Linda Lee's The Case Against College

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

College is a time in life where students attain a sense of the real world and commence a new road to independence. Despite the alluring effects of a college education, many high school students have yet to decide whether or not college is worth paying for.  As time progresses, colleges are raising their demand on finances in return for a person to become acquainted with the intellectual properties for their desired career choice. Due to this dilemma, numerous teenagers have been dropping out of high school believing that college is unnecessary in order to find a job immediately. The progressive increase of financial gain in colleges have also raised some concern to the group of people that do wish to attend college, but cannot afford to obtain such prerequisite. While some may claim that college is not a valuable coming of age experience due to a personal conviction in which a college education is not able to fulfill one's goals, or appease prior expectations, college is able to be considered as a valuable coming of age experience nonetheless. The reasoning behind this is that a college experience allows an individual to discover their ambitions for the future and provide knowledge of who they are, while additionally providing a sense of purpose to their life in the future by transforming them into a more prosperous person.

It has been a heavily debated topic over whether college is worth it or not. In “College’s Value,” college professor Eric Hoover explains his studies of college degrees and concludes that attending college has greater benefits than we expect. Nowadays, when families think of college, they think about the amount of financial burden instead of what they will gain from attending. In this article, Hoover states, “Yet the perceived benefits of attending college go well beyond the dollars” (Hoover 1). He writes how diplomas help receive better and higher paying jobs. Hoover is persuasive by using statistics, interviews with undergraduates and graduates, and acknowledging the opposing views as well as refuting them.

The Case Against College makes substantial points against the choice for all students to move on to college after high school. I believe that the author, Linda Lee, has a point that all students do not need to go to college. Though, I don’t quite agree with all of her views. I believe that a student should go to a college or vocational school. Other forms of training, such as the military, would also be a good choice to go into. Without education or training beyond secondary schooling, most individuals will not be able to get high paying jobs.

In Linda Lees "The case against college", she argues that going to college may not always be the right move for every high school gradatuate. She explains that, "only 27 percent of Americans have a bachelors degree or higher". This does leave a staggering amount of room for people that have had success without degrees, such as bill gates or the average hard worker entrepreneur. She uses a personal anecdote from her own experience of why college isn’t for everyone. Lee explains that her son got into a pretty good school, and enrolled because all his friends were going and it should be fun, but he wasn’t ready, he elected to miss classes and was there for all play and no work, while Lee was paying one thousand dollars a week for her son’s education.

Advocates of this form of higher education contend “a college degree is certainly no guarantee of financial success, but it is nearly a prerequisite for moving up the income ladder if you're poor” (Rampell 1). While college has the ability to aid in the advancement of a person’s financial standing, it proves to be a fruitless investment for some students. Even with the accreditation a diploma offers, millions of graduates struggle to earn a salary that ensures the benefits of their major investment. Academic philosopher Gary Jason insists “the rising price of college tends to erase the potential returns of a college education for students of only average ability” (Jason 1). The essence of Jason’s argument is that with a multitude of programs available as an appropriate substitute, college proves to be a waste of time and money for students pursuing careers that do not demand a diploma. The financial burden of college is growing, and in some cases, it cancels out the benefits. Believers in the college dream’s claim rests on the questionable assumption that all students will successfully obtain a diploma and follow a career path that will result in profits from the

Starting in high school, students are not given equal opportunities to excel because of family background. Furthermore, the admissions process itself has its flaws—legacies, minorities, and athletes are being chosen over exceptionally gifted valedictorians. Even after college, the problems do not end; possible joblessness and student debt are unavoidable. On top of these major problems, educators and parents continue to convince kids everywhere that college is the only option to become successful, and choosing another path is heavily looked down upon. The newest generation’s life is centered around the climax of college while at the same time, more and more students are unable to attend universities because of cost or rejection, but this is a paradox. The more high schoolers work hard, the more high schoolers will get turned down to their dream schools, and the more the college admissions process effectively become a lottery, leading to “many highly talented, brilliant, creative people thinking they’re not” (Robinson). The widespread college problem has no easy fix, nor does it have a single solution. Rather than working to fix the unfixable, adults must stop putting such emphasis on the college pathway, and instead stress that there are other options. The future of the job world is unknown; there is no way to know if an expensive college education is the right choice. College, with all of its flaws, is just one option in preparing for the future; it is not necessarily the best. Therefore, the single word, “college,” should stop dividing the academic from the non-academic or the successful from the unsuccessful, and instead be considered a single path in an array of worthy

“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.

