Imagine yourself as a college dropout. What are your first emotions and reactions that pop into your head? For most of you, your brain will automatically associate dropping out of college with failure. Maybe some of you think of successful college dropouts like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs. However, that connection is stopped by the fact that when discussing famous college dropouts, they are made into the special cases that are so lucky you’d never end up like them. Starting in middle school, students are conditioned to believe college is the best option for you to choose. You figure out what you want your career to be so you know what to study. You figure out what to study so you know what kind of grades you should be getting …show more content…
This is due to the government backing out on millions of dollars in funding since 1967 when President Ronald Reagan boasted society shouldn’t pay for people exploring their “intellectual curiosity” (Selingo). Tuition has now more than doubled since the last generation leading to more loans being taken out by students. Chad took out loans to go to college and like two-thirds of college graduates, Chad is still paying them off years later. College is no different from any other business. They market their brand and their product to you so you pick them over another college. Yes, all those emails that colleges mass produce and send starting your junior year. So when saying college is a business, there is one known thing that drives all businesses in a market, and that is profit. 18 year olds fresh out of an environment where they have to ask to use the bathroom, graduate and automatically have to know how to do everything involving taxes, FAFSA, scholarships, loans, grants, billing, the list goes on. As Chad cautions in our interview, “whenever you sign off on a promissory at the age of 18 years old for student loans you have no idea what you’re signing” (Chad). Furthermore, no matter how bad loans are to the students, it is great profit for the college. Not …show more content…
When looking at the value of an associate 's degree, what do you see? The associate’s degree is the lowest degree you can earn in college. It only takes two years and is usually just used to show that you went to college, not to show you are going into a certain field. Decades before, if you had an associate’s degree, you were an elite. The normal for what jobs expected before was just a high school diploma. Now jobs have raised their expectations so high that McDonald 's, a fast-food chain that everyone saw as the place you get a job at when you’re just that desperate, doesn’t even accept workers without at least an associate’s degree. If a fast-food place is asking for at least a two-year college degree, higher paying jobs are now asking for at least a bachelor’s degree. This change in what is expected has taken a huge toll on everyone looking for employment. When college kids graduate then need a job right away to start paying off those loans. That forces individuals to be “unemployed and many who were employed worked jobs unrelated to their college studies”(London 2). This was found by the One Associated Press analysis of 2011 graduates, showing because they had this false belief set in by the colleges that their degree would get them a higher paying job related to their career, 54% of graduates remain unemployed and just end up being waitresses or busboys. This expectation businesses and society
As McArdle points out, the cost for a college education has gone up over the years, leaving students in debt. I agree with this statement, because a college education was more affordable years ago and now it has doubled it’s cost. According to the article, McArdle states “The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college
...truth. today’s job market is fiercely competitive. With unemployment at an all time high, it is near impossible for one to find a job with or without a college degree. Hundreds of layoffs and fewer openings can really make it hard on those who have just graduated and are trying to find a career. Just because you have a college education does not guarantee a job, or job security. It just makes you a better candidate.
Unemployment is on the rise and, always trying to be avoided. By obtaining a degree, the chance of being out of work is reduced. Baum, Ma, & Payea (2013) claim, “The 2012 unemployment rates for 25- to 34-year-olds were 9.6% for those with some college but no degree and 7.2% for those with associate degrees” (p.20). With just an associate's degree, the chance of being unemployed plummets 2.4% compared to those compared to little college, proving when the higher of a degree is obtained, the lower
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. 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.
If more people went to college, and less went the vocational route, jobs will take a momentous hit. Today, companies will not even touch an application that does not include a Bachelor’s Degree; even if the Bachelor’s Degree has nothing to do with the job being applied for. Attention is not given to whether the hopeful applicant qualifies for the job; all that matters is that the applicant has a Bachelor’s degree. Murray best sums up the American job market when he says, “Employers do not value what the student learned, just that the student has a degree” (Murray). However, if less people obtain a Bachelor’s Degree, employers will be forced to base applicants on their skills, and abilities. Furthermore, important vocational jobs that lie vacant will be filled. Good electricians, carpenters, and construction workers will always be in
After graduation of my high school, I’ve decided not to attend college. I spent over three months preparing for college admissions. Over three months of studying for the SAT and writing essays for colleges. But, all this hard work was blown away in just a week. The week before the May 1st, the decision day, I had made my decision not to attend college. I have decided to return to my country and start working. Of course, there was a strong disagreement from my parents, but I didn’t hesitate. For the past years, I have worked in many different kinds of places and I have faced the true reality. This made me want to attend college and brought me to Concordia College.
