College is a Waste of Time and Money “College Is a Waste of Time and Money” written by Caaroline Bird introduces the topic to college and high school graduates; Caroline Bird’s claim is that she urges the reader to reconsider why it’s best not to attend college. Her premise is “college is a waste of time and money.” She explores her premise thru topics such as why students attend college?,cost of college, career preparation, material learned, job market outlook, estimates of students in college and financial return on school. Caroline Bird throughout the article uses interviews, statistics and personal real life stories of families, to demonstrate her claim. She uses a variety of ethos,pathos,logic, logical fallacies and assumptions. Also, …show more content…
She states,”According to the estimates made by the economist Fritz Machlup, if we been educating every young person until age 22 in that year 1970, the bill for higher education would have reached 47.5 billion dollars, 12.5 billion more than the total corporate profits for the year” (429). When Bird mentions, Fritz Machlup, an economist he guesses for the year 1970, if every young person were educated till 22 years of age; the bill would be at 47.5 billion, 12.5 billion dollars higher than the business profits. When the audience looks at the statement, few things stick out for example “economist,” so the reader assumes he or she is highly knowledgeable in their field. Then if every young 22 year old educated, the total bill would 47.5 billion, which catches the readers attention towards the end of the quote its stated “12.5 billion more than the total corporate profits for the year”(429). Not only awareness is raised, but terms such as “total corporate profits,” which refers to what the business brought in after taxes makes the reader thnk in business sense. The ethos statement bird mentions is highly critical, the reason being the cost of education is very high, and the tax payer ultimately deals with the
In his article “Why Do You Think They’re Called For-Profit Colleges?” Kevin Carey offers harsh criticisms of for-profit colleges by claiming that they are directly to blame for the disproportionately high quantity of debt that their postgraduate students acquire. His primary reasoning for such is that for-profit colleges are charging more for their degrees than they are actually worth. He himself writes, “for-profits charge much more than public colleges and universities. Many of their students come from moderate- and low-income backgrounds…
Recently, many have begun to attack and degrade higher education in the United States. In the book How College Works, authors Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs claim, “As state support has eroded, and as more students attend college in an increasingly desperate attempt to find viable jobs, the price to students of attending an institution of higher education has gone up, especially at more selective institutions” (172). So is college even worth it? Caroline Bird’s excerpt from her book Case Against College “Where College Fails Us” is an adequately written article that agrees with those who question whether college is a good investment. Bird argues that although some students would benefit from college and succeed, many fall short, wasting
In today’s society, it has been found out that college graduates have a hard time seeking a job and end up with a sky-high student debt. This reality then poses a question, is going to college worth the time and money? An essay in the New York Times published in May 2014 entitled, “Is College Worth It? Clearly New Data Say,” by David Leonhardt states, “For all the struggles that many young college graduates face, a four-year degree has probably never been more valuable” (33). In his essay, Leonhardt sets the stage by describing the struggles a college graduate might have such as student debt, no work after graduating, and accepting jobs they feel overqualified.
Larry Cuban's’ persuasiveness The percentage of U.S students in the age 18-24 enrolled in college has increased from 35 percent in 2000 to 41 percent in 2010, and according to The Washington Post, only 27 percent of college graduates have a job related to their degrees. Forbes.com states that as many as 60 percent of college graduates struggle to find jobs in their field. Larry Cuban debates where college graduates go when they graduate. The article “Why everyone shouldn't go to college” is republished by Valerie Straus, for The Washington Post, and Cuban uses both ethos and logos throughout the article to emphasize his points and persuade the readers, which he does well.
He believes that a young man should become an electrician, something he is already good at, rather than go to college to become a manager, something that he doesn't have natural skills for. Murray is comparing the income expectation and says, speaking of the young man, "Realistically, he should be looking at the incomes toward the bottom of the distribution of managers." (p. 2). In this statement Murray is assuming that the man never gets better at the skills needed to be a manager. He assumes that after four years of college the young man is still only average in interpersonal and intrapersonal abilities.
