In this article Nemko is illuminating the issues that our modern society is facing involving higher education. Students are starting off college with bare minimum requirements for next level learning and feeling disappointed when they are not succeeding in their courses. The author acknowledges that the courses being taken by students are sometimes not beneficial to life after college. Nemko states, “A 2006 study supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts found that 50 percent of college seniors scored below ‘proficient’ levels on a test that required them to do such basic tasks…”(525). Students are specializing in areas of learning to in turn be denied to working in that field and stuck with unnecessary skills. “Many college graduates are forced to take some very nonprofessional positions, such as driving a truck or tending bar”( ...
Going to college gives students the chance to step out of their comfort zone, try new things, and discover who they are while pursuing a degree that may, or may not, interest them. In today’s world if a student drops out of college society assumes they are unintelligent, while in reality they could have come to the realization that being amazing at a trade job is better than being mediocre at a desk job. There has to be a way for students to want to finish college and find what they are learning interesting. If something doesn’t change, the system of postsecondary education will become a thing of the
In paragraph 2-4 he first argues that statistically it 's not logical for people in the bottom 40% of their class to go college because they most likely drop out. Then he argues that its a waste of time to go to college then drop out because they’ll usually not even have learned anything. Lastly, he argues that even if they d go to college, once they graduate it’s still unlikely they’ll find a job that their degree was worth.
College is the place where people go to retain the necessary training for a job that requires specific skills, which results in earning a higher pay check. In today’s world, employers are scouting out for individuals with the proper dexterities to fill the shoes for that specific job. Blanche D. Blank, the author of “A Question of Degree," argues that possessing a degree of higher education isn’t the only way to have a very successful life. This statement is highly argumentative, due to the fact that college graduates still out-earn people without degrees. Obtaining a college degree is one of the best things someone can do for themselves, when it comes to looking for a stable job. There is also so much more to college than just receiving a
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
The key motive for students to attend college is not because it is a want, but they have to. Furthermore, most high school graduating seniors are under pressure by their school counselor(s) and their parents to go enroll in college because it is “the best thing for your future.” In an essay written by Caroline Bird, called “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, she states that students go to college because “. . . Mother wanted them to go, or some other reason entirely irrelevant to the course of studies for which college is supposedly organized” (217). A student may have a different direction on where and what they want to do for their life, but since students contemplate whether their “supporters” identify what is...
When we are young, we all have our own unique dreams and aspirations for what we wish to do when we are “older.” As we grow older, we begin to realize that some of our dreams are unattainable, while others are able to achieve their dreams. Whether one is the first person or the latter, we are spoon-fed the idea of attending college. We all hear how college is our “gateway to success,” and how “our entire lives depend on college.” Pressures bear down on high school students, telling them that they must attend college to be capable of anything in life. But people do not realize the detriments that are also associated with attending college. Students should not be pushed to attend colleges as there could be several factors that play in a student’s
As the cost of college tuition continues to rise each year, many individuals are questioning if a college education is worth the time and effort needed to obtain a college degree. In today’s society, however, a high school education or diploma is not enough to insure a chance at having a good future. For many students, the decision on whether or not he/she should pursue a higher education is a major conflict for many young adults who are graduating high school. Therefore, while some students wonder if going to college is worth the price tag, in the end, the benefits associated with earning a college degree are proven to uphold numerous opportunities for individuals in the future.
College for an incoming freshman is exciting, however, it is often focused on the social aspect such as the connections that can be attained through Greek life, parties and independence. Due to the social interactions, freshmen tend to drop out of college after their first year. Focusing on what college is meant for can prevent these situations. The pressures of college such as impressing parents, and maintain a high standard GPA-wise can lead to stress and freeze a student from achieving the proper academic performance. During the mid 1900s, college was considered more of a luxury than anything; people would attend college exclusively to acquire knowledge in hopes of obtaining a career after graduation. People in the twenty-first century, however, attend college to get away from home and enjoy freedom at parties. Education is taken lightly, and those who feel that education isn’t the main focus of college should not apply for sakes of the greater good.
A high school diploma is not enough to pursue most careers in a difficult economy and job market. Without a college education there are fewer chances for career advancement or high earning potential.This is enough for anyone to rethink a college education. Nontraditional undergraduate students include a large portion of college enrollments. Between 2000 and 2013, enrollment rates for twenty five to twenty nine year olds increased from eleven to thirteen percent and thirty to thirty four year old students stayed steady at a seven percent increase. “The Condition of Education” 2015 Being slightly I tell myself regardless of what my children think I am not too ancient to attend college or start on a new
In the currently bleak economy that students face after attending college has called for an open discussion to the policy of higher education. One of the many medians where this discussion is happening is in the wall street journal called “Do Too Many Young People Go to College?” written by Lauren Webber. The article takes form in a forum of higher educational policy experts and professors, addressing two major questions posed by the public (Webber). The first of which is whether the investment in attending college is worth its value financially (Webber). Not only is the argument of why college is worth it’s value is explored so is why the value of ...
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
Although leaving home for college is a big step toward autonomy, college students are still in the “betwixt and between” of teen agers where they are more “preparing for work” than filling the adult career slot. Students work part-time jobs, get money from their parents as well as loans and/or scholarships but are not self-sufficient and are often poor like the characters in the Opera La Boheme who do art, poetry and philosophy but can hardly pay the
Within the past decade, more and more kids have been given the opportunity to attend school past high school, something that the previous generations have not had. In a current news release, The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that, “Of the 2.9 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2014, about 68.4 percent were enrolled in college in October” (BLS Economic News Release from April 2015). When a student decides to go to college, they usually think that they are free from all the basic classes that they disliked in high school, and that in college you can just take the time to focus on the ones that interest you or that pertain to your career. But, rather quickly, they find that this is far from
Many people dream of finishing college for the possibility of attaining a great career with wonderful wages. Nowadays, however, people are more concerned with the amount of debt they will gain after attending college. This money problem skews people 's opinion of going to college, and they try to avoid being in debt as much as possible. As a result, more people steer away from the college life and enter into the work force without a degree. These people, however, do not understand that the college experience, knowledge, and the degree they gain are worth any amounts of money. College education is priceless.