Assignment 5 Did you know from an early age if you would be attending college? Whether you thought so or not does not change the fact that many young adults do not get the opportunity to attend college. This is an unfortunate case as more and more jobs today require more than a simple high school diploma. The growing pay gap between someone with a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree can lead us to wonder why everyone isn’t going to college. Well not everyone has the same opportunities as one another. Many factors might restrict some opportunities due to Socioeconomic Status, how “middle-class” a student is, the background of the parents and the growing cost to attend college. Different viewpoints will be discussed and disputed for …show more content…
Those within the lower social tiers don’t have the same opportunities to send themselves or their children to pursue a higher education due to Socioeconomic Status (SES). Marybeth Walpole is an Assistant Professor at Rowan University, Glassboro, New Jersey. Her interests and research include equity issues in college admission and experiences. She investigated the effects of social class origins on educational achievement and attainment. Her research said that “Scholars have found that students from low (SES) backgrounds have lower educational aspirations, persistence rates, and educational attainment than their peers from high SES backgrounds prior to and during college.” She continues to describe the difference between the expectations from families in low SES and high SES. Lower income families can describe their children’s success by getting a full time job after high school or attending a community college. On the contrary higher income families are strict on 4-year college attendance. Of course it would be wrong to say that lower SES students never attend a 4-year college. Professor Walpole does not believe this is true and says “There are, of course, low SES students who attend college after graduating from high school.” “However, In the 4-year period following high school they are less likely to persist to a bachelor’s degree or to have graduate degree aspirations.” From this perspective …show more content…
Tuition prices can be the difference for many families’ on whether their child is going to college. Many families simply don’t have enough income to support a child in college restricting that child’s opportunities. That child won’t have the chance to get a higher education which may result in a lower income like his or her parents. Can you see the repetitive cycle? Low income individuals have less opportunities to better themselves resulting in their own children growing up with less opportunities. College tuition doesn’t help in the matter with the consistent increase in cost from year to year. David Leonhardt is the managing editor of the New York Times website. An article Mr. Leonhardt wrote in 2014 says “Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree.” The report continued to show a consistent increase in pay gap between individuals with and without a college degree. This makes it evident that just having a high school diploma is already obsolete and a college degree is needed to be able to make a decent living today and well into the future. You may ask yourself, why doesn’t everyone attend college? Michael B. Paulsen is one of the authors that wrote Research in Higher Education. As an economist Mr. Paulsen views college as an investment of human capital. He describes human capital as “the productive
As Hacker and Dreifus described in their essay, tuition rates are a major factor when it comes to choosing a good college. “For most Americans, educating their offspring will be the largest financial outlay, after their home mortgage, they’ll ever make.” (p. 179) according to Hacker and Dreifus education costs American families lots of money almost as much as home mortgage, and after all that money people aren’t certain if the investment is worth the price or not.
In my community, El Sereno, college is viewed as an option as opposed to it being the next step in life. Most people in my area either begin working or start a family after they graduate from high school. Not always by choice, but in some cases by circumstance. Students in my neighborhood either lack the knowledge, financial support, guidance or even legal status that would otherwise drive them to apply or even go to college. About eighty-percent of students graduated from my high school, but only about twenty-percent ended up attending a four-year university (NINCHE). One of the biggest reasons for student’s low college entrance rate has to deal with their family's socioeconomic
Social Class and Education”. It opens by discussing research conducted in the 1960’s in an effort to identify factors contributing to differences in the academic achievement of Whites and Blacks (Banks & Banks, 2013). Researchers hypothesized that the achievement gaps were mainly the result of disparities in school resources and characteristics, but found that there is a high correlation between achievement and socioeconomic status (SES) (Banks & Banks, 2013). Furthermore, attention is drawn to the class stratification which exists in our educational system and works to maintain inequality through exclusion strategies such as ability grouping and tracking (Banks & Banks, 2013). Evidence of the correlation between social class and education is presented with a glimpse into our higher education system. Despite the significant expansion in the number postsecondary institutions, and an increase in overall enrollment of low-income students, they are more likely to enroll in two-year, rather than four-year institutions, and privileged student attendance in highly selective institutions is increasing (Banks & Banks, 2013). The unintended consequence of the expansion of higher education institutions is an increase in class inequality, rather than a decrease, as more privileged students seek admittance to more selective institutions, locking less privileged students out (Banks & Banks, 2013). Greater access to the best universities helps privileged students maintain their class status, independent of their individual qualities. Consequently, privileged students have greater access to higher quality resources than do less privileged students attending less selective institutions, thereby inhibiting movement up the social class ladde...
