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Does the benefit of college outweigh the cost
Does the benefit of college outweigh the cost
Costs and benefits of attending college
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In this society, almost every high schooler is told they need to go to college in order to be successful, but that is not necessarily true. Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill questioned if everyone needs college to be successful in their article, “Should Everyone Go to College?”. In the article, Owen and Sawhill discuss that even though college is very helpful for many people, but for some the benefits of a college education do not outweigh the costs. Owen and Sawhill discuss this and show the statistics on the pricing of college and general student success throughout the article. Overall, this article does a very well job showing ethical appeals with statistics, does an average job with emotional appeal, and does a very well job showing logic …show more content…
One statistic that Owen and Sawhill presented was “Hamilton Project research shows that 23- to 25-year-olds with bachelor’s degrees make $12,000 more than high school graduates but by age 50, the gap has grown to $46,500 (Figure 1). When we look at lifetime earnings—the sum of earnings over a career—the total premium is $570,000 for a bachelor’s degree and $170,000 for an associate’s degree. (Owen, Sawhill pg 641). Owen and Sawhill also mention that “with tuitions rising faster than family incomes, the typical college student is now more dependent than in the past on loans, creating serious risks for the individual student and perhaps for the system as a whole, should widespread defaults occur in the future. Federal student loans now total close to $1 trillion, larger than credit card debt or auto loans and second only to mortgage debt on household balance sheets” (Owen, Sawhill pg 642). Basically, what the authors are saying is college is expensive, but for some career paths, the training and education received in college is necessary to have that job and the benefits outweigh the costs. With a high paying career where a college education is necessary, paying off student loans is no problem. On the other hand, people who go after low paying careers that don’t necessarily need a college degrees, …show more content…
Owen and Sawhill state that college can positively affect one’s life by “affecting things like job satisfaction, health, marriage, parenting, trust, and social interaction. Additionally, there are social benefits to education, such as reduced crime rates and higher political participation” (Owen, Sawhill pg 640). By saying that, Owen and Sawhill are trying to give the idea that by going to college, you will be an all around better citizen, which definitely plays with emotions because who doesn’t want to be a good citizen. Also, Owen and Sawhill talk about the college decision process. Basically, the general idea is that when choosing a college it is better to choose a college that will benefit you financially, not one you just
How many people actually go to college and make it through with a degree? This question is asked a lot and the article, “Is College for Everyone?”, discusses the options one has other than college and why some people should not attend college. Pharinet presents her argument of how the reality is college is not for everyone and she makes this clear in different ways. She discusses how different factors are the key reason one chooses to attend college, instead of the desire for learning. She does this by using several different techniques to reach her audience and make her argument known such as: nods to the opposition, logos, diction, and syntax.
College is not for everyone, although, everyone should have some form of higher education. "Should everyone go to college?" is an essay meant to inform students of the pros and cons of going to college. Owens and Sawhill state that the cost of a college degree may not be worth the money that students put into furthering their education. In their article, Owens and Sawhill use three different rhetorical appeals; egos, logos, and pathos; to persuade the readers to think consciously about attending college. Their argument was effective because it forces the readers to look at the overall college experience in different aspects.
As David Leonhardt states in his article, It College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say, “ When experts and journalists spend so much time talking about the limitations of education, they almost certainly are discouraging some teenagers from going to college...”. In spite this argument, I believe the purpose of college is to prepare me for a good, well- paying job when I graduate. Since I came from a family background in which girls are always on the bottom and can’t get out of the tradition in boys zone.
Individuals are struggling nowadays to acquire an education higher than a high school diploma. One of the main reasons for this issue could be very well the price it is to attend college. The prices have skyrocketed throughout the years. A lot of the people who attend college have to take out a “student loan,” just so they can get by. I believe one should not need to be in serious debt before they even graduate, all because they want to go out and further their education, and become successful in their life. College is a popular topic for most and Sanford J. Ungar and Charles Murray has a unique way of explaining both their opinions.
In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.
The argument about if college is worth it or not has been one of the biggest arguments throughout the media for decades. Students suffer a lot from the debts that they get from college and also the amount of studying that they do in college and when they graduate they ask themselves “is graduation from college really worth all the money that we paid and all the work that we have done?”
