This brings forward the question as to whether or not college degrees are worth it anymore. The cost of college has risen by thousands of dollars, even with inflation taken into account. The high demand for certain jobs is resulting in a lower pay for these jobs, so graduates are forced to take low paying job while also being confronted with massive student loan debts and an expensive costs of living upon graduation. Those with bachelors degrees will easily spend over 15 years repaying their student loan debt, and people who pursue higher education can spend their entire lives repaying their debt. The cost of higher education in the United States often discourages people from fulfilling their educational goals. There are, indeed, grants avaliable to low income students, but many families who fall just above the line of low income still can not afford to send their children to college. Aditionally, the competition for academic scholarships is growing, so even high achieving students are not eligible of receiving these scholarships.
In the present time, college is still a wise investment that will lead to a more comfortable standard of living than someone without a degree could normally achieve, yet, as the situation worsens, the cost of getting an education could make attending college impractical. I'd like to hear your outlook regarding this issue. Should college be cheaper, or as some argue, free? Should the system remain as it is? Should recent graduates receive help with things like loan debt, housing accommodations, and other commodities or should they be left to face the "real world" as it is?
Monday, July 13, 2020
The Thousand Dollar Incommodity: Is College the Right Choice?
Everything about college seems to be on the rise, from the competition to earn a spot in top schools, to overall enrollment rate, and consequently, the cost of college. The National Center for Education Statics found that between 2000 and 2018, the percentage of people with bachelors degrees has risen by 8%; this is part of a larger increase rate which dates back to 1940, and shows no signs of stopping. With this in mind, college degrees are simply not worth as much as they once were and are gradually becoming a substandard prerequisite for careers that are now high in demand.
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Let me start this off with saying that college definitely should not be free for everybody. It would cost a fortune to maintain and create more national debt. Also, college is not for straight F- students. By making college free, we are allowing these kids to get into college without hard work. There would not be a point in taking AP classes if you were gong to get accepted anyway. I do agree, however, that college should be cheaper to reduce the costs after a person graduates. I also agree that students from a lower income who also achieved highly in school should receive some sort of financial help. After they graduate, however, everyone should be left to face this "real world." By then, they should hopefully be getting hired for a job and be able to able to provide for themselves. Yes college is expensive, but if we think about it as an investment (and hopefully did not major in useless things like underwater basket weaving), it should end up in someone making enough money to pay off their loans in a relatively short amount of time. I still think attending college could be practical if you are majoring in useful degrees. However, there are still many good alternatives to going to college. Trade schools are widely available for a cheaper cost than college which make them extremely promising to lower income families. My cousin took a 6 month program and went from a struggling minimum wage bartender to a full time biomedical technician almost instantly after he completed the program. Trade schools in most cases take a way shorter amount of time than college. The military also provides on hands experience of everything ranging the medical field to computer science for free. They also have programs where they will pay for your college tuition. My point is, although college is still practical and beneficial, it is not necessary. We don't need the glitz and glamour of going to Harvard in order to make a good income anymore. If college really is out of financial reach or the student does not want an insane amount of debt, I would say it is best not to go at all. There are a lot of other possibilities if you are willing to work hard.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zachary in that college shouldn't be free in that if it were to be free, then the value of college education would go down. Many people I know who's already graduated from college say that it's like high school 2.0, and making it free would only make it more so. Also to expand on free college, this action would raise taxes to pay staff, supplies, and maintenance. As far as my knowledge goes, I am sure expenses such as tuition, fees, and books are tax deductible. But if college is free taxes would be laid upon the working class. As with loan debt, there definitely should be help as some medical students take up to 20 years to pay off all student loan debt, which is insane. College is not the only option as there is also trade school and military for benefits mentioned by Zachary.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that college shouldn’t be free because it’s only natural that tuition costs exist in order to be put towards materials that allow one to pursue a higher form of education that’s not offered in free public schools. This is especially true for people going after degrees in STEM. Yet, the costs seem to be rising without context, and education should definitely be cheaper for all levels of education. However, I do disagree with one part of your reply, which mentions that the value of a college education would go down if the cost was lowered or made free. Afterall, people would still have to earn a spot in their university of choice, meaning that the only reason that a degree would be worth less would be because more people earning a degree from a specific university. I don’t think that a lower cost would necessarily increase the number of admissions into universities annually, but just make it so that high achievers from high school are not turned away from college because of the high costs.
DeleteAs more people desire to attend college, the price will continue to go up. I oppose to the cost of having to go to college. Since when did going to college become such a risk? Yes I agree, that there are alternatives to having a form of education besides college. However, we were taught to believe going to college is the best option. I doubt colleges will give higher scholarships or help student debts when they know we see it as our only path to take after graduating. Of course this doesn't apply to everyone, but it is the most common choice by students. I noticed Mia, your point that having a degree has become a standard in having a career. With that standard, we continue to compete with one another even after college. Like you said, having a degree will no longer be such an advantage in career hunting. Many people even struggle to find jobs with the degrees they have. People have jobs unrelated to their studied major. With these cases, having a degree does seem impractical. Attending college should not be such a demanding goal and a reflection of someone's status.
ReplyDeleteI really like your outlook on the situation because despite there being alternatives to college, like you said, college is the most practical pathway after high school. I think this especially applies to lower income households, whose families oftentimes have limited knowledge of pathways after high school, yet it is these households struggling to pay tuition costs. As it gradually becomes a substandard prerequisite, I don’t think the costs should be so high. The amount of money someone’s willing to put forward towards education shouldn’t determine their opportunities in the workforce, and it’s ironic how this money could easily go to waste because of the heightened competition.
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