research paper college education
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Chan 1
Andrew Chan
Ms. Marcarian
English IV Period 7
24 February 2014
College Education: Is it Worth the Trouble?
College is considered the best choice in life for a teenager but there is evidence to the
contrary. It is synonymous with prosperity and high social class but, there are growing problems
with the higher education system that sways these strongly held ideas. Problems such as
expensive tuition costs, high student loans, and unemployment plague many of those who
graduate from college. Also many students are inadequately trained for the job market because
of extraneous college classes. In the first part of the his article, Weissmann reports that a recent
study showed that “more than half of America's recent college graduates are either unemployed
or working in a job that doesn't require a bachelor's degree”. The bottom line is that the debt and
economic uncertainty that most college graduates face no longer makes college the default
option after high school.
Student loan debt is the major issue that affects the majority of college students. In a 2010
survey by the Chronicle of Higher Education, more than half of college freshmen planned to use
loans to pay for their education (Bennett and Wilezol 4). Not only do most students borrow but
the average debt in 2012 was $29,000 for college graduates (Ellis, first sentence). In the first
third of his article, Zappone shows the growth of average college graduate debt when compared
to the $9,798 average debt in 1990. This is a 300% increase and if trends like these continue
people will be forced to look for alternatives to college. In our society, the price of a good
education shouldn't cost this much and also still put futures in jeopardy. Huge debt can haunt a
person for many years past their graduation and cause them to put off ideas of a home or a family
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and “unlike a mortgage or a business debt, student-loan debts can never be discharged in
bankruptcy (Bennett and Wilezol 5). These debts are seemingly impossible to pay off for a
person fresh out of college in a tough economy. A study from Rutgers University showed that
the median starting salary for graduates of a four-year college was $27,000 in 2010 (8). Students
and parents are in the dark about what they are getting for their money and are making
uninformed opinions that allow colleges to earn a large profit while leaving the consumers with
only debt. If people made better choices about attending college, these institutions would not be
allowed to get away with expensive tuition.
Parents push their children to college without considering what is truly best for the
student while disregarding other options. They also seem to believe that a degree is worth getting
at any cost. Peter Thiel, a billionaire venture capitalist, explains that “many Americans are
enrolling in college without exploring their motivations for exactly why they are doing so” (qtd.
in Bennett and Wilezol 11). Even further, the idea that a four-year education is necessary for
everyone must be discarded . Some argue that a bachelor's degree increases your quality of life
by showing that those with a degree earn approximately $1 million dollars more than those who
don't and also have higher employment rates (162). These seem like good points that support
college but they do not take into account the current state of our economy and the possibility of
other paths in life. Recently, the unemployment rate for recent graduates has been around 50
percent (165). Srikant Vasan, president of Portmont College, says, “Students should check out
alternatives to a college degree “ (qtd. in Driscoll, first half). People do not need an expensive
degree to build a career that will create a satisfying life. Many who see college as the only course
in life tend to overlook other viable alternatives such as the military and entrepreneurship. The
second bullet point in the article explains that joining the military offers the
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benefits of housing, food, health care, and pay that is better than entry-level jobs, while you
serve active duty and you also earn valuable experience that employers seek for leadership
positions ("5 Military Myths – BUSTED!"). In the middle section of his article, McDaniel
explains that entrepreneurship gives the advantages of freedom and the chance to change the
world while also tapping into what you are passionate about (McDaniel). Some may argue that
going to college while pursuing entrepreneurship is better, but college hinders you by putting
you in debt, restricting your freedom, and discouraging risk-taking. Your life is not over if you
don't attend college as many would have you believe. Bennett and Wilezol believe that “in the
end character traits and intelligence are more important than any piece of sheepskin” (166).
People who don't get a degree can still find rewarding work and lead a fulfilling life.
