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Why College Isn T For Everyone Analysis

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William Butler Yeats once said, “Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire”. Yeats, a famous poet of the 20th century, understood that the benefits of an education do not just end after it is through, like when a bucket gets filled to the brim. Instead, they spread into all aspects of one’s life like a wildfire, and can change the course of one’s life forever—especially if one pursues higher education. A college education is extremely valuable to ensure a successful future. Those with a college education are more likely to succeed financially. Time and time again, statistics have shown that those with a college degree have a leg up over those without one. An example can be found in the article “Actually, College Is…show more content…
Naysayers like Richard Vedder, the author of the article “Why College Isn’t For Everyone”, say that there is not much point to going to college because the “number of new college graduates far exceeds the growth in the number of technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have gravitated… [causing] a new phenomenon: underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with much less education” (Vedder 5). While it is true that the competition is increasing nowadays, that is all the more reason one should work hard at getting educated. If those with degrees are forced to do jobs that have traditionally been done by those without higher education, then what are those who didn’t attend college doing? Probably a job that pays even lower, or unfortunately, they may have no job at all. Additionally, if an opportunity for a job that requires more education pops up, those that have a degree would be eligible—and those without would not. On the other hand, Vedder also illustrates that “a goodly proportion (more than 40 percent) of those attending four-year colleges full-time fail to graduate, even within six years” (Vedder 3). Admittedly, there is a high failure rate for colleges. However, one must question if that is the fault of the education itself or of the person’s determination. If one were to apply themselves and study hard, obtaining a diploma should be attainable. While some people may have issues in their personal lives that take priority over their education, most people who fail to graduate from college would not be able to appreciate the value of an education anyway, simply because they do not have the motivation and drive to do so. While going to college may not seem as valuable in modern society than it used to be, it is still extremely important to one’s
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