The Pros And Cons Of Going To College

Third, a college degree is not the best option for everybody because it creates debt. College isn’t cheap and various colleges across the nation are raising their tuition up because of the availability of federal of student aid. Therefore, this results in an increasing amount of debt for many students. Many students are struggling to pay off their student debt. According to article Student Debt Tom Price states, “A majority of college graduates are leaving school owing more than $25,000, and nearly 7 million have defaulted on their student loans—student debt nationwide totals almost $1.3 trillion”. That is roughly half of the nation of college graduates who owe back student debt. Tuition is so high that many students cannot afford to pay it. Therefore, they have to take out student loans and although a person may have a full-time or part-time job it is still harder to pay back the loans on time. For example, Jasmin Johnson explains how she owes more than $65,000 in student debt, and she’s still a year away from graduating. Tuition is so high that many students cannot afford to pay it. Johnson explains “she couldn’t afford the cost and to keep up with her studies while working full time to pay her bills”. For this reason, we see that it is a burden to pay back student loans while maintaining other priorities. Eventually, this leads to debt. There has been a high percentage of college students who cannot pay back their students loans. According to Bridget Terry Long essay, she states, “we have reached an enrollment level in which a small percentage translates into thousands and thousands of students each year. And that is a problem that cannot be ignored.”(46) She points out that not enough people make enough money to afford college. Therefore, many people can’t pay their debt back and there should be action taken against this so that college can be affordable for everyone. As the cost of tuition, fees, and room and board increases then students will have more loans to pay. According to the article Student Debt, the chart displays that nearly “10 percent of universities have increased their tuition of $20,000 or more. Debt has become a big issue for every college student. It results in other issues such as,

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.

Nowadays, we are always bombarded with the constant studies that show the economic benefits of going to college. For example, one study suggests that the average earnings gap for a high school graduate and someone with a bachelor’s degree working full time is about $15,000 (Owen and Isabel 210). But, all these sources only focus on the economic benefits and they make it seem that the only way to succeed. However, they don’t mention as much the possible negatives and that it might not be for everyone. The biggest obstacle, especially for the lower class students is the high cost of tuition. Which has caused student loan debt to become the second highest form of debt in the U.S, surpassed only by mortgage debt (Owen and Sawhill 212). Even if the student figures that out then there’s the problem of finishing school. Studies show fewer than 60% of students finish their 4-year degree within 6 years, if they finish at all (Owen and Sawhill 218). Then for those who do obtain their degree there’s the

Studies suggest that fifty percent or more of new jobs that will appear in the upcoming decades will require their employees to have a postsecondary education (America’s Promise). However, the rising price of a college education is preventing many students from achieving their goal. This only adds to the number of unemployed young adults and the number of Americans living in property. People always say if you’re tired of being poor then do something about it but it is not as simple as it used to be. In the past thirty years the cost of getting a college degree has increase by 1,120 percent (Mosbergn). Not only that, but if you do manage to get a degree after you graduate you are often left paying off student loan debt. As of 2013, the amount of student loan debt to be paid off has surpassed one trillion dollars. Another reason why many student opt out of going to college is because they believe it is a waste of time. While that may not be the case for all students a recent poll showed that forty percent of college graduates are unemployed and left struggling to pay off a student loan alone with no job

For many young people, college is mostly a way to get the education they need for further professional activity. Some students study eagerly, others drudge through it, but all of them understand that without graduating from a college or university, future perspectives are rather dim. Anyways, many students after completing higher education and getting employed in a company or starting their own business tend to think that attending an educational institution was the last time they had to study. What such people do not realize is that studying is, in fact, one of the biggest services one can do for oneself.

College is extremely expensive. In fact, “college tuition costs have gone up 945 percent since 1980” (Liberty). The rapidly increasing costs of a college education prevent an extraordinary amount of students from enrolling, and restricts those that can go to college to only the wealthy. “University administrators keep hiking tuition, ... and a whole generation of Americans is struggling ... as they postpone their dreams for a tomorrow that may never come” (Wonkborg). Critics argue that students have the option to take out student loans. Conversely, the majority of students who take out student loans owe tens of thousands of dollars that they might never be able to pay back. “Today’s college students borrow and rack up more debt than ever before.

