the price. One supporting reason that will always apply to this argument is, the fact that college graduates earn more money and have a much easier time finding employment than their peers who only have a highschool diploma. Others might state that though not all careers recquire a four-year degree, most do. With that being said a college degree can almost always give you ta head start and better skills for/in any field. Opposers also use Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg to say their choices to leave school were based off of billion dollar ideas, and that the two were already computer geniuses when their decisions were made. To add to that supporters of attending college would say , it’s not all about the learning material. The choice to attend college gives students the opportunity to gain financial responsibility, students usually learn how to put needs before wants when they attend college. Lastly whether it’s your peers or professors college provides students with the time to meet, and get to know new people, with new ideas who may challenge, inspire, encourage or even work alongside one another. This would be used by college supporters to show that college is also a networking tool, or maybe a student could just want a change of scenery. For some people the number 1 reason to go to college is to go away/move to a new location. Some may want to just escape the cold and move down south, others may want to get out of small towns and explore the world. There can be many reasons to attend college like just to live in dorms and experience a home without parents, all of these prove to opposers that college is still worth

College is not for everyone, nor is it required for a lot of jobs today. A reason that people do not necessarily have to go to college is because most jobs today don’t require going to college. Last year, “according to the federal reserve bank of new york, 46 percent of recent college graduates were in jobs that don’t even require a college degree.” This is saying that majority of those that went to college wasted their time and money for something that was not needed. The more people waste their time, the longer it will take to be successful. This is one example that supports why college is not necessary.

Why go to college is a question many people debate with. The majority of people are not aware of the substantial benefits of attending college. With the rapid shift in today’s economy having a college degree is a major key. According to article written by Fatou Faal, “The United States has been transformed from manufacturing-based economy to an economy based on knowledge, and the importance of a college education can be compared to that of a high school diploma education forty years ago.” The benefits of college prepare and shape you for today’s world.

“According to a 2010 US Department of Education report, African American and Latino students had the highest dropout rates of all racial/ethnic groups” (Alliance For Excellent Education, 2009). There is a great disparity amongst schools that impact the minority of students who dropout. Black and Latinos face the biggest challenges when compared to their White peers. According to Alliance for Excellent Education “about 42 percent of Hispanic students, 43 percent of African American, and 46 percent of American Indian students will not graduate on time with a regular diploma, compared to 17 percent of Asian students and 22 percent of white students” (Alliance For Excellent Education, 2009). Balfanz and Legters (2004) conducted a study to see which schools in the US had the largest amount of dropouts. They wanted to identify where these schools were located, the reasons why they had the highest dropout rates, and who were the students who attended. This study was able to find out that the schools with the highest dropout rates were from cities in the South and Southwestern parts of the US and the types of students that attended these schools and the majority of them were from the minority population. Schools that have more minorities have higher dropout’s rates not just because of their minority status but also because of their low social economic status and gender.

Life is believed to be easier for people with higher degrees than for those without higher degrees. Hence, it is the joy of parents to see their children admitted into a higher institution. With the high cost attached to attending a four year university, most students prefer to attend community colleges. Community colleges provide the same quality of education offered by universities for the first two years at a lower cost which help students reduce debts toward getting their higher degree. However, compared to the number of students who started their first year in community colleges, a large percentage dropped out. This is common to both freshly graduated high school students and adults who came back to college to obtain a degree. Students drop out of colleges because of financial issues and the need to take remedial courses. As a result, they have self esteem issues and may remain poor.

Most expect that by attending college and graduating they will be able to find a good paying career with benefits in a field that will interest them. It seems that from high school it is drilled into our heads that we must attend college to be successful in life and contribute to our society. However, college graduates often find themselves working in a field that is unrelated to their degree. This could be due to how many people are also trying to apply for jobs in that specific field, or it could be that that job does not provide them with enough money to live off. The most important thing that students really need to ask themselves before they attend college is, “is a college degree really enough in today’s world to get a good career

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been questioned about your dream career, or what you want to achieve as an adult, or even now. Chances are you have, but, did you ever take the time to really think about that question and finally distinguish that you want to be an Astronaut or a Surgeon or maybe even a Scientist? Well, if you did then there’s almost no doubt that you’ll need to attend college to acquire the certain level of skills you need to become that person that you dream to be. Obtaining a college degree will almost guarantee that more and more opportunities will come knocking on your door because a college degree is a stepping stone to success and companies and businesses are very much aware of that. Success is what people are looking for and a degree verifies that you qualify to achieve great things. Oh, and did I forget to mention that that vast majority of people with a college degree make a lot more money than people with just a High School diploma or being a High School drop out for that matter. However, aside from qualifying for an immeasurable amount of career options, a College education has shown to help with communicating with others, which might not just help with job benefits, but also with relationships on another level.