Also, Carey uses a sarcastic tone throughout his article. This shows to the audience that he is almost mocking the for-profits and that he does not believe what the for-profits are doing is right, but also that the traditional schools are in the wrong as well. Next, he uses a few rhetorical questions to get the reader thinking. For example, when Carey is mentioning the benefits that for-profits have he says “who was more focused on public interest?” (Carey).
Caroline Bird discusses, in “College is a waste of Time and Money,” her opinion on the recurring failure of education in universities. Bird alleges that college is not for everyone, but society forces high school graduates to go to college. College is believed to be the ticket to a successful career, however it some cases it is a waste of time because some classes are worthless. Those who actually decide to go to college, do so because it is a safe haven and it is payed for by parents. It is at the end a waste of time and money, according to Caroline Bird.
When people think of college they tend to focus on whether it may or may not set them up for a successful financial future. However, in his article “Colleges Prepare People for Life”, Freeman Hrabowski reminds us this is not the sole purpose of a college education. Mr. Hrabowski builds his argument by adjusting a template that introduces us to the ongoing debate over the merits of a college education. After, Mr. Hrabowski has introduced the popular opinions on the topic he empathizes that both sides are missing the bigger picture.
Students often leave high school with the mentality that they must enter a college. However, in the book, Is College Worth It?, by William J. Bennett and David Wilezol debates the positive and negative aspects of attending college. It is not known which was the first university to appear in the United States, but the most notorious college to be established in the 1600s was Harvard University. Since the 1600s, colleges have only been increasing in an abundant of states in the United States. Unfortunately, Bennett and Wilezol, first two chapters introduce the negative aspects of college; and, chapters three and four are universal arguments that go against each other.
What’s on the mind of most high school seniors throughout their final year of high school? For most its college, and many of those students do not have a clue about what they are about to get themselves into. In today’s society, a college education is a vital step in getting yourself into a good career. But one author argues otherwise. Pharinet the author of the essay “Is college for Everyone” states that college is not for everyone and you do not need college to be successful in society.
Is college for everyone? This question that most high/college students have asked themselves some time in their life. Pharinet evaluates this notion in his blog posted in 2007 on AssociatedContent.com “Is College for Everyone” in which she uses her experience, logic, emotion and reasoning as a college professor to identify the issues and answer the question, “is college for everyone? Many individuals believe that obtaining a college degree is needed in order for success to be obtained.
Millennials today are swimming in debt that is caused by attending college today in the United States. Debt continues to proceed in the equation of many college participants lives but, many Americans do not have to fear, for the career they acquire or the jobs they attend have a great chance of paying their debts off. This paper will be focusing on how college is worth the cost, and isn’t money down the drain using studies and statistical data that prove college is money well spent. College pertains to life and provides another step onto climbing the ladder of success. The beginning steps would be to of course be to go through and pass primary and secondary school.
“College is a Waste of Time and Money” is an essay written by Caroline Bird which expresses the view that college is not essential to adulthood, is a poor investment, and adults should not assert to young adults that going to college is the right thing to do. Bird gives an immensely strong argument that “It has become too expensive in money, time, and intellectual effort to serve as a holding pen for large numbers of our young” (Bird, 436). After reading the essay, it is evident that a great percentage of the students attending college do not actually want to be there and are attending due to the reiteration that college is a necessity. Thus, college is now a money-making industry and focuses on the social aspect of college rather than the
“Is College the best option why or why not discusses the controversial issue of whether college is important or not. On one hand, while some argue that college is very important. Stephanie Owens and Isabel Sawhill writers of article “Should Everyone Go to College” asserts that we may be doing a disservice by telling all young people that college is the best option. Owens feels that college may be of service to some people, but not the best option for everyone.
A rising issue in today’s society is deciding whether or not college is worth the cost. There is an extreme amount of pressure that is forced upon high school students by parents, teachers, and peers to further their education and attend college. However, there is research that challenges the thought that college is the best possible path for a person to take. College may be a great investment for some people, but it is not meant for everyone. This is supported by the arguments that colleges are expensive, jobs do not always require a college degree, and students are forced to choose a lifestyle before being exposed to the real world.