Essay Sample on Is College Worth Investing Time and Money, Pros and Cons

Introduction

The debate for going to college still remains relevant and strong. On average, going to college is regarded as a productive investment that guarantees students' better lives. In the past, some were selected to go to colleges and others not to go. Currently, with that basic comprehension being irrelevant and inapplicable, there is an effective overreach aimed at “debate for affordable college for everyone." Is the college worth it? For many students, going to college is never a decision but inevitability. Many people believe that an investment in higher education has become too expensive for most low and medium income families. In the past years, the overall idea has been if an individual can get into a college. Regarding the heightening cost of higher education, the public is beginning to question whether college is actually a worthy investment. However, if everyone attended college, there would be an increase in college graduates' labor supply; thus, the relative wages that identify college returns are likely to change. Social network can motivate young people to strive to go to college since not only does it help to minimize rate of crime, but it also guarantees some level of better life in future. Most medium-income families' ineffectiveness is not a reason to prevent one from going to college. Because of the overrated fantasy regarding going to college, the number of individuals offered to attend higher education levels should be effectively regulated by both the federal government and county governments. Young people should be motivated to strive to go to college by taking advantage of social funding programs and any other financing platforms.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The strive for college degrees may end up being an inappropriate deal for various people. There is a need for a dash of relatively more realism in this discussion. Owen and Sawhill stated that “for certain majors, occupation and individuals, college may not be a smart investment.” Getting everyone to attend college is a heavenly fantasy that may not actually represent a real path to a better life in the future for several people and that college may not be the best option for everyone.

According to Owen and Sawhill, the primary reason for claiming that everyone should go to college is that an adequate literacy level helps to significantly minimize the rate of crime in the society and that attending myriad college provides opportunities for an individual to help them live a better life (Owen and Sawhill 220). Even though the high increase in the attendances of colleges has brought many benefits such as the decrease in crime rate and enhancement of students’ life, college education are not in any way the only way to be able to attain a better life, especially when addressing the reasons provided by both Owen and Sawhill.

Basically, almost every child has a dream or the ambition to grow up and be highly paid professionals. To achieve these dreams, one has to go through college, graduate, and gain access to the vibrant job market. In the article ‘Should everyone go to college,’ Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill argue the advantages and disadvantages of going to college. They argued that higher learning is a significant investment bound to guarantee a better life (Owen and Sawhill 208). One of the key benefits of attending college is earning a higher salary than someone with a lower education level. Besides the monetary aspect, going to college also improves individuals' lives by ensuring job satisfaction, better health, improved parenting, and providing a social life due to liberal education (Murray 237). As a result, a college education provides a tremendous return, thus making a case for everyone to ensure they invest in the process of higher learning. On the other hand, going to college may not as lucrative as advertised. Owen and Sawhill also pointed out the rising cost of college in terms of fees and time spent are significant reasons to think twice before investing (210). Students may spend heavily and invest years for that Bachelor's degree and fail to graduate or benefit altogether. Although college may have its drawbacks, it remains the most formidable gateway to success by providing students an avenue to build a foundation for their careers and help guarantee a bright future.

Future

One of the key reasons people go to college is to earn a high income, allowing them to live comfortable lives. After earning the first college degree, some people will go back to school to earn a higher degree to be more marketable, earn more money, or secure that promotion. According to Owen and Sawhill, college graduates earn more than high school graduates with raw differences of $15,000 initially (210); the difference increased to up to $46,500 by 50 (Owen and Sawhill 211). Therefore, if one wants that expensive car, luxurious house, and elegant life, they have to go through college to help them gain meaningful employment to guarantee higher salaries to afford this lifestyle. Attending college may help young people be relatively more independent since they would get to know how to manage time and money effectively. The students can also be able to meet new people and create a beneficial network of like-minded friends. Moreover, it is presumed that college graduates tend to have a more significant range of jobs and attract higher salaries during their career and working life.

However, one does not necessarily have to go to college to guarantee higher pay. The young population needs not to be pressurized that they must go to college no matter what comes may. Most politicians who believe that those who go to colleges tend to be more beneficial to the government tend to facilitate the idea of everyone to go to college; this may build unrealistic expectations among the population (Murray 250-251).

Attending college also provides a myriad of opportunities for students to help them live better lives. There are countless courses for students to choose from, including engineering, education, computers, and communications, so students have the luxury of selecting from these courses to suit their interests and capabilities. Most of the critical inventions, such as computers, mobile phones, and household appliances, are the works of college graduates' minds; these inventions have enabled people to live better lives. Attending college also helps people by equipping them with life skills. These skills help them be better parents, live healthy lifestyles and help them make friends (Owen and Sawhill 221). Healthy lifestyles can result from affording nutritious food, recognizing the importance of working out, which are benefits of going to college. Therefore, if everyone went to college, there would be a pool of bright minds that will bring forth new ideas to make the world a better place and a happier population.

Guarantees

Nonetheless, college is not the only guarantee of a better life. Everyone must go to college to help improve lives by creating more doctors and nurses to save lives, additional engineers to build roads, and teachers' nurturing minds. The variations among blue, pink, and white-collar jobs are encompassed with character and motivations. For instance, those who have to work without necessarily going to colleges such as stylists or plumbers also have a better life to live with some of them being very successful (Rose 278-279).

A bachelor's degree from a college is not the best investment. Murray suggests that lifetime earnings workers with degrees vary depending on factors such as occupation and college major (242-243). Concerning return on investment, public schools have higher returns than private schools. Arguing that everyone should go to college is therefore unfounded since other factors must come to play. Moreover, more selective schools offer better and higher returns compared to less selective schools. "There is enormous variation in the so-called return to education depending on factors such as institution attended, the field of study, whether a student graduates and post-graduation occupation" (Owen and Sawhill 208). The rate of an individual’s success may depend on their levels of aggressiveness and social networks after graduating from their varied colleges.

Everyone should go to college to help reduce crime rates since some of the compulsory school laws tend to obliged people to stay in school relatively longer. Owen and Sawhill argued that education benefitted society by reducing crime rates (210). Crime is often associated with low-income areas and a lack of education. The need for money drives crime in the form of theft, carjacking, selling illegal drugs, and lack of employment. People with no means to earn money or those who do not earn sufficient amounts result in criminal activities.

The Article “should everyone go to college" published by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill clearly argues on the issues regarding college education among the public and its impact on the entire community; they also highlight both the advantages and disadvantages of going to college (Owen and Sawhill 220). Furthermore, the authors make a sensational claim that the college education is an effective investment that is bound to guarantee a better life in future for the students, and that the possible rise in the rise in college attendance tends to create a metaphorical earthquake with a magnitude that is likely to enhance more innovative ideas to be witnessed in the world. Moreover, Owen and Sawhill offer various evidences from other studies regarding the issue and their personal opinions and observations relevant to their claims.

Conclusion

It is emphasized that college-educated individuals tend to have averagely higher wages; it may be inappropriate to downplay the strains that ordinary income-earning people undergo to attain a college education. A rise in the attendance of college is one of the significant public policy currently (Freeman 260). However, some decent careers that may not need college degrees still exist; it would definitely be inappropriate to want more individuals to go to college; they currently provide the existing jobs and colleges. Students need counseling to identify the best options.