Elementary school, middle school, high school, college―that’s how we’re told our education careers should go. After college you go on and get a job based on the degree you received. Seems simple right? According to Erik Lowe in his Seattle Times article “Keep Washington’s College Tuition Affordable,” he informs that people in his generation are the first to be less educated than their parents, in the United States. He explains that this is due to the high cost of tuition followed by a huge amount of student loan debt. Lowe believes that there needs to be a significant change in the country’s higher education systems (in reference to the tuition costs) or the decline of college attendance will continue. There needs to be a decrease of college tuition because as it currently is, many people are unable to go to college due to the cost and if they do, they are loaded with debt and faced with the daunting task of finding a job.
Many kids beginning the college - decision process may be feeling lost at first, and ”By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice.”(Owen and Sawhill 209) For a seventeen/eighteen year old, going to college is arguably the biggest decision that they have had to make in their life thus far, and having the facts that Owen and Sawhill produce can be invaluable to the decision-making process. It is clear that the purpose of their essay is to better inform these young adults and guide them on their journey that is life after high school. The primary claim that Owen and Sawhill attempt to drive in using rhetorical appeals is that on average, having a college degree will lead to a higher income than not having one; however, it is not universally
... a lot of pressure on high school graduates by parents and employers to get a degree if they want to make something of themselves. After being in the workforce over twenty-five years, I have experience well as qualifications that should make me more desirable than the twenty-two year old with little work experience. If he has a diploma, he will get the job before me almost every single time. That is why I am back in college after all these years. Attending college is a choice that anyone can make with their loved ones advice. Sit down with someone who knows you and write down your dreams and desires. Figure out what you would like to accomplish in life and investigate if you have a case for or against college.
There are so many students who would extremely grateful to attend any four year institution but can’t because of the lack of funds. College life can be very stressful, and the process can is very frustrating to most students the first two years. When the cost of college tuition is compared to the 21 century financial economy the cost does not make sense, because for a middle-class family it is impossible to afford sending their child to any four-year institution. It hard for students to graduate with the stress to pay-off hundreds and thousands of dollars in loans. Going to college is stressful enough without the need to worry about how we’re going to pay for it and what other costs will continue to rise with getting a degree afterwards. With the current increase of unemployment rate and the thought of going to college seems like a farfetched goal. Many people choice not to attend a four year institution, because they did receive a scholarship or enough government funding. Having a college background is very important for professional growth, it will eventually limit career opportunities. My stand point is, you may not leave college doing the same thing you began with but the life experience is endless. College experience not only gives knowledge that builds you into a better person by giving a broader erosion. With the cost of tuition increasing will hurt our generation, by causing physical and mental stress but in the end it will all pay off. Not all colleges are for the blame; some of the blame is our economy and other factors play a big roll. As students we need to be aware of all our resources offered, such as Pell Grants, and government scholarships. For example, the some states will pay for a student’s college if they graduate high school with a GPA of 3.5 or higher. There are many states that are willing to pay for all or some of college tuition only if students are willing to use
But what’s more important? Saving money orapplying to college? So here we ask ourselves on more time, is college worth it? Of course, it is.The more colleges you apply for, the better. Expanding your college options are better thanlimiting yourself with a budget.The cost of tests and applications may be high, but that is nothing compared to how muchcollege really costs. In college, you’re not just paying for the opportunity to learn. You arepaying for books, to rooming, to the grass you step on, and to the air you breathe. A student withno subsidizing means to pay for college can find themselves amidst a nightmare when findingout how much college costs. The cost is so high that an “average of $29,400” (Webber 2) isexpected for a single student’s loans. College tuition, is not lenient, and you know it’s bad whenalmost former president Barack Obama mentioned and “criticized the rising rate of collegetuition” (Gutmann 136). The average cost of college can “range from $3,000 to more than$32,000” (How Much Will College Cost Me? 1). And for low-income students? The statisticssay that “only 52 percent of low-income students enrolled in a…college immediately upongraduating” (Elliot 26). The game is not in the favor of low-income students. In fact, collegecosts plus lack of monetary. See, they need jobs to pay for college, but without college, thechances at a good paying job are slim. And so, some never see the end of
A college education has become the expectation for most youth in the United States. Children need a college education to succeed in the global economy. Unfortunately for the majority of Americans the price of an education has become the equivalent to a small house. The steep tuition of a college education has made it an intimidating financial hurdle for middle class families. In 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a private university was $20,566 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was $28,500 for an increase of 38.6%. Similarly in public universities there has been an increase in tuition: in the 1986-1987 school year the average tuition at a public university was $8,454 (adjusted to 2011 dollars) while in 2011 the average cost was actually $20,770 for an increase of 145.7%. Most families who are able to save for college try to do so, therefore their children are not left with large amounts of debt due to loans. Nevertheless, families are only able to save on average around $10,000, which is not enough to pay for a full educ...
