Should Everyone Go To College Isabel Sawhill Analysis

Attending college is an important life choice everyone should make. Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, the authors of Should Everyone Go to College?, explore that “…the median earnings of about $30,000 for 25-34-year old high school graduates working full-time in 2010, this implies that a year in college increases earnings by $3,000, and four years increases them by $12,000” (They Say/I Say pg.209/para. 3). In the Owen and Sawhill article they provide information on the difference in a person’s salary with a high school diploma compared to a person’s salary with a one year certificate and a bachelor’s degree. Owen and Sawhill continues on to state that, “there are many non-monetary benefits of schooling that are harder to measure but no less important” (They Say/I Say pg.210/para.3). The authors used information gathered from research reports that they conducted to determine salary and/or wage earnings for an individual who attends one year of college versus four years of college. In the next section, the authors discuss non-monetary benefits of attending college.

Not only does college increase one’s possibility of higher earnings, furthermore his or her skills will be enhanced by simply attending. Owen and Sawhill state that, “Research suggests that additional education improves overall wellbeing by affecting things like job satisfaction, health, marriage, parenting, trust, and social interaction” (pg. 210/para. 3). In fact, college can help an individual manage his or her time, money and also help with problem solving, as well as social interaction. Therefore, the complete college experience helps an individual improve him/herself in everyday