Higher Education Proclamation Essay

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Higher Education Proclamation Bill Gates once said, “I would counsel people to go to college, because it is one of the best times in your life in terms of who you meet and develop a broad set of intellectual skills” (n.d). This quote demonstrates the benefits of college and the impact on a person's life. The quote encourages the reader to go to college for the experiences and skills they will gain. The decision to go to college is a very influential and important decision in a person’s life. The decision can affect future income, debt and a successful life as a whole. How one's life unfolds hinges on this choice. The investment in a college degree results in a more successful life because of the better income and experiences. …show more content…

As said by J. R. Abel (2014), “ However, an analysis of the economic returns to college since the 1970s demonstrates that the benefits of both a bachelor’s degree and an associate’s degree still tend to outweigh the costs, with both degrees earning a return of about 15 percent over the past decade” (para. 1). Having a bachelor’s or associate’s degree has historically given graduates an advantage over those who did not go to college. This could be because of the worth of a collegiate diploma in the workforce. Again and again, starting in the 20th century, we see that those who do not go to college have an uphill battle when it comes to getting a stable and reliable profession. Without a profession, supporting a family or chasing your dreams is nearly impossible. According to J. Wanner (2015), “We employ data from the March CPS for the period between 1964 and 2011 to compute the present discounted values of a college degree and high school diploma for different percentiles of income distributions in both education categories. We find that for a median income individual net value of a college degree is always positive” (para. 1). This excerpt explains that since 1964, the average income of a college graduate is always positive, despite student debt. So, the benefits of a college degree in the workforce have historically given graduates stable income. Overall, the benefits of going to college have consistently outweighed the cost throughout the past