Research has shown that children from a background of poverty are less than half as likely to go to college, with only 34% of impoverished children in America going to college and 79% of middle or high-income children going to college. (Webley) Even students with high GPAs and high test scores are less likely to challenge themselves after they g...
First of all, many high school graduates cannot handle college. Isabel V. Sawhill and Stephanie Owen describe college as a place, “one can obtain a traditional four-year bachelor’s degree”. The work load outside of the classroom could be compared to working a full time job. For example, if a student is enrolled in four college courses and is in class a minimum of four hours the student should spend at least four to six hours of studying. This may be extremely agitating and stressful to a student that is not good at studying. The new college student may realize that the schoolwork is too much for him to handle and instead drop out. In Pharinet’s blog post, Is College for Everyone? He states that “…it is estimated that in the U.S., approximately 50% of students who begin college never graduate. There exist students who are not yet ready for the academic and financial challenges of college. There exist students who do not have the desire for college or learning.” This statement is important because if 50% of students that begin college never gradua...
Having a college degree is more important now than ever before as there are fewer and fewer high paying jobs available to those with just a highs school diploma in America. This may sound like a good thing as it incentivizes more people to obtain at least an associate’s degree, but in recent years we have seen a steady decrease in college enrollment from its peak in 2010. This decline is focused mainly in community colleges where there were over 800,000 fewer enrollments according to government data (cite 6). The number of students that enroll in community college is particularly telling as these campuses cost far less and therefore draw heavily from low-income households. This data shows us that those in the poor of our country are increasingly less likely to get an education that would get them into the middle class or above. The brunt of this downturn can be blamed on the ever increasing price of a college tuition and the perceived lack of social mobility in America. The costs of a college education would be impossible to pay for most Americans without getting into student load debt that averaged $37,000 for the graduating class of 2016 and is only increasing (cite 8). As inequality grows there are more and more Americans for whom these staggering costs keep them from pursuing a degree. Furthermore, research by
In “Should Everyone Go to College?” Isabel Sawhill and Stephanie Owen make a strong valid point on whether or not college is for everyone. For many students ready to leave high school, wondering whether they should attend college is an issue that may lay heavy on one teenagers mind. There are a few factors that could be a difficult decision depending on a person’s goal they are working towards. Some students jump right into the workforce after high school. Others may sign up for the military after graduation. While these are different options, research says higher education is very important. Higher education provides opportunity for students that attend college are giving a good shot of a better career later in life. Approaching graduation, a student might find themselves asking, “Why is it important to go to college?” The answer is that education is the most important growing factor in the growth of our country. Obtaining a college degree is a
The idea of a person’s health varying depending on which race or socioeconomic is a very
While reading this article it gave me a different perspective on how I look at college tuition and education. I feel like higher education till this day is relevant and it still hasn’t improved. As a matter of a fact I feel like education tuition has increased over the past few years. It is still a problem for many people to attend college, due to the fact college/universities are insanely expensive. Some people can’t afford because they have families to take care of and getting an education is next to impossible. Some people might argue there are other ways to pay for college tuition such as, scholarship, I agree, but I also feel like some people might not have been in college for a long and have been out of the education world and at some