Is College Worth It Essay
Is College Worth It Essay

Is College Worth It Essay

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 7 (1861 words)
  • Published: December 27, 2021
View Entire Sample
Text preview

Introduction

There are arguments behind the worth of college education. There are those who argue that college education is not worth it while others feel that it is an important part of life and going through college makes one a better citizen in their nation. The arguments are based on different perspectives in which people use to focus on college education.

Some of the reasons include economic reasons, time and the origin of college education. Arguments arose after colonists introduced ‘new college’ which was later named Harvard University. From the year 1636, arguments have continued deepening based on the higher numbers of students who join colleges every year. It is hard to draw a conclusion as both arguments are supported with facts (Parker, 57). ‘Knowledge is power’ and colleges aim at broadening a student in underst

...

anding thus there is need to embrace college education overlooking those who find it not worth.

Their Side

There are many claims formulated to argue against college education.

Such arguments include the debt that is associated with going through college education and the effects that it has in the long run over the life of a person. Based on this argument, some people feel that it is not worth having higher education and later in the future spend most of their money paying for it. With the different opinions that people hold on higher education, it is clear that there is no laid answer to the question of whether college education is worth it. People have differences and there are reasons behind every person having different opinions about a certain matter (Bennett, 87). For instance, people that have already established their businesse

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

feel that there is no need for higher education as it would bring any advancement to their careers. School children feel that they would want to advance their education and create a path for their future.

They believe that their lives can only be made better through acquiring higher education. However, the benefits of higher education outweigh the disadvantages. People should understand that there are different careers in the world some of which require advanced education while others don’t. a doctor for instance needs to have a deep and clear understanding of the human body so as to avoid messing up during their diagnosis and treatment of a patient. Some other careers only require basic education for instance self employment in the buying of goods and services. Some careers become better once an individual advance their levels of education.

It is important for one to have knowledge irrespective of whichever career they are in. through higher education, people get to learn new things and new ways of living (Leonhardt, 72). There is no comparison between people that have undertaken higher education and those that have not in relation to their levels of knowledge.

What Can I Agree With

Higher education is worth irrespective of its cost. There are people who pursue college education and not necessarily with incurring debts as college fees, while others have to take debts in order to afford college education. It is not hard for a person to cover the debt if they pursue higher education and end up securing employment in their related fields.

Using Andrew’s explanation, Derrick Madison has given an average cost for college education which is not as much as

people may approximate. He also explains that a person with a college degree earns approximately $2.4 million in a year (Taylor, 127). On the other hand, a person with a high school diploma earns approximately $1.3 million for the same period of time. As a result, a person with higher education earns twice as much as a high school level earns. Based on this explanation, it is much easier for a person to repay their debt after school. The argument that college education might make one become a long term debtor is phased out due to the fact that it is much easier for a person to pay off their debts through securing job opportunities that earn them high income.

With people having different talents and abilities, college education may not be of any benefit to them. On the other hand, college education does not necessarily aim at making one rich or having money to clear off their debts. It is as well a way of ensuring one is experienced in different parts of living. Some people also fail to understand that time spent in college is not wasted but is a learning experience to those in the learning institutions. A person may spend a lot of time in college something that many people might be against as they argue that they would be spending such time building up their talents or other careers (Oreopoulos, 91). As people view it as a waste of time, there are others who find it as a way of utilizing time.

There are people who have never identified their talents or have their only talent as learning. The best place for

them to be is in learning institutions where they are able to learn new things thus exploring the education world.

My Side

College education is valued and in some societies, those people that don’t have it are considered as outcasts. There are other parents who don’t value education meaning that their children end up acquiring poor education that may never assist them in their future. As an investment, education should be embraced and given the first priority in the life of a child.

Parents should also learn to be optimistic about their children’s education even though it may not earn them money through jobs. Knowledge installed in children is a store of value for their future (Bennett, 71). Governments of different countries should aim at supporting children from poor families so that they can acquire higher education. In doing so, it would be possible to motivate them and enable them develop their talents while still in the learning institutions. College education is not only a way of feeding students with information but giving them important knowledge that can be utilized in the student’s life in future.

