Summary Of Is College For Everyone By Pharinet

In Pharinet’s AssociatedContent.com blog essay, “Is College For Everyone?” she discusses the reality that not every person should attend college. Pharinet aims to convince her readers that it is okay to believe college is not made for everyone, that some people only feel obligated to further their education because if not, they will not lead happy, successful lives. The writer achieves her purpose through various rhetorical strategies, such as rhetorical questions, repetition, and an appeal to logic.
As a college professor herself, Pharinet is a first-hand witness to the difficulties college students face. College brings academic and financial challenges that not all people are made to cope with. Pharinet acknowledges how, “the cost of college

Some people carry the responsibility of repaying student loans well into their adulthood. The writer suggests these people should consider a different pathway in order to not deal with that responsibility. Even if financial difficulties can possibly be taken care of, college brings on rigorous academic challenges as well. Not every student is equipped with the skills to succeed in college; in fact, Pharinet states that, “there are students who cannot read attending college” (Pharinet 680). Although a rare case, it completely goes against the idea that college is for everyone. Pharinet follows with a string of rhetorical questions for readers to begin to reflect on this idea. “Why do we rely on SAT scores and high school transcripts? Why doesn’t every school have an open admissions policy?” (Pharinet 680) It is simply because not all people are up for the challenge. Later in the article, Pharinet shares her personal experiences with her own students. Students who have, “no real desire for learning,” (Pharinet 681). These students are just content with the minimum requirement to pass a class, “C’s get

It comes down to wanting to, “get a good job, or appease your parents, or because ‘you’re finding yourself’” (Pharinet 681). However, it is important to explore other options and decide what the best choice is. Pharinet emphasizes this through the strategic method of repetition, “It is OK to say this! It is OK to believe this! ...it is OK to not attend college.” (Pharinet 681). The writer makes sure to clarify that no one should be ashamed to admit there are better options than going to college, no one is being put down. Despite popular belief, “higher education is not the key to happiness and success for every person,” (Pharinet 681). For instance, look at all the musicians and actors who did not go to college, yet lead very successful lives. Pharinet concludes her essay by bringing to light the reality that a lot of people have found happiness in careers that do not require a college education. If society continues to push a college education on everyone, jobs such as, “fork lift drivers, factory workers, sales clerks, and cashiers… mail carriers, construction worker,” (Pharinet 682) would all diminish. The fact is not all people should attend college. Pharinet appeals to logic becomes evidently clear here because without people to fill these position what would society do? It does not make sense to force people to attend college just because of “political