The Case Against College, a paper written by Linda Lee, talks about the disadvantages of college, and how she doesn’t believe that college is worth it. She provides many good points pertaining to why she believes college isn’t worth it, such as providing statistics of the amount of people who get bachelor degrees or higher. She explains that as her son was going to college, she soon asked herself if he was really getting $1,000 a week's worth of education. Although Linda Lee has many good points, I would have to disagree with her about how college isn’t necessary. College shouldn’t just be seen as going to learn, it is also a big experience.

It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.

The decision to obtain a higher education beyond high school is no longer a question of if, but when. This is the question that author Caroline Bird discusses in her article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money,” written in 1975. This text strives to convince students, parents, and advisors that obtaining a degree might not be in the best interest for those involved. Circling around the idea that college is a requirement and no longer an act of free will. Bird starts the article off strongly by building her credibility through her own personal research and other credible sources as well as appealing to readers through logical reasoning using numerous statistics, but fails to convince readers and discredits her ultimate goal through a disconnect in her use of analogies.

As young adults graduate from high school, they wonder whether they should pursue a higher education or not. The debate on the cost of college and its worth has been a highly discussed topic for decades. Most kids most likely won’t attend college because they claim it’s too expensive and it’s not worth the cost. But college is more than just a building with an expensive price tag that people attend, it’s an experience, it’s a segue to personal and financial prosperity.

If someone hands another a one-hundred-dollar bill and tells them do with it what they will, there exist the small minority that will use it responsibly. The rest of the population will spend that money on something they don’t need or something they wanted but couldn’t afford on their own. When a college student’s parents hand them several thousand dollars to spend on their education, there is little doubt at least a portion of that money will be used irresponsibly. The article “Want your kids to succeed? Don’t pay for their college education.” Written by Susan Adams discusses the outcome of parents simply relinquishing large sums of money into their children’s hands and the effect it has on their education. For the most part, Susan’s argument that parents paying for their kids’ education harms their success is correct, but she does not offer a proper solution to the problem presented.

Bobby Scott, a U.S. Representative once said, “It is virtually impossible to compete in today's global economy without a college degree.” After high school, an individual is required to make a vital decision about whether he or she wants to go to college. This one decision can affect the individual's future significantly. According to Caroline Bird, an American author, college is, in fact, a waste of time and money. Throughout her argument some of Bird’s facts are promising, however, I disagree with college being a waste of time and money. Going to college and graduating from it allows an individual to have economic benefits, receive many opportunities with different types of occupations, and future benefits.

Becoming a college graduate is a milestone that most parents instill in their children. Statistics show that seventy-six percent of parents work passed retirement age and sixty-eight percent would take a second job just to give their children the opportunity to go to college. They view this as investment in their children’s future. This sacrifice will help their children in the long run. Most parents understand the stress of paying for student loans and would rather their children not be burdened with student loans after graduation. Unfortunately not every parent is capable of paying for their child’s college tuition. Most college students have to rely on government assistance to pay for college and with the rising cost of tuition, cost of living, and decline in financial assistance most students are relying on student loans to pay not only their tuition but living expenses. This is where the question comes into play. Although controversial one can’t help but wonder if the debt that you have accumulated to pay for tuition will be worth the degree he or she receives. Most students have tunnel vision during school. The goals are to complete by any means necessary. Receiving their degree is top priority but no one stops to think of the effect the loans will have on their lives. Shortly after walking across the stage at their commencement ceremony most young adults are faced a hard shock of reality when they receive their first bill in the mail from Sallie Mae or Navient.