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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.