Mark Kantrowitz indicates in his article, Why the Student Loan Crisis Is Even Worse Than People Think, that “Student loan debt is increasing because government grants and support for postsecondary education have failed to keep pace with increases in college costs”(Why 1). This means that the government no longer covers for college tuition fees. College graduates are 20% more likely to work at a job that is outside of their major by the debt they are in. Kantrowitz also mentions that “students who borrow to attend college, it appears that more than a quarter (27.2%) of them are graduating with excessive debt” (Why 1). In reality, leads to student saying that the financial cost was worthless, ending up with a job that is especially not what they went to school
The question of the century is whether higher education is worth the price, and everyone feels like they have the winning argument. The article I have chosen to write about that pertains to this subject is by Charles Murray and it’s called “Are Too Many People Going to College?” I chose this article because I feel that the author brings up valid points that resonate with me and my beliefs towards going to college. Charles Murray attacks the specific issue of whether there are too many people going to college. Murray using different viewpoints shows how he believes that too many people are going to college, and I agree with his reasoning.
Doyle states in his article, “As of this writing, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt has been estimated at $960 billion (Kantrowitz, 2011).” Right now, there is only 7.4 billion people on earth, but not all of those people are in debt. So, massive debt with not near enough people to even cover the debt on the whole planet put this issue into perspective. Many people talk about applying for scholarships but scholarships can only cover so much of the price, and even then, the scholarships aren’t guaranteed. Now what about paying off the loans? How will that take? “First, incomes vary tremendously across different choices of majors and professions. Second, the incomes of individuals starting out in the labor market vary according to the state of the labor market at that time.” There are many different factors that go into this process. As stated in the previous paragraph, those who do both work and school are more apt to pay their debt off at a quicker pace. But, how much they make and how often they paid is another contributing factor. If the average college student is making minimum wage (part time) and is going to an in
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
The second chapter of this book advocates students to attend college, even if they must take on a moderate amount of student loan debt. They give statistics showing the tremendous gap in wages between a college graduate and a non-college graduate. The third chapter of this book argues the opposite viewpoint of the second chapter. The author states that the cost of college today is too high and that there are too many college graduates flooding the job market causing many of them to go unemployed or seek low level jobs that do not pay enough to pay off their student loans. Both of these chapters will help me to show the two main ...
Children of the twenty first century spend nearly 13 years in school, preparing for what is college, one of the only ways to achieve the so-called “American Dream”. College is the best way to start an advanced career and go further than one possibly could if college degrees were not available, allowing people to achieve their view of the American Dream; whether it be large houses, shiny cars, multiple kids, or financial comfort, college is the stepping stone to achieve the American Dream. But all great things come with a price, college dragging along debt. Students who attend college struggle to find ways to pay for it, leading to applying for student loans. These loans a great short term, paying for the schooling at the moment but eventually the money adds up
Society tells almost every high schooler that they need to go to college in order to be successful, but that is not necessarily true. Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill question whether attending college is essential to being successful in their article, “Should Everyone Go to College?”. Owen and Sawhill discuss how even though college may be very helpful for many people, for some the benefits of a college education do not outweigh the costs. In discussing this, they compare statistics on the costs of college and general student success. Overall, this article does a very good job showing ethical appeals with statistics and showing logic with factual evidence, but only does an average job appealing to emotion.
American’s education system has been entering crisis mode for a long time. Throughout the past few years, the overwhelming question “Is college needed or worth it?” While it is an opinion, there are facts that back up each answer. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” mentions that the enlightened must help the unenlightened and further their knowledge. The problem with America today is that high school students are given the option of college and that makes for less enlightened people. While it is possible to learn in the work force or Army, college is a better option. Mary Daly wrote the article “Is It Still Worth Going to College?” which talks about the statistical value of attending. Michelle Adam wrote the article “Is College Worth It?” which mentions the struggle young people are going through to even get into college. Caroline Bird wrote the chapter “Where College Fails Us” in her book The Case Against College where she
Although adults with a college degree have a higher salary than those who do not, student debt is hurting college graduates. ProCon says, "between 2003 and 2012 the number of 25-year-olds with student debt increased from 25% to 43%, and their average loan balance was $20,326 in 2012-a 91% increase since 2003" ("Is a College. . ." 2). Ten percent of graduate students have over $40,000 in debt and roughly 1% have over $100,000 in debt ("Is a College. . ." 2). With student debt on the rise, it will be a strong defense on whether college is worth it or