Do you wanna be a College Student?
Deciding whether to go to college is a question many adults of all ages ask themselves and if it is worth it? In “Are too many people going to college” by Charles Murray and “Colleges Prepare People for Life” by Freeman Hrabowski, the author’s discuss the opportunities in going or not going to college. Charles Murray is the W. H. Brady Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He focuses on only a certain group of people should go to college: ones that are considered college ready referring to the research done by The College Board. Freeman Hrabowski was the president of the University of Maryland; also President Obama named him chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. His main belief is college should be available to everyone, because it better serves society to have more people educated. These essays will clarification why going to college will benefit people and how these authors feel college systems should be today. Both authors discuss the worth of college, but have distinctive ideas on who should go.
These essays are coming from different ideology views points. Hrabowski comes from the starting point of
He says, “For a society of immigrants such as ours, the core knowledge is our shared identify that makes us Americans together” (Murray 236) he is implied that we must have this to be functioning society. He criticizes the system of teaching being used now; that it should not be taught is a way that “forces children to memorize boring facts… The facts can be fascinating (if taught right)”. (Murray 236) Murray also uses college readiness as a factor of who should go, “10 percent of American 18-year-old would achieve if they all took the SAT, in an age when more than 30 percent of 18- year-old go to college.”( Murray
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
Throughout Murray’s article, he highlights many points about how education standards are slipping. For example, in his article, he says, “Saying “too many people are going to college” is not the same as saying that the average student does not need to know about history, science, and great works of art, music, and literature. They do need to know—and to know more than they are currently learning.” Murray is saying that many people are going for their liberal studies degree because they did not learn enough in grade school. Had they learned it previously, they would have no use for the degree. He also states, “K–8 are the right years to teach the core knowledge,
While some say that college is a good investment due to its tendency to grow a student's character and intellectual ability, the downsides to college sorely outweigh the potential benefits that it has. While college does grow a student in multiple ways, “57% say that the higher education system in the United States fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend.”(Doc F). This majority opinion demonstrates that the growth you can achieve in college is sorely outweighed by its economic cost, and not worth doing.
To go to college or not to go? This is the question many ask themselves before making a life changing decision. Anthony P. Carnevale, in “College Is Still Worth It,” argues that people should go to college and not rely on faulty data on the worth of postsecondary education. Carnevale is a well-known authority on education and was appointed by President Clinton as Chairman of the National Commission on Employment Policy. However Richard Vedder responded to Carnevale with “For Many, College Isn’t worth it” and claims that college is worth it for some people, but it’s not suited for all. Vedder is an economist, author, columnist, and now a distinguished professor of economics emeritus at Ohio University and senior fellow at The Independent Institute. Vedder is able to convince his audience on why college is not always worth it, unlike Carnevale, who was unable to convince his audience.
He conveys the point that many students are not academically prepared for the rigorous courses that are required of a liberal education “the threshold “college readiness” score was found to be 1180 on the combined SAT math and verbal test…only about 10 percent of American 18-year-olds would achieve if they all took the SAT, in an age when more than 30 percent of 18-year-olds go to college” (238). Not only does Murray talk about how the average student is not academically prepared he also goes on to make a point that students could be choosing a college for a purely financial reason instead of choosing the path that suits their academic level in life. According to Murray, this is caused by the fact so many employers require a B.A. “Employers do not even interview applicants who do not hold a B.A. Even more brutal, the advantage conferred by the B.A. often has nothing to do with the content of the education” (245). The reason that this affects young people so much Murray believes is because “more than 90% of college students report the guidance counselors encouraged them to go to college (251). This falls along in Murrays belief that many students who are not academically prepared attended college because they are encouraged by people who may not have a full understanding of the academic standards higher education requires. Murray ultimately believes a better system needs to be put in place in
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.