Unless you get into the top schools in the country, the return-on-investment (ROI) on
your education does not justify how much you spend. An analysis by PayScale revealed that
“about two hundred institutions of higher learning have a negative thirty-year net ROI” (Bennett
and Wilezol 105). This shows that too many schools return less than what the student pays and
thus become disadvantageous to the person in the long run. It is clear that there are better
alternatives than attending some colleges and unless you are lucky enough to be accepted into a
prestigious school you shouldn't accept college as your only path in life right out of high school.
An explanation for the poor ROI of some schools is that they specialize in fields that are not
financially sound. The Art Institute of Chicago has a tuition cost of $214,300 but you lose
$103,000 over thirty years (114). Generally, liberal art colleges tend to have lower return-on-
investments than science, technology, engineering, and math colleges (114). If your motive is to
become financially stable then pursuing a degree in art or another unemployable field should not
be one of your goals. In a time where the economy is poor, the wise thing to do
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is to get the most out of your money.
College does not prepare you with the skills needed to compete in the work force while
requiring too many courses that are unnecessary. An example of this are remedial classes which
is counterproductive to a place of higher learning and lead to lower graduation rates.(Bennett and
Wilezol 144-145). This is evidence that college may not be worthwhile to those who go to
college arbitrarily instead of considering their options and abilities. Even if a student does
graduate there is no guarantee that they have learned anything or that they will be qualified for
the career they want. Mark Cuban, billionaire technology entrepreneur, explains that “as an
employer I want the best prepared and qualified employees...I want people who can do the job. I
want the best and brightest. Not a piece of paper”(qtd. in Bennett and Wilezol 145). Many
employers would feel the same as Cuban because true intelligence and knowledge is not
explained in a degree but by what you have shown you can do and are willing to do. Employers
trying to fill positions have looked overseas for workers because of the lack of American skills.
When Steve Jobs was asked on how to recover jobs that are now in China he said that “Apple
executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and
industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts”(Bennett and
Wilezol 147-148). It is evident that employers do not think highly of workers that have come out
of the American education system and college may be to blame. There are options other than
college that remedy this issue. Trade school is an alternative that provides an education that
translate into real life skills. In the middle section of an article by Trent, a college degree holder
may earn $15,000 more per year than one with a high school diploma but the downside is that a
diploma costs on average $127,000 and the college degree holder loses out on a couple years of
income while a trade school graduate will
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enter the workforce two years earlier with a $33,000 diploma also Trade school jobs such
electricians, construction managers, and mechanics are jobs that are hard to outsource to other
countries because of the nature of the work which means extra job security. One of the reasons
for entering college is to earn a job with a respectable income. You don't necessarily need to go
to college to achieve these goals and alternatives exist that reach both goals with much less
hassle.
Is college the best plan for everyone? No, but that does not mean it should be rejected
completely. People consider their futures very important and when one invests a huge amount of
time and money into college they expect something of equal or greater value. Cantarella suggests
that “it is better to postpone your investment until your own dedication assures the return you
want” (19). Unfortunately, facts and anecdotal evidence has shown that this isn't always true.
College has been the automatic choice for high school graduates but the evidence shows that this
shouldn't always be the case. It doesn't matter if college should be thought as a way to maximize
your potential or to increase your income, it doesn't guarantee either of those. The expensive
tuition, large debt, and uncertainty show that college can be a gamble and that you need to make
wise choices that take into account your abilities and motivations instead of blindly following
everyone else. Viable choices other than college reinforce the point that college does not have to
be the one and only rigid path in life. The issues with the higher education system may not be an
easy fix. Responsibility belongs to colleges, uninformed consumers, and banks who hand out
loans to those who can't pay them back. In order to help fix college, maybe kindergarten
through twelfth grade should be reformed so colleges can specialize in more on real-world job
skills instead of irrelevant knowledge. Despite what the causes may be or if we can change it,
the only thing we can affect is how we react to the facts. It is up to the people planning to go to
college to decide if it is the right decision.
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