Summary Of Is College For Everyone

What’s on the mind of most high school seniors throughout their final year of high school? For most its college, and many of those students do not have a clue about what they are about to get themselves into. In today’s society, a college education is a vital step in getting yourself into a good career. But one author argues otherwise. Pharinet the author of the essay “Is college for Everyone” states that college is not for everyone and you do not need college to be successful in society. Pharinet gets the point across by giving specific reasons as to why college is not for everyone. Pharinet begins the essay by asking a simple question “More and more students are enrolling in two and four year schools, but why?” The author states

Pharinet then brings up the fact that many students are not ready for the financial challenges such as the cost of food, rent, gasoline, spending money, and other supplies besides books. As for the academic reasons Pharinet says that some students do not have the desire to learn. The author then points out that there are many other options besides college. Students could attend a trade school or take a year or so off to consider who you are and what you want to do with their life. Pharinet uses specific examples to make the argument to her target audience, whom are the parents that are contemplating sending their kids to college and students getting ready to graduate high school. While many people who read this will probably disagree with her that not all students should go to college, Pharinet is still successful in defending her argument by giving reasons like the academic and financial challenges of college. This allows her readers to see that some students can easily get in over their heads. Another thing that society tells us is that college is needed to be successful and have a high paying career. Pharinet counters this by explaining to her audience that there are countless numbers of people who have found careers that don’t require a

Granted Pharinet gives multiple examples and refutations, her argument was not as strong as it could have been. An example would be “C’s get degrees.” One of her students told her, and she says that’s the mentality among college students. Just because one student said that doesn’t mean his/her voice speaks for all students. Pharinet uses an authoritative tone and word choice that is very firm and to the point, that really plays your emotions “Not everyone should attend college. It is OK to say this!” or “There are too many students enrolled in school who simply don’t belong there.” By her word choice it sounds like she is yelling at the audience which may turn off some readers, instead she should present more opposition. A final argument that could be made that would strengthen the authors positon would be that she could have chosen better examples of careers that do not require a college education. Firemen, police officers, military, and skilled trades such as electricians or plumbers are all better examples than the ones cited. Overall, the argument Pharinet makes in “Is College for Everyone?” is effective because she can back up her belief that college is not for everyone by giving specific examples that are clear for her