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Student Name Omitted
English 112
Professor Martin
18 October 2016
Is College for Everyone?
Most Americans seem to believe that a four-year degree is the only path to economic
mobility. For example, Freeman Hrabowski, a journalist for The Baltimore Sun, argues that
college prepares people for their future careers and more importantly, life. In contrast, others
point to America’s massive student debt problem and disappointingly high dropout rates as proof
that the argument that college is the only path out of poverty is fundamentally flawed. While the
positives of a four-year degree or more are unarguably there, does that mean that everyone
should pursue it? The answer is no; not everyone should attempt to get a bachelor’s degree or
higher because not everyone can handle the large workload that college courses require, college
has a specific way of teaching and testing information that does not always put everyone’s
preferred style of learning to use, it can be extremely expensive and is unreachable for some
families, and there are many other avenues to be highly successful in the real world without a
college degree.
To begin, many students are not fit for the rigorous schedule that requires a large amount
of motivation, time management, and diligence. Former Secretary of Education William Bennet
recently said in an interview that about 50 percent of all college students attempting to get a four-
year degree drop out in the first two years (qtd. in Wanner). This statistic means that about 50
percent of students who are currently enrolled in college and are pursuing a four-year degree will
end up dropping out, leaving them with massive debt. They will have also lost valuable time that
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they could have been working to gain beneficial work experience and seniority in their jobs and
may have no direction in life after. From a career and monetary perspective, college is doing
nothing more to the students who drop out as mentioned in these studies than setting them back
further. In conclusion, students need to seriously evaluate themselves before making the decision
on further education. If someone is not self-motivated to do well in school and he/she lacks time
management skills, then college is probably not the best option for that individual at this time.
Furthermore, money is one of the biggest reasons that college is not for everyone,
especially if what author “College Degree for Everyone?” Joseph Wanner says is true: “Only
about 150 out of 3500 colleges and universities in the country are worth the investment.” These
150 institutions that Wanner deems worthwhile are the most elite 150 colleges and universities in
the country, and consequently the most expensive. Thus, for the vast majority of American
students, college is a poor financial investment, especially if they can’t get into one of these elite
colleges. Likewise, Ted Benna, the author of “Saving and Investing,” shows how monumental
the expense of sending just one child to college is when he continuously discusses how important
it is to save up from an early stage: “If you try to save up for college last minute, it’s pointless,
don’t even bother” he says (320). Unfortunately, the reality is that most American families are
living paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford to save for college. As a result, students and their
families end up taking on debt that they may never be able to afford to repay. In addition, a
reporter for the Hechinger Report, Meredith Kolodner, also makes this obstacle in obtaining a
four-year degree clear when she states in her article, “Why are low income students not showing
up to college, even though they have been accepted” and that “40% of low income students that
get accepted to college will never make it to the first day. This is due to the ridiculously high cost
of tuition.” The simple reality is that the cost of tuition is yet another burden for these students
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trying to obtain a four-year degree. If a student does not have the money to go to college, there
are certainly other options such as loans and grants. However, these options could leave a student
with a lifetime of debt. Therefore, if the cost of college is prohibitive to attending, then it may
not be the best choice.
Yet another reason that college is not for everyone is the style of learning. Gerald Graff
says it best in his work “Hidden Intellectualism” when he states, “Everyone knows some young
person who is impressively “street smart” but does poorly in school. What a waste, we think, that
one who is so intelligent about so many things in life seems unable to apply that intelligence to
academic work. What doesn’t occur to us, though, is that schools and colleges might be at fault
for missing the opportunity to tap into such street smarts and channel them into good academic
work.” (264). Graff’s argument is very true; school teaches one way to learn information. The
students get the information, memorize the information, and repeat it back to the teacher or use it
to solve problems. However, the problem with this learning style is that not everyone can learn
information that way. The current education system is most advantageous for those who can
memorize information easily, but for those who cannot, it can be a very difficult, frustrating
system. Neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs did very well in a classroom setting; however,
everyone can agree that these two did exceptionally well in the real world and were smart
individuals (Martin). College is not for those who have a difficult time memorizing information
and learning in a traditional education atmosphere.
Lastly, there is a demand for jobs that do not require a four-year degree. Many people
simply overlook these jobs because they are stereotyped as being for people who are not smart
enough to earn a four-year degree. Robert Reich, former United States Secretary of Labor, states
that “there is a demand for technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech
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machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories…There is also a growing demand for people
who can upgrade the software embedded in almost every gadget you buy, and for skilled
plumbers and electricians.” None of these careers mentioned require a four-year degree. If all
students have their minds set on receiving a four-year degree, who will be available to do these
jobs that are in high demand? Reich says it best when he says, “the biggest absurdity is that a
four-year college degree has become the only gateway into the American middle class.” The
upcoming generations of future college students have been brainwashed to believe that college is
for everyone, and that the only way to succeed in life is to go to school to receive a bachelor’s
degree or higher and receive a high paying job. Simply receiving a bachelor’s degree does not
guarantee a high paying job, or any job at all for that matter. In contrast, getting vocational
training usually ensures a job in the specified career field. However, our society still gives no
value to this very wise and rewarding plan after high school. It is certainly possible for someone
to make a living without going to college for four years, and it is definitely a respectable
decision.
