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Personal Statement

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Growing up, I was always told that in order to make a good living, I had to first do well in school. If I focused on my studies, I would then be accepted into a good college, and by repeating the process, I would be able to get a good job. I lived the majority of my life to this idea, and still to this day dedicate my time to insure that I do well in school to make sure that I can have a good future. I worked my way into classes that would challenge and keep me engaged, taking the course with the most rigorous courses that met the requirements for the schools highest degree. I made sure that I remained on the honor role, and any mistake that I made along the way I was determined to correct. Outside of school, I attended as many extracurricular …show more content…

“How many of you believe that you do not need to go to college to get a good job?” Our class was part of a program that students had to apply to get into, and based on their grades and application they would either be denied or allowed entry. Everyone in that classroom went through the same ordiel with the same, or at the very least similar, mindset that I did. As a result, to no ones surprise, no in the class raised their hand. It was the way we were raised, and it seemed completely logical. College was the gateway to a plethora of professions that would give us a sustainable lifestyle. The teacher even commented on this idea, calling us out on our shared belief, not saying their was anything wrong but that we all had this mindset because it is the way our generation is being raised. More and more people are going to college because it has become the belief that that is your only chance. He never told us we were wrong, because in many ways we were not. Most high paying jobs require a college degree in order to be even be eligible, and in many cases years of dedication and earning a higher degree are required to be even considered. My teacher never told me that I shouldn’t stay with this mindset, but he did offer to challenge it. He told us, “If your goal was to make enough money in order to live a decent life, college is a waste of

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All your life you are told you need to go to college to be successful. In reality college is a chance to be successful but, doesn’t mean that you will be. In his article “Americas Most Overrated Product” Marty Nemko talks about college student statistics stating, "College is a wise choice for far fewer people than are currently encouraged to consider it” (527). Nemko states, “Among high school students who graduated in the bottom forty percent of their classed, and whose first institutions were four-year colleges, two thirds had not earned diplomas eight years later” (523). People who end up getting college diplomas hardly ever work in the career that they have a degree in, let alone can get jobs that require a degree.

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In the article, “Should Everyone Go to College,” authors, Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill’s, published by the Brookings Institution, discusses the benefits of a college education. The article begins by mentioning the arguments related to the requirement of having a college degree while entering the middle class in the United States. Having a college degree reminds people that higher education is the best advancement humans can make to allow them to make more money in their lifetimes, rather than if they just had a high school education. A fact that does not get much attention is not all college graduates, or college degrees, are equal. Even though Owen and Sawhill focus, in general, alternative career paths may result in equally lucrative

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Education is a big part of my life. In order to be as educated as I can be, and be prepared for my future, I have to take school seriously. In order to get good jobs, or the ones I really want, you must get a college degree. School is the framework of my life and should be taken seriously. I’ve worked my hardest

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In “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray writes, “Today, if you do not get a B.A., many people assume it is because you are too dumb or too lazy” (253). Basically, Murray is chastising the social norm for a young adult to get a college degree. Though I concede that expectations to go to college put on by counselors, parents, and the media are way too much, I still insist that everyone should be able to go to college regardless as it is financially beneficial and provides a unique perspective of the world. Although Murray puts up a good defense of how America infatuation with a college degree can lead to a class disparity, the author lacks the practicality of Core Knowledge, consideration of how a college education has its intrinsic and monetary merits that students can get by completing a degree, and an opposing view that a college degree does not necessarily lessen the

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For decades, students have been told that college is the next step after high school graduation. Society glorifies those that have a degree and looks down upon those who do not. Many students have not acquired the necessary tools nor have the motivation to be successful and face problems while pursuing post-high school education. Some argue that college provides a foundation in liberal studies that will improve career opportunities. Charles Murray disagrees in his essay, "Are Too Many People Going to College."