The author makes the claim that students should learn core knowledge in K-12 instead of going to college to learn this information. Murray goes on to say “Liberal education in college means taking on the hard stuff” (Murray 225) This supports Murrays claim that too many people go to college because people who go to college should already know the basics of each subject area and be ready begin their major of choice. However, students come into college having little core knowledge and spend their first two years learning criteria that should have been taught to them in K-12. I completely agree with this belief because I’m a student and I have classes with other students who haven’t successfully mastered the core knowledge of a subject and end up having poor grades. Therefore, college isn’t worth the price if a person hasn’t yet mastered the subjects covered by core
In Charles Murray’s essay entitled “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, he discusses the influx of Americans getting a college education. He addresses the topic of Liberal Arts education, and explains that not many people are ready for the rigorous challenges a liberal-arts degree offers. In addition, Murray explains that instead of a traditional degree more people should apply to technical schools. He believes that college should not be wide spread, and that it is only for those who can handle it. These viewpoints harshly contrast with Sanford J. Ungar’s views. Ungar believes college education should be widespread, because a liberal-arts degree is, in his opinion, a necessity. He argues that a liberal-arts college is the only place that
The essay starts off with Murray saying of course more people be encouraged to go to college then countering with a yes and no to the question. He agrees that yes getting a education is important but majority of people are going for what they should have learned years before reaching the college level. The way people see college as a way to be success doesn't sit well with him as he gives many reasons to why this is false. The statement "college is seen as a open sesame to a good job and desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood." proves this point. He argues that yes getting a education is important but it's not always the best way. The hypothetical example involving a student choosing to go college for business or becoming a electrician. Then giving a example of why he would be probably be better off becoming the electrician rather than going to college to do something he may not be as successful as he could've been if he worked as a electrician helps prove his point. Murray continues to argue that the view about college is flawed that many are better off looking for better options rather than following the crowd and going to college.
Everyone knows that person from high school that just wasn’t cut out for college. It’s not a bad thing by any means, but if you’re thinking about heading off to college like many American teenagers often do, think about this: going to college can be a waste of both your time and your money. I’m not the first to say it, and I sure as hell won’t be the last. In Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill’s essay, Should Everyone Go to College?, the two authors take a strong economic approach to justify going to college. Owen, an ex- senior research assistant at Brookings’ Center on Children and Families and current research associate at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan center for research on the problems of urban communities, and Sawhill, the co-director of the Center on Children and Families and a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, claim that the return on investment (ROI) of a college education is overwhelmingly positive on average; However, they also bring light
To go to college or not to go? Is the question many ask themselves before making a life changing decision. Anthony P. Carnevale “College Is Still Worth It” argues that people should go to college and not rely on faulty data on the worth of postsecondary education. Carnevale is a well-known authority on education and was appointed by President Clinton as Chairman of the National Commission on Employment Policy. While Richard Vedder respond to Carnevale with “For Many, College Isn’t worth it” and claims that college is worth for some people, but it’s not suited for all. Vedder is an economist, author, columnist, and now a distinguished professor of economics emeritus at Ohio University and senior fellow at The Independent Institute. Vedder is able to convince his audience on why college is not always worth it, unlike Carnevale, who was unable to convince his audience.
“Why should one go to college? One important answer to this question is more opportunity. As opposed to generations of the past, high school graduates today are unable to obtain the number of high-paying jobs that were once available. The U.S. has been transformed from a manufacturing-based economy to an economy based on knowledge, and the importance of a college education today can be compared to that of a high school education forty years ago. It serves as the gateway to better options and more opportunity”(College View). After high school, it is the standard for students to become matriculated. With most people under the impression that college is the only way to achieve a higher education people find themselves discouraged from taking the
When I began my senior year, the number one thing which people asked me was where I was going to college. Whether they actually knew me or not, that would be the first thing they asked once they found out I was in the final stretch of my high school career. Now, I obviously had a pre-planned answer for them, since I had answered the question so many times, but I always found it to be peculiar that people didn’t actually care at all about what I was going to do with my life; they just wanted to know where I was going to get my expensive piece of paper from.
In today’s society, the idea of receiving a college education has been pondered quite a bit as to whether or not it is actually worth it. According to Michelle Adam, many people “…today believe that getting a good education is key to success in our society, this revealed surprising issues that challenge the notion of higher education being worth its price tag” (59). Naturally, many high school graduates apply for college right before or after graduation. Others decide to go into the work force, armed forces, or simply remain unemployed. The question that many people debate about is, is a college education worth it in the long run? Though some people believe a college education will benefit ones’ career, others believe it will cause a mass of debt and loans for college students and graduates, and postpone life events.
It seems that the ultimate function of a high school student is to get their diploma and then go straight into the workforce. The mindset behind this has people questioning “Is a College worth it?”In today’s society a college education is vital to live a sustainable life in America. Many people would subject to that statement, but yet they’re stuck at a low paying job living from paycheck to paycheck struggling to support their family. Although most people have argued that a college education is meaningless but with closer examination shows that a college education is the key to opening the door to success.