Where Have All the Guys Gone?

Learning a trade profession is a better option than college for many young adults. Today’s society is in need of trade professions to function. There has been a high number of young adults choosing college over learning trade. This has created a ‘skills gap’ in the US causing a shortage of ‘middle-skilled’ trade workers like machinists, electricians, plumbers, and construction workers. (ProCon.org) To work in some trade professions, one must go to a trade

Eric Hoover, in “What Colleges Want in an Applicant (Everything)” explains that the college admissions process is very problematic. Many feel the process isn’t fair, focusing too much on testing, financial concerns, alumni status, and other factors that don’t show the type of person each student really is. In fact, several universities, such as Olin’s College of Engineering, have attempted to improve the problem, but for some it seems nearly impossible, or perhaps unnecessary. The hope is to make changes in higher, Ivy League colleges in order to disperse changes beyond.

As an active college student, the question of whether or not college is worth the investment is an important one to consider. With tuition rates continuing to rise every year in an economy slowly recovering from a deep recession, alternative paths of career development such as trade school, military service, or entrepreneurship have become more appealing than ever. For the average person however, research reveals when it comes to employment access and stability, securing higher levels of income, and long-term job satisfaction, a college degree is still the most reliable and safest road to travel.

When people are applying for college there is often a misperception; That the applicants think all colleges are looking for is perfection, outstanding grades, and perfect attendance. But in reality colleges are often looking for ones imperfections; the things they are not good at, the subjects they are not strong in, and the not very good

Rimer advocates that older women were faced with negative attitudes of previous generations concerning the necessity of college attendance. This partnered with today’s flexible opportunities provided by women’s colleges tailored for these women have caused the recent influx of college students being women over the age of 30. This causal claim ties nicely to Rimer’s general evaluative claim: The typical college student is no longer 18 to 20 years old.

At the turn of the 20th century, the majority of college students were white male adolescents, primarily the sons of doctors, lawyers, ministers, prosperous merchants, and well-to-do farmers (Jenkins, Miyazaki, and Janosi). First generation college students are a new demographic when it comes to the college population. First generation students are the first in their family to attend college and plan to be the first in their family that graduate. According to data provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, First Generation Students make up 43% of the student population (Nunez, Cuccaro-Alamin, and Carroll.). This is a completely new demographic compared to the prior population of student bodies. Today’s society stresses the

I chose "Where Have All the Tomboys Gone?" because growing up my cousin was refered two as the tomboy and I was refered to as the "girly girl" and then as we got a little older these switched. It really interests me to learn more about how other girls are refered to as "tomboys" or how there are less of them now then maybe a few years ago.

Throughout my college career I have noticed that men seem to be less motivated to strive for academic excellence than their women counterparts, and also tend to have lower grade point averages. These tendencies that I have noticed are not just stereotypes that I’ve formed in my head, but research and statistics also back up these different cognitive tendencies between males and females. According the department of education, “men, whatever their race or socioeconomic group, are less likely than women to get their bachelor’s degrees – and among those that do, fewer complete their degrees in four or five years. Men also get worse grades than women” (Lewin). It is evident that women are outperforming men in almost every way when it comes to college, however, the reasoning behind this blatant outperformance is not nearly as

As a female middle-class Caucasian, due to American societal oppressions such as male domination, racism, and socioeconomics, my chances at earning a college degree are high. Furthermore, due to the constant historical changes that take place, my status as a college student would not have been the same seventy- five years ago. By further examining my gender, class, and race using the sociological imagination, the significance behind my status as a member of the 36% of Americans granted the privilege of a college education is revealed.

Although this is not always the case, a student with good grades is more likely to be motivated and finish a degree then a student with poor grades and little interest in school at all. I feel that the college could improve their graduation rates by knowing the exact intent of the student. It takes a very motivated person to earn a degree. If the student is not motivated, then they will most likely not finish the degree. If little motivation is shown, then I feel the college should decline their application of

Getting into college remains the ultimate challenge every senior student desires to achieve. The one acceptance letter

Tracy, an assistant sociology professor at the Virginia University of Commonwealth and a writer for The Atlantic, while makes a valid point, may not seem as credible of a source as College Board themselves who will lay out facts instead of opinion. Unlike tracy, the College Board report says that college applicant numbers are at their highest currently. This doesn’t mean that Tracy is wrong. Infact, in the paper, he never mentions anything about college not getting applicants. However, he writes in a way that makes it seem like less students are going to school when infact it is the opposite. Unlike the College Board however, Tracy’s point is that college is expensive and that price isn’t the only factor in students not attending college. This is different than the College Board who are only looking at numbers given to them by other colleges. The one up that Tracy has on the College Board is that Tracy’s opinion is more than valid because he is an assistant sociology professor at the Virginia University of Commonwealth. The main perspective that Tracy looks at in this paper in social and cultural reasons for not attending college. The College Board on the other hand is looking at a very narrow perspective of facts.

The most frustrating objective of applying to college is meeting the requirements for admission to the desired college and its program of study. One objective would be achieving satisfactory test scores on standardized tests such as the ACT or SAT. Another difficultly encountered while applying to a college, would be taking higher level courses before college just to eligible to take college level courses like Analytical Geometry and Calculus I the first semester of

Furthermore, If colleges create less strict admission requirements for students, it will greatly benefit those who want to apply. Many young adults have aspirations to get into the college of their dreams. Many would like to get into great schools such as University of Georgia, Howard University, and Harvard University. However, strict admission requirements are preventing them from reaching those dreams. A report finalized by the Admission team at Howard University found that their acceptance was the lowest as compared to the other colleges in 2009. (Bruni 21). This meant that out of all the applications they receive, only about 30% of those students are accepted. Many of those students that were denied were not given a second chance to reapply

The American public, along with the U.S. government, clearly favors sole academic education to VET programs because of several false notions. The government spends over $300 billion dollars a year on colleges and universities compared to a meagerly $40 million a year on apprenticeship programs. Many Americans snub VET because they see it as a mediocre option to university, but apprentices earn money during their training while university students accrue debt. Besides, vocational education is trending toward more academic education alongside workplace learning. Although students with bachelors’ degrees do tend to make more money than former apprentices, apprenticeship is a respectable, inexpensive option for many, especially those working minimum wage jobs. Also, many young people prefer learning by doing. As professor of economics at American University Robert Lerman points out, apprenticeships are appealing to those who prefer to learn through a hands-on approach and see the reward of their work immediately, a learning style that may appeal especially to minority young men (2). Currently, leaders in America’s VET system (CTE) are urging state politicians to view VET as an integrated section of the education system as a whole by creating new standards for VET that align with the newly-established Common Core standards (Meeder 6). Despite the public’s long-held