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I would have to agree with Charles because college is begin focused upon us by our teachers, guidance counselors and our parents. Being forced to going to college is not the best because if the young adult doesn’t want to pursue a higher degree, and forcing the person into college, he/she won’t want to study and the two or four years will be a waste of time. Charles other point he makes is that people who believe their smart want to go to college. I would have to disagree, why because everyone is equal and it’s their decision on whether they go to college. Even if you get bad grades in high school that not the case when you go to college.

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In making this statement, Murray is right about what he says. It is true that young people are pushed all the time to go to college. Although the situation has gotten better, many people always see the person who skips out on college as the odd and weird person. Many of people are going to college and studying something they have no interest in simply because their parents want them to or because they don’t want society to look down on them. Although getting a college degree does give a person much more security in the future, it is not the only option and not everyone should be pushed towards that choice.

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Some might say that college is a wastes of time and it doesn’t help anyone. Then try convince us that we should focus on our works skills and experience than wasting precious time on college. Also they will point out that college causes you to receive debt. Its true college will cause some debt but it is worth in the long run when people can be financially stable and not have to worry about many things in life, not have to struggle through life.

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College Isn’t for Everyone "By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice" (Owen). This quote from “Brookings Paper: Is College a Good Investment” goes into detail about how college isn’t for everyone. By educators, parents, and authority figures telling graduating high school seniors that college is necessary, they are limiting the potential of that student’s true skills. College isn’t right for everyone and not everyone wants to go to college.

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506 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout high school, my opinion on college and how I planned to approach my future changed drastically. As I became more exposed to people other than my family, I learned the importance of an education. In order to procure all available options for my future, a post secondary education must be obtained. Although my parents bestowed upon me the family genetics and taught me the mindset of the uneducated working class American, through self desire and a lust for knowledge I altered the course set for me to a brighter more enlightened

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Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is it quite necessary for college. Whereas some are convinced that going to college is more beneficial, others maintain on the idea that colleges isn't quite necessary. Most people would say that if you don’t go to college, then you’re basically considered a failure or a secondary class. “College is like your life.if you don’t go to college...you can’t live a successful life.” Schlock from “Not Going to College is a Viable Option” acknowledges that young kids are being told about college being the only way to live a better life.

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If a person’s parent or guardian drilled the idea of college into your head, or if they told you ‘do what you want’ or ‘I don 't care’, or ‘You’re not going’. While college is great, there are other means of education. The value of college is a low because there are people who do not qualify for a college education, and also because there are other ways of post-secondary education other than college. College is not valuable because many people will not make it into a 2 or 4-year college, much less graduate from one. To support this, in the article Why College Isn 't For Everyone, it says, “As a general rule, I would use graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality high school should go on to a four-year degree program, while those in the bottom quarter of their classes at a high school with a mediocre educational reputation should not.”

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There is an ample amount of information that leads people to believe that college is a great choice. In Source F, it is shown that, “Adults who graduated from a four-year college believe that, on average, they are earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten that degree. Adults who did not attend college believe that, on average they are earning $20,000 a year less as a result.” Also, provided in Source F, “...55% say it [college] was very useful in helping them prepare for a job or career.” While these statistics are true, the negatives still outweigh the positives.

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It is easy to think college is not worth the cost to become better, but getting educated makes people better, and happier in the future and sometimes even in better health (Leonhardt 25 ). Becoming a better and happier person is good for everyone. Even former President Obama says “‘Education helps us be better people. It helps us be better citizens. You came to college to learn about the world and to engage with new ideas and to discover the things you 're passionate about -- and maybe have a little fun’”

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In the article “ Why college isn’t( and shouldn’t have to be) for everybody” it states “For example, the emerging economy will need platoons of technicians able to install, service, and repair all the high-tech machinery filling up hospitals, offices, and factories.”(26) . “ Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” They feel they are compelled to get a college degree because they’ve been told that it was necessary to get a college degree, some people also think that if you go to a four-year college everyone would look down to their nose if they don’t have a college degree.. “ I think everyone should go to college and get a degree and then spend six months as a bartender and six months as a cabdriver.

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