The Estimation Of A College Education Is Under Assault Essay

The standard way of thinking about college has often given the impression that education will open doors. College is foretold to be the wisest choice a student can make to better their future with a successful, high-paying job. Yet Charles Murray, author of the article “Too Many People Are Going To College,” introduces a controversial side to the argument, believing that the decision for students to attend college is one of great importance, but the choice may be made too soon. Murray emphasizes the reasons why this situation exists and continues to be proven true in today’s society with factors such as the misleading statements to students about college and the high academic standards students must conform to.

The documentary America’s Broken Education System poses a glaring question in today’s society: is college worth it? The National Inflation Association, the association that created the video, claimed that the “college conspiracy” has the majority of people fooled into thinking that college is the most beneficial option and will pay off in the end, when in reality is does not. The documentary points out that the education system fails to teach people skills necessary to be successful in business, as an entrepreneur, or through other means outside of college. College is not always the key to success and choosing not to attend does not put people on a path to nowhere, like most Americans are taught they are. For those who are debating whether or not to go to college, America’s Broken Education System argues that it is not worth it by reiterating how expensive college is, presenting information about a different issue that needs more attention than college, and how little people actually benefit from a college education.

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.

College has become a significant chapter in the lives of many Americans today. In most cases, to reach the well-paying and dreamed-of careers, students must have a bachelor's degree or higher in a certain field of expertise — typically from a university. While this is true, many students have realized that university-level education, even in-state, is not cheap. With tuition rates on the rise, college is beginning to be seen as more of a burden than an opportunity. Although scholarships and financial aid decrease the net cost of attending college, the majority middle class students are not equipped with enough aid to graduate debt free, or even close to it.

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.

The U.S. is home to some of the greatest colleges and universities in the world. But with an overwhelming 1.3 million students graduating with an average student loan debt of $29,000 each and with youth unemployment elevated, the question of whether or not college tuition is worth the money arises (The Institute for College Access & Success, 2013). Higher education faces intimidating challenges: continually rising costs, access and completion problems, constant changing of technology, and responsibility pressures from state and federal officials. But no challenge is more intimidating than the fundamental question that many Americans face to ask themselves, "Is college worth the cost?" As a result of the economic turn down, many students who graduate are not finding well-paying jobs, either within their field of study or not.

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.

Many students today look towards the future scared and frightened debating their future, all of them asking the same question. Is a college education truly worth the cost and the amount of debt that a student acquires over a four-year period? Many ask what are they doing this for, a piece of paper called a degree. That’s what the articles “Five Reasons Why College is Worth the Cost,” written by Reyna Gobel and “Is College worth the cost? Many recent graduates don’t think so,” written by Jeffrey J. Selingo both address. The articles take different standpoints and views on the topic. Gobel’s article siding with the view that college is worth the cost. While Selingo’s article argues that college is not worth the cost.

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.

College is one of the biggest financial burdens in today’s society for many. Since the recession, people often ponder what the best financial options for students looking to go to college are and what path they should take to get them there. Mike Rose, faculty member at the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Karen Lawrence, the president of Sarah Lawrence College, have both written articles about this epidemic stating the advantages and some possible downsides to pursuing a higher education. During these articles, the two writers are trying to persuade their intended audience that college is an option that could be beneficial for them to take advantage of. They both have different

Researchers have found that a majority of workers with bachelor degrees or higher have higher salaries than those without. The downside of these statistics is that student debt has climbed to over 1.3 trillion dollars. Colleges have been working to aid students by cutting tuition costs and offering more scholarships, but the hopes of potential students look to be declining (Mitchell). From this journal, I learned that the value of a college degree is an opinion that varies among different social classes, social grounds, and political groups. When I read that less and fewer Americans are finding the value in a college degree, I decided that the next step in my research would be finding out the opinions of those who do see the value in a college degree.

College students across the nation suppress a shudder when the phrase is uttered. They try to push it to the back of their mind, to save the problem for another day. Sadly, it cannot be ignored forever. Student loans over the United States have been becoming more frequent and increasing in size for years. According to M. Swig, Hickey, and S. Swig, there are now 41 million Americans burdened with having to pay student loans back. While one may question if taking out a student loan in the thousands is worth it, one should consider today 's society. To most people, college is the only option. Parents, families, and neighbors almost force it upon the young adults because they believe it’s the only way for them to be successful. Much of the nation views a higher education as the key component in an individual 's future job, wealth, and therefore general happiness. It is almost to the point where not attending would be comparable to breaking a social norm.

In her Newsweek article “On the Coming Burst of the College Bubble” Megan McArdle, a Washington, D.C. journalist focuses on the concerns of the crippling financial struggles that college students continue to face. In this intricate article McArdle captures the essence of this crisis. Critical in her reading is recognizing that for some, the school system works, yielding decent jobs and an effective rate of return on investment; for the vast majority, however, too many college graduates are suffocating under a mountain of accumulated debt, with very limited opportunities for employment and no acquired skill. Why then do the vast numbers attend college? Many people believe that one must get a college education in order to gain the benefits that were assumed would go along with it: “an education that would last a lifetime, a better job, and

The great equalizer of society is education. Being as such it is imperative that generation after generation continue to pursue the academics. This was realized very early in American history and became the impetus of educational reform. The number of Americans between ages twenty-five and twenty-nine holding a four-year college degree rose from one in twenty in 1940 to one in four by 1977. However in modern times a major obstacle has manifested for college students in the form of tuition and the subsequent debt that follows. The rising costs of college has not only proven to jeopardize student performance, but also has far larger societal and economic implications. One of the adverse effects of the increase in tuition is the creation of a

Twenty-one million students are anticipated to attend some sort of higher education (Barrow et al.). And tuition costs are reaching all-time highs; about high as the salary an average American makes in a year (Kay 36). This is a drastic change in the higher education system in America. Colleges used to be mainly religious institutions hundreds of years ago and were based on moral training and proper conduct. Overall, making better people for society. In the present day, American colleges are helping aid students in getting jobs while building up the student’s values. Many have pondered over if the value of higher education that is taught is worth the price being paid. Some have said that the costs are too high for anyone besides the upper class, but people are still enrolling with increased rates each year. Higher education is worth the price because it provides lifelong benefits to the people who graduate with a degree. People who obtain a degree attain life skills that everyone should learn, get paid more money in their lifetime, and gain a quality education.