According to Leonhardt, many people who drop out usually plan to go back eventually to get their degrees, but very few actually do. According to “Access to Attainment”, approximately 65% of all job openings will require postsecondary education by the year 2020 and “many of the long-standing programs and policies designed to foster access no longer supports the needs of today’s students” (Miller, et al. 5). The availability of higher education to the public has greatly changed over time, and thus the system and the programs must adapt as well to continue providing the best access and opportunities possible to individuals. “….a college education matters much more now than it once did” (Leonhardt). Lower-class students coming from low-income high schools might not have the same opportunities for learning as their upper-class counterparts, and as a result they are less likely to be accepted to elite universities. The education system is beneficial for many but it is flawed as well, especially in preparing high schoolers for college, which has the potential to greatly impact their
To being with, college students today are economic pressure by school system and because of that student have become enslaved by financial aid department. This is an excellent quote by Zinsser he states: “they are the authentic voices of a generation that is panicky to succeed” (Zinsser 449). Student are spending more money than the actual value of their degree, on average student are spending 20-30 thousand each year just for tuition. Recently
High schools build their students up to go to college. They don’t expose the students to any other paths but getting a higher education. There are no high schools anymore that teach their students how to start their own business or invent their own product. They don’t educate their students on how to use the Internet to become more educated with things without going to college. In the 1970’s a college student could afford their college tuition without student loans or getting financial assistance their parents. They were able to pay by working a part time job year round or a job over the summer on their time off. The government destroyed this by providing easy students loans to anyone who applied. There weren’t any credit requirements for taking the loans out. According to a documentary called “Conspiracy Scam” on youtube, tuition for a four-year college costs $29,293. It also states that price went ...
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
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
During the great recession, employments requiring higher educations developed by 187,000, while occupations requiring some college of an associate’s degree fell by 1.75 million and employments requiring a high school education or less fell by 5.6 million. In numerous fields like designing, accounting, education, medicinal services, a four year college education is required for entry-level positions. It 's anything but difficult to see how a degree opens up an entire vista of chances that would just be out of reach generally. The potential opportunities open doors are considerably more noteworthy in number for those with graduate degrees. Gain a terminal degree in your field, and the sky 's the
High school can be tough for many teenagers. Some students may feel as if the classes they are taking are boring or the material being taught will not help them later on in life. These students begin to not show up for class and then their grades start lowering drastically. Next, these students come up with the idea that dropping out is the easiest and fastest way to escape all the stress that is caused by academics. However, they need to start looking at the bigger picture and asking themselves if quitting school is going to help them reach their personal goals. Most people want to live a life filled with laughter and have the least amount of trouble as possible. Dropping out of high school will not bring joy to anyone, it will only affect the dropout and also our society in a negative way.
With high school dropout rates currently at an unknown high and with the inability to keep track of how many there are there is definitely cause for concern and question as to why so many children are starting high school and not graduating. What is the reason? Is it them, the parents or the educational system; who is to blame and what can we do to try and change the decisions of future dropouts? With various changes within the state and school systems, teachers and schools can be up to date with the latest technology. For example the $2 billion estimated revenue California will profit because of the recent passing of propositions 56 and 64 could make a huge impact on the educational system; or offering students incentives for attending school,
Teens today face a lot of pressure. Many students deal with difficult life situations that hinder them from focusing on their futures. This can lead to a loss of interest in school and school events, such as a sports, clubs, or after school programs. Teens start to prioritize other things over their education. Every year, over 1.2 million students will leave school without earning a high school diploma in the United States alone (“11”). That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day (“11”). The United States, which used to have the highest graduation rates of any country, now ranks 22nd out of 27 developed countries (“11”). Students may not realize that by dropping out of high school they are more likely to commit crimes, become parents at a young age, use and abuse alcohol and drugs, and live in poverty (“Drop”). Dropouts make up the majority of those