Have you thought about you future? Do you want to go to college? Does it cost to much? Robert Birgeneau quoted “ we need strategies that will enable public universities to provide excellent educations for students, without saddling those students with crippling debt.” This is an example of students every year, then students try to pay it off year by year. They can’t afford to pay it because they are trying to take care of families. On the other side of the debate, people believe that everyone should go to college because that can pay it off later, It better just have a college degree, and as long as your motive you can do it. However, It is absolutely important that kids should not have to pay to go to college because it leaves students

“It is virtually impossible to compete in today’s global economy without a college degree” (Scott). These days it’s easier to get a job if you have graduated from college. Not everyone continues their education, but it’s harder to be employed. Although some believe you can make it without a degree, many say it’s a better choice to go to college.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 65.9 percent of students enrolled in college right after graduating high school in October of 2014. Since more than half of high school graduates enrolled in college, many believe it is fairly easy to pay for and attend school to further their education. What many do not know is that the percentage of college enrollment is decreasing yearly by an estimated two percent due to the increase of college tuition within schools. From 70.1 percent in 2009, to 66.2 in 2013, it is proven that percentage of enrollment is dramatically decreasing. Although tuition helps fund money for the campus and schooling, it should not be necessary due to the low income families who cannot afford it, as well as the debt it places

After high school, there are so many possible roads to take. Whether it be going into the military, college, work, and or travel the world there are many endless possibilities. All of the seniors that graduate will most likely continue there scholar career at some sort of college, which is a good choice to make because once the graduates know what they want to be they can go and pursue it at the college level. Even though college can be expensive it will be worth it in the end when you graduate with a degree and use it with your everyday lifestyle. People who choose to go to college right after high school and not have a gap year is the right choice because they can get their careers started and not behind a year, they don't spend extra money on travel expenses, and once people stop going to school they will lose the motivation to go back to college.

The key to living a comfortable life in today’s world is having a college education. Life has gotten much harder and the job market has become more competitive without a four year degree. Having to work two or three jobs and both parents of the home working to put food on the table. People are barely making it with a bachelor’s degree now and are finding themselves needing a master’s degree to get a better job. College tuition has been increasing at a steady rate. Many students are finding themselves not having equal opportunity to attend college due the high tuition cost. A large number of students that do attend find themselves with a huge amount of student loans to pay. Colleges have raised their tuition greatly, created unequal opportunity and create loans that take years to pay back.

“In 2007, Bank Rate reported that nearly half of the families who planned to send children to college felt that they could not afford to pay for a child's tuition” (“Introduction”). College cost has continued to increase every year; this has created a problem for students and their families in making the decision for students to attend college. The cost of college will continue to increase even with help from financial aid for students, Acts passed to help students, and the debt involving college fees.

This past summer I graduated High School and this past school year I had to give a lot of thought where I would like to go to college or if even going to college was the correct choice for me. However, I did start preparing for college at the beginning of High School as the concept and need of college was instilled within me by most of my family and those at school from a young age as they tended to say “education was my “ticket” and it would take me far in life.” However is the higher education and experience one gains through college worth the large amount of debt one will most likely take on in order to go to college? This topic I find to be very interesting and to resonate rather deeply with me as while many of my friends decided to follow my same path, deciding to go on to higher education almost as many decide not to go to college. This could have been from a multitude of reasons from not being able to afford college to not feeling they have the aptitude and commitment to do college. I took the time to analyze the question “Is college worth it?” with two sources, both pertaining to whether college is really worth the investment of time and money one puts into it. I found two articles “Is College worth it?” and “College: Who profits?” which both help to analyze the pros and cons of college along analyzing various statistics pertaining to college. They both seem to be rather useful with one being more of a report on a book and the other being an article about a report.

In other words, higher education is valuable but expensive. Most would agree that higher education encourages ingenuity and critical thinking—attributes which are valuable in any profession. Though people like to cite Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg as not finishing college but finding once-in-a-lifetime success, the rule remains that those individuals are the exception, not the rule. Having a college degree makes attaining a higher paying job possible. Clearly higher education pays off, but there are some people who do not have enough money to pay for college. Only thirty percent of Americans have earned a college degree. This number does not seem staggering, but when compared with college tuition debt to credit card debt, the results are stark. In general, Americans have more college tuition debt than credit card debt (State of the Union). When considering an average college graduate and his or her consumer/credit debt, it is easy to see why the student loan burden is one that students find increasingly difficult to confront. This is worsened by the current state of the economy, where educated men and women have difficulties finding jobs because of the market. As a result, they are straddled with student loan debt. This debt, coupled with consumer debt and dim job prospects, are a burden which can easily become overwhelming for the average 22 year old (Federal Student Aid).

The structured schedules offered by most high schools leaves students with limited control over how their time is spent, but everything changes when college arrives. Many students struggle with the newfound sense of freedom and fail to make sure their responsibilities are taken care of. Studies show that about 30% of freshman in college don’t return for their sophomore year. On top of that studies have found that only 3 out of 5 four-year college students graduate within their first 6 years of school. A number of factors such as high tuition rates, high stress levels, lack of motivation, and numerous others all contribute to dropout rates. Obviously there is something missing for most students as they make the jump from high school to college. One of the most valuable traits incoming college students can learn is the ability to adjust to change; this is done by putting the problem into perspective, changing your own point of view, and making the best out of any situation. Learning how to be flexible will not only help you survive your first year of college, but also help you succeed in life.