Should College Degree Be A College? Essay

In society today, a college education is often seen as a “the next step” in a young adult’s life. Whether they actually know what they would like to earn a degree in, they feel the need to continue their education as almost everyone around them is pursuing post-secondary education of some sort. It is often argued that a college education is not necessary to get ahead because of the manufacture based workforce that is up and coming in America, however, there are many benefits to having a post-secondary education such as a higher rate of pay and more job opportunities.

A college degree is a valuable asset that could ultimately lead to a productive life in society due to the received education, but people without a college degree do turn out more than adequate in regards to societal success. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the forecasted 30 fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate 's degree, six require a bachelor 's degree, and six require graduate degrees to get the jobs (College). In an article called “College Education” by ProCon.org,

In “The Great Debate: Is College Still Worth It?” author Ricardo Azziz endorses post-secondary education by stating its economic advantage in today’s society. The author begins his article by introducing a survey done by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, which shows that the majority of college graduates believe college education is worth its cost. Not only are people convinced of the value of a college education, adults with a degree of some sort (bachelor’s degree or associate degree) tend to earn more than those without one. But also, post-secondary education gives people a better chance at achieving the “American Dream” through diligence and hard work. Azziz states that “college graduates were 5.3 times more likely to leave the bottom quintile than non-college graduates”. In addition, in times of an economic downturn, individuals with a college degree are often able to better cope with the difficulty than those without. However, amidst the benefits of college, Azziz does not forget to address the reality that attending college is still, without a question, an expensive endeavor.

This memo offers a solution to help increase the percentage of the college education of our younger generation.This proposal below is motivated by the experiences of college students who are overwhelmed by the student debt they have collected over the past few years and still have not yet graduated. This is due to either difficulty navigating college from lack of exposure and resources to even properly begin the process of attending college causing inadequate preparation, and/or for those who have had a problem with finding a balance between handling school work and families all at one time. This proposal should not only help students with student debt and aid students in completing higher education but it will also bring light how the nation has been and is still currently going through a college completion crisis.

Over the years, it has become more apparent that in order to be successful in a career, a college degree is necessary. Many people, young and old, are getting a college education. In an article in “Affordability and the Return on Investment of College Completion”, it is stated that “the average earnings of young adults with a bachelor's degree are twice as high as that of workers with only a high school diploma …” (Bowers 144).

Even though the rise in the number of college graduates had positively impacted the American economy by leading to the growth of the pay gap, yet it’s still not enough. The reason is that the short number of college graduates is mainly due to the lack of

Sanford J. Ungar is certain that obtaining a bachelor’s degree is an important step in creating a successful future. Unlike Murray, Ungar states that going to college and getting some type of a liberal-arts degree is an investment in one’s future (191). According to Ungar, there are still a lot of new markets that have not even been created yet and the reason behind this is that the world is still making new technological and economical advancements every day. Now, one might be thinking, how effective can having a college degree be when compared to those who do not have one? Gillian B. White, a reporter for The Atlantic, wrote an article asking the question of whether or not if “college still pays off” (White, 2). In this, White says that people who graduate from college earn about 80 percent more than those who did not finish or attend a degree school. White shows that even though most schools and universities are costly, having a reputable degree can almost double one’s annual income compared to a regular high school diploma. College is not cheap, and while there are people who think that there are too many people going to college, there are those, like Ungar and White, who believe that college is an essential asset that pays off in the

Over the past decade, it has become evident to the students of the United States that in order to attain a well paying job they must seek a higher education. The higher education, usually a college or university, is practically required in order to succeed. To be able to attend these schools and receive a degree in a specific field it means money, and often a lot of it. For students, the need for a degree is strong, but the cost of going to college may stand in the way of a successful future. Each year the expense of college rises, resulting in the need for students to take out loans. Many students expect to immediately get a job after graduation, however, in more recent years the chances for college graduates to get a well paying job

Studies suggest that fifty percent or more of new jobs that will appear in the upcoming decades will require their employees to have a postsecondary education (America’s Promise). However, the rising price of a college education is preventing many students from achieving their goal. This only adds to the number of unemployed young adults and the number of Americans living in property. People always say if you’re tired of being poor then do something about it but it is not as simple as it used to be. In the past thirty years the cost of getting a college degree has increase by 1,120 percent (Mosbergn). Not only that, but if you do manage to get a degree after you graduate you are often left paying off student loan debt. As of 2013, the amount of student loan debt to be paid off has surpassed one trillion dollars. Another reason why many student opt out of going to college is because they believe it is a waste of time. While that may not be the case for all students a recent poll showed that forty percent of college graduates are unemployed and left struggling to pay off a student loan alone with no job

The choice of whether or not one should attend college has been a great topic of interest over the past few years with the increase of college tuition. This increase of college tuition questions whether attending college will pay off in the future since numerous amounts of students are left with an excessive amount of student loan debt. Stephanie Owen, a former research assistant at Brooking’s Center and current research associate at the Urban Institute, alongside Isabell Sawhill, co-director of the Center on Children and Families and a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, wrote Should Everyone Go to College? In an attempt to answer that question. In their report they breakdown the cost and benefits of going to college often relying on logos throughout the

Supporters of getting a college degree often point to the statistics that college graduates earn more than their high school educated peers over a lifetime. Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau reports that since 1977, “Adults with bachelor's degrees in the late 1970s earned 55 percent more than adults who had not advanced beyond high school. That gap grew to 75 percent by 1990 -- and is now at 85 percent.” A gap of an 85% pay difference is a huge figure and a clear reason why college is a great option for some people. But there are problems with that figure because when the number of college graduates who are either unemployed or underemployed is taken into account it changes the value of the statistic. In an article by Businessweek’s Richard Vedder we get statistics to counter that argument. He tells of how the number of new college graduates far exceeds job growth in technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have searched for employment. As a consequence, we have underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with just a highschool education. He says we have “more than 100,000 janitors with

Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of

In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, college education has been available for everyone and anyone who is willing to develop their knowledge regarding a specific professional field. Currently in the United States, the percentage of high school graduates going to college has increased considerably: 68 percent in 2011 compared to 49 percent in 1940 (Menand, 2) and the record high set in 2009 with 70 percent of total high school graduates enrolled in college ("Bureau of Labor Statistics"). Notwithstanding, it has come to the attention of many that the college tuition and fees have been increasing at an accelerated rate. According to The New York Times, college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 (Lewin, 1). This

Mathew Bidwell, a professor at the Wharton University of Pennsylvania has found that “About 300,000 fewer students enrolled in college this fall [2013], compared to 2012” (Bidwell 2). This decline in enrollment is something to worry about because the future of the United States falls heavy on the shoulders of education. In 2012 Barrack Obama set a goal for the United States: by the year 2020 America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. (“Ensuring” 1.) With the aim of achieving this goal, it is important to stop this decline in college enrollment.