Despite all of these reasons that one would use to argue the validity of other paths rather
than the traditional four-year degree, there are still some people who believe that it is the only
route into success. One example is Tricia Hussung, who states in her article “The Benefits of
Having a College Degree,” “According to a report by the State Higher Education Executive
Officers Association, high school graduates earn an average of $30,000 per year. This number
increases dramatically when you consider bachelor’s degree holders: They earn more than
$50,000 per year, on average.” According to Hussang, when compared to high school graduates,
it is obvious that pursuing a four-year degree will earn graduates more money. Thus, the most
critical argument in favor of attending college is the increased earning potential.
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However, Hussung fails to mention other options. This argument is an example of an
“either/or” logical fallacy, in which the author leads the audience to believe that there are only
two choices when in reality there are more. She fails to mention in her article the growing
demand for people with vocational training in a specific field, or the growing amount of jobs that
require a two-year degree now. Depending on the vocational training certificate earned, these
programs can make people much more money than a four-year degree. Therefore, the argument
of making more money with a four-year degree than a high school degree may be true, but it
ignores the option of obtaining a two-year vocational degree that will also increase a student’s
earning potential.
Yet another argument that the proponents of the four-year degree bring up is the
availability for career growth. Hussung also mentions this claim in her article when she talks
about how people with only a high school degree are much more limited in the potential for
promotion. “College graduates have skills that qualify them for a wide range of careers with
upward mobility,” she mentions. Hussung brings up a valid claim, if someone is looking to
advance in his or her career.
The flaw in this argument occurs with the assumption that all people want to move up in
their respective careers. However, many people are simply not concerned with “climbing the
corporate ladder”. While it is generally true that as someone advances in his or her career, he or
she earns more money, this money is not simply handed out. Many times, a job promotion comes
with more work, more responsibility, and more stress. The argument that a person needs to
receive his or her bachelor’s degree to enable career growth has some validity; however, career
advancement is not something that everyone wants to achieve, proving that if someone does not
desire to climb the corporate ladder, college may not be for him or her.
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In conclusion, the path of a four-year degree is not for everyone; because of the extensive
amount of work students are required to complete, the outrageous cost of education, the narrow
scope of learning styles teaching is geared towards, and the many other different roads to success
available to students after high school. A Bachelor’s Degree is not the only path to success. More
people to need to realize that they have many other valuable options and they should consider the
positives and negatives of pursuing a four-year degree for their individual situation. Despite what
many people say, college is not for everyone.
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Works Cited
Benna, Tedd, et. all. Book IV: Saving and Investing- Chapter 4: Saving for College. Wiley
Publishing, Inc. 2009, Proquest. 2009. [Link]/login?
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Graff, Gerald. “Hidden Intellectualism.” They Say/ I Say, edited by Gerald Graff and Kathy
Birkenstein, 3rd edition, W. W. Norton, 2014, pp. 264-270
Hrabowski, Freeman. “Colleges Prepare People for Life.” The Baltimore Sun, 22 Dec. 2013,
[Link]/news/opinion/oped/[Link]
Hussung, Tricia. “The Benefits of Having a College Degree.” TeachThought, 19 July 2015,
[Link]/uncategorized/the-benefits-of-having-a-college-degree/
Kolodner, Meredith. “Why are Low Income Students not Showing Up to College, Even
Though They Have Been Accepted?” The Hechinger Report, 14 Aug. 2015,
[Link]/why-are-low-income-students-not-showing-up-to-college-
even-though-they-have-been-accepted/
Martin, Lauren. “Why the Ones Who Have Bad Grades Are Often the Ones Who Are Most
Successful.” The Elite Daily, 12 Dec. 2013, [Link]/life/motivation/why-
the-ones-who-have-bad-grades-are-often-the-ones-who-are-most-successful/
Reich, Robert. “Why College Isn’t (And Shouldn’t Have to Be) For Everyone.” Moyers and
Company, 26 Mar. 2015, [Link]/2015/03/26/college-isnt-shouldnt-
everyone/
Wanner, Justin. “College Degree for Everyone?” International Advances in Economic
Research, vol. 21, no. 3, Aug. 2015, pp. 261-273. ProQuest,
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[Link]/central/docview/1701849621/
F5C2CA4A772D457APQ/9?accountid=15152