What Could They Potentially Agree With?

There is no comparison between people that have undergone college education and those that have not.

Undergoing higher education enables one to have an open mind about matters that affect their lives. Although not all people benefit from undergoing higher education, many have become better persons in their lives as a result of the knowledge that they have gained through higher institutions of learning. There are those that are lucky so that they get jobs immediately after completing college education (Parker, 63). Others are not

lucky but they end up becoming better in the jobs that they do especially self employment.

Therefore, higher education is important in the society due to the contributions that it makes. A learned person is of importance in the society as they add more value to the community as compared to those that are not learned.

Compromise

I agree with Andrew that there is need to overlook the cost and time spent in learning and focus on its importance that it brings in the society. Learning can be of different types. Those people with talents also require training so as to develop them adequately. Without higher learning, there would be gaps left in the world as there would be inadequacies.

For instance, there would be no engineers, pilots and doctors. All these professionals have talents but their skills need to be developed and added value through higher education (Bennett, 93). They spend a lot of time studying and acquiring such education is expensive to them. however, once they are through with learning, they are able to secure jobs in their respective nations or foreign states thus earning high income. Besides, they meet a need in many societies by ensuring that health is maintained.

If such people did not spend their time and money in doing such studies, they would not have benefits in the future. Repaying the debt incurred in learning is earned within a short period in their careers. Parents have an obligation of ensuring that their children get the best type of education. They should always aim at investing heavily in the learning sector and hope that their children will have more value at the end

of their learning course. Additionally, parents should understand that education is all about gaining knowledge and understanding different perspectives of life. A student may not end up having employment but with knowledge in them, they add value to the society in different fields.

Self employment has clearly shown the difference between the learned and not learned based on how they are run. Success is witnessed where a person has acquired higher education compared to one who has not (Leonhardt, 103). The higher education sector has also advantages based on the fact that one can be in school any time irrespective of their age. Some people that are already working can still go back to school and advance their skills. With respect to this, higher education is convenient and affordable to people already in the job market.

Conclusion

In conclusion, higher education is a choice that people make. There are people with the ability to acquire it but are not willing. On the other hand, there are others who are willing while they do not have the ability to acquire it. There are others who have a different opinion regarding higher education and as a result may never advocate for it.

However, the benefits associated with higher learning outweigh the disadvantages associated with it. It is important that people aim at acquiring knowledge irrespective of the cost it has. They should focus on the fact that the long term benefits that are brought about by higher education (Oreopoulos, 187). Focusing on the cost and time spent on higher education, people might be discouraged on going through it. Other people have realized the benefits of this education and are willing

to incur any cost to acquire it. Such people have the prospect of securing well paying jobs and having better lives.

Based on Andrew’s argument, I contend with his explanation as it is clear that college education is more of beneficial than disadvantageous.

Work Cited

  1. Parker, Kim, et al. Is college worth it?: College presidents, public assess value, quality and mission of higher education. Pew Research Center, 2011.
  2. Bennett, William John, and David Wilezol. Is college worth it?: A former United States secretary of education and a liberal arts graduate expose the broken promise of higher education. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2013.
  3. Leonhardt, David. "Is college worth it? Clearly, new data say." The New York Times 5.27 (2014): 14.
  4. Taylor, Paul, et al. Is College Worth It?. Pew Social and Demographic trends, 2011.
  5. Oreopoulos, Philip, and Uros Petronijevic. Making college worth it: A review of research on the returns to higher education. No. w19053. National Bureau of Economic Research, 2013.
  6. Bennett, William J, and David Wilezol. Is College Worth It?: A Former United States Secretary of Education and a Liberal Arts Graduate Expose the Broken Promise of Higher Education.

    Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc, 2013. Internet resource.

Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New