Many students make excuses for not going to College and they’re all wrong. One of the most common excuses students claim is that college might be too difficult for them, it’s not difficult unless you tried and you felt the hardship that you want to stop and give up, however students must try and try until they succeed. In addition, students must remember that saying things that they’ve never done is being cowardly. How can you say if you’ve never done anything and you’ve never experience it? “Thousands of students graduate from college every year, and chances are many of them were afraid college would be too difficult for them--but they made it spite of their fears.” (para. 6) Students who overcome their fears of enrolling to college deserves
The article, Not going to College is a Viable Option, written by Lawrence B. Schlack displays the possible alternatives and outcomes of going to college. With the help of ethos, from a former superintendent, Schlack uses his own self as a credible source by providing examples of what he has experienced and witnessed throughout the course of his work. Schlack appeals to the audience on a personal level by exploiting the weakness of high school graduates, who don’t know what they want to study when attending college. Granted, Schlack uses logic to reason with the audience on why not going to college is a viable option. However, with the lack of credibility, facts, and statistics, Schlacks article is not effectively persuasive on reasons why
High school graduation marks the start of young adults’ lives, a time where they are expected to decide what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Many young adults are pressured into attending college, whether they have determined their goal or not, but is it necessary? “The Case Against College,” an article written by Linda Lee, a mother who has questioned the former belief that college equals success, claims that “not everyone needs a higher education.” College, though beneficial to many, is not for everyone and should not determine an individual’s life.
In a May 2003 persuasive article published by USA Today titled “College isn’t for Everyone”, the author W.J. Reeves states “about 15 million people in America are enrolled in college.” This is a staggering amount considering the fact that many people are in college for all the wrong reasons. About half of the Americans enrolled in college are there because they feel they owe it to their families. Only a small number of Americans in college actually feel it is necessary for successful lives. In this article, Reeves recollects on his experiences as a college English professor at an institution in New York. He speaks of how he believes that many students truly do not want to be in college. You can tell this by his stories of tardiness,
Each year, many students across the country decide not to seek higher education after high school. A number of these students have to overcome many obstacles before deciding to attend college. Some of the reasons students decide not to go to college are:
Although neither my parents nor my older siblings have college degrees, as a child, I don't remember ever planning my future using the phrase “if I go to college.” From a very young age, it was always “when I go to college.” For me, a postsecondary education is the logical next step in my life, the missing puzzle piece to get me where I want to go. For a long time, I believed that the only reason anyone would choose not to was because they were academically or financially incapable. In “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray refutes this belief, examining the increasing accessibility of a college education and how our culture pushes people who may not need it to attend anyways.
In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that is in place. For “a brutal fact
Some people may argue that the main reason people go to college is not because they want to but because they “have” to. Could this be parents forcing their children out the door every day to college? Although many people dropout before graduating high school, there are a lot of high school seniors that persuaded or otherwise “peer pressured” by guidance counselors and parental guardians to attend college because it’s merely rightful. In “College Isn’t for Everyone,” W.J. Reeves argues that the concept of student and educator apathy is central to the issue of a four-year education not being a viable option for students, and open admissions
“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.
Even though before 2008 I was still inundated with symbolic reasons as to why not attending college wasn't an option, the actualizing of major financial insecurity and job insecurity backed up a fate with a fear of concrete precariousness. It was akin to sex-education by traumatizing worst-case scenario pictures: teaching through fear. Headlines of crashing stock prices, foreclosed homes, and titles reading “The Bachelor's Degree is the new High School diploma” filled the news channels my mother had playing constantly, and I subconsciously became afraid of not attending college. As with all fallacious fear-mongering, I implicitly assumed that the other path, was one riddled with danger and certain
It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.
In "College Isn 't for Everyone," W.J. Reeves argues that colleges have become too easy to enter and students show a lack of drive to succeed once enrolled in college. Reeves believes colleges should raise expectations when accepting students into their schools, and the students admitted continue to demonstrate responsibility during the years spent at school. He points out colleges have lowered the bar when it comes to admissions due to the fact that a college cannot exist without a funding source. Reeves argues against unwilling matriculations by drawing your attention to the fact those students are not ready for college. Reeves is specific on the areas where students are slacking most in. He cites another professor 's experience with a student where the student informed the professor of a very elaborate excuse as to why they had not come to class. He
Noted authors, Brandon Chambers, is quoted saying, “If you are going to fear anything fear success. Think about what you are doing and when you succeed what life you will have.” There are several different reasons why I could stay home, work and not go to college; I could go to work every day and make more money for the house, it’s easier, and I would be less stressed. Now, on the other hand there are many reasons why I should go to school; such as further my education, make my family proud, and make myself proud. I am attending college for several different reasons. One reason is to further my education. I hate feeling like I don’t know something, I like being the person everyone comes to for information. Also, because I want to
In the essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” writer Charles Murray explains that not everyone is in need of going to college for three main reasons: a liberal education should be gained in elementary and middle school, many people already have knowledge and skills necessary for a technical career, and many students are in college to “buy an admission ticket-the B.A.” (246) and ensure employers consider their resume. Murray does not argue anything against college itself but more against society and especially the education system. Murray also accuses guidance counselors and parents of “automatically encouraging young people to go to college straight out of high school being thoughtless about the best interests of young people” (249).
The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is a requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers through logical reasoning using numerous statistics, but fails to convince readers and discredits her ultimate goal through a disconnect in her use of analogies.
Despite the fact that student’s desire is to gain a good education, some students fail their first year of college because they are not ready to pursue college life.