Argumentative Essay: Should Students Go To College

Elizabeth Kenefick explains that “low-income students must increasingly rely on work (and loans) to meet the high costs of college . . . the jobs they take are not in their field of study, which can impair the potential for career exploration and improved employment outcomes in the future” (1). Work-study programs do not always align with a student’s career goals, but it teaches the student responsibility of simultaneously maintaining a job and an education.

I know that some people out there would say that there are programs that could help students pay for college and help with study for classes but those programs are not always available for all students. These are the reason why I believe that not everyone, let alone high school graduates should go to college. Tuition cost over the years have continued to rise in cost, with the introduction of new technology. Some students would have to work a full time job in order to pay for their full course load. If a student has to work a full time job and go to school, either one could suffer from the overload of stress or lack of sleep.

A student might have to drop out and get a job to provide for younger siblings or a parent. This would be an understandable reason to not continue college, but is very specific to certain people or families. Another personal case of why an individual would drop out is college is it is just not the right fit for their life. College does teach valuable life skills and provides an advanced education for those who need it, yet some professions do not require a degree. If a student is not getting valuable instruction for what they want to do, it would be the smart thing to back out and peruse an apprenticeship for example.

Post-secondary education is imperative, considering the fact that those who obtain some form of higher education are less likely to be unemployed or live in poverty. The social issue that plagues my community most is the low enrollment of students at post-secondary institutions. Having a higher education is one of the key components of a healthy, stable, and successful life. Nonetheless, students shy away from a post-secondary education for several reasons, including tuition costs, lack of encouragement to attend a college/university, difficulty level, and the chance to earn more money without attending college. Because of society’s lenient standards, higher education is becoming progressively irrelevant to students.

Then, a liberal arts degree doesn’t fuel the economy as much as the science, technology, engineering, and math majors (STEM). There are advantages to this though, someone who gets a liberal arts degree might be better at certain things such as comprehension, problem solving, and critical thinking. Many of those skills are wanted by employers when they are looking to hire a college graduate. On the other hand, Murray believes pursuing a liberal arts degree is a waste of time. Murray, claims are mostly valid because on average it takes longer for a liberal arts graduate to find a job, and they start off making less than the average professional career.

In recent discussions of unemployment, a controversial issue has been whether a college education is worth the oppressive debt that colleges thrust upon their students. From this perspective, obtaining a preeminent education is not valued above the threat of student loans that constantly loom over the possessor. On the other hand, however, others argue that a college education constructs the building blocks for undergraduates to pursue more than just a job or career. In the words of one of this view’s main proponents, “Post secondary education should help students to discover what they love to do, to get better at it, and to develop that ability to continue learning so that they become agents of change- not victims of it,” (Roth). According to this view, secondary education develops a student’s ability to rise above change and are not lost to its enormous list of victims.

In addition, Hrabowski feels that even though colleges has ways around paying high cost that either way it goes it would be a bad investment, due to, a student dropping out, or not passing a class. When Hrabowski stated “ that students take on unmanageable debts” I agree with that statement, because when students can’t receive college initiative help they have to go out and get loans, when a student get a loan that's money they have to pay back meaning putting them in debt which I believe is a stressful thing, at an early age, while trying to handle

Although the amount of people that are for a college learning experience is a slightly larger amount than the people that think otherwise, some people believe that getting a job out of high school without going to college will provide sufficient experience. The main purpose of a college education is to teach work-related skills and knowledge, while 39% say it is to help a student grow personally and intellectually (Pew Social & Demographic Trends). Views on college are usually very split, as seen with the study. Some people think that college doesn't help you while other studies show that a set amount of people believe it is a benefit and it is an experience that is needed and everyone should go through. 61% of United States citizens say a good work ethic is extremely important and 57% say the same about knowing how to get along with people.

‘Twelve percent of the mail carriers in the United States today have college degrees,’” (Clemmit). Many Americans settle for “high school jobs” because they are unable to find a job that requires the degree that they earned. College graduates tend to receive a higher pay, and are more likely to be hired than someone without a degree, but they are not meeting their full potential. College degrees are not “necessary”, but they can be beneficial when trying to find a job. Many Americans succeed and do just fine without a college

It is true that those with more developed education have better paying jobs, however, it does not indicate that graduating from school will promise a satisfactory life with a stable career. With the amount of competition and the ever growing population, it is extremely difficult to find a suitable job and get hired. Although it is seldom mentioned, the heavy loans from the colleges and universities are not that easily lifted. If a student finishes his or her studies and is having troubles acquiring a profession, not only are they jobless, they have a loan waiting to pay off. In conclusion, graduating is a double edged sword and sometimes, the risks aren’t worth