College is the Best Option for Current Students

Most teenagers have had many high hopes and aspirations of what they wanted to be since they were younger. Although this can be an easy thought at first, many of these careers require more schooling besides the basic knowledge gained within a high school diploma. In order for their high hopes and goals to be attained, attending a four-year college or university is the next stepping stone after graduating from high school. College creates an opportunity for students to obtain a higher education by focusing their studies on one career major perhaps, with an appropriate minor. Curriculum at a private college may be focused on a specific major, while liberal arts colleges’ curriculums like Monmouth College, contain classes that satisfy the major but also include exploratory classes that expose students to new topics. Liberal arts colleges have various classes in studies that allows for more space for new learning. With all of this in mind, attending college continues to be an ongoing topic of discussion. Some people feel that it is a necessity for all students to attend, some view it as a bad financial investment, and others feel that it is only meant for the specific people who are intellectually above the average student. However, when it comes to the idea of attending college, it should be viewed as an opportunity for all people to continue their academic and life ambitions. No, college is not meant for everyone, but it is the best option for continued success after high school.

A successful student in college almost always translates to a successful person after graduation. After graduating, a person is more aware of the world they live in. These successful people are often times a “jack of all trades”. Their experiences from college give them multiple knowledges they can apply to the real world. Communication skills are a knowledge that a successful student can use immediately after graduation. Not only is communication speaking with different individuals, it is also listening to them. If you can listen just as well as you can speak, chances are you will be successful. The experience with communication and understanding different perspectives is often times taken for granted, but attending college creates an easier gateway to mastering these skills. A successful person will always carry these skills and knowledge with them.

Various skills, along with the knowledge gained through studying a major along with a minor, create successful individuals that are capable of adapting to the real world and at the same time finding a life they enjoy. Robert T. Perry shared his similar idea in his piece, “On Real Education”, where Perry explains that “people with postsecondary degrees also tend to be healthier, are more productive throughout their work lives, are more engaged in their communities, more philanthropic and are less likely to be involved in crime” (626). Individuals who have had the college experience and graduated have learned skills and strategies that can aid them in life difficulties and obstacles that they encounter. With advanced problem solving and an open mind toward finding different solutions, college graduates are capable of taking a step back and looking at problems in the work environment or even at home through multiple angles in order to solve a complication. Similar to what Perry mentions in the above quote, people who have a postsecondary degree tend to not only benefit themselves, but also benefit their communities and work environment leading to a better quality of life. An example of this would be how thousands of school teachers with a least a bachelors’ degree are also sports coaches at their respective schools. These teachers, that are coaches after school hours, are often times a huge influence in a students’ after curricular activities. The positive impact they impose on a students’ life can be the necessary guidance for a student in their future endeavors.

A successful student is also created by the classes they take and how well they engage themselves in the class. Only settling for a high school education can lead to an intellectual disadvantage. A higher education, as at a four-year liberal arts college, also broadens an individuals’ knowledge and opens them up to more opportunities to find a career for which they are qualified. A community college could offer this as well, but not all knowledge is acquired directly from the class room. Community College lacks the complete campus feel and the unified classmates that a four-year university has. A two year associates degree from a community college also calls for a more direct and narrow path to graduating, which can lead to classes that are not directly associated with graduating being left out. The option of having classes that include both a specific major and also alternative or exploratory classes is a smart choice. This type of curriculum shows different ideas to students so they can find their true calling and create an understanding of various studies. Margaret A. Miller, author of “The Privileges of the Parents”, states that “we have to be able to hop from job to job without loss of momentum as we acquire new skills and knowledge” (628). This statement supports the idea of a liberal arts college by showing that one individual will likely go through various jobs and careers, which also requires a variety of understandings and teachings attained in college classes that cover a variety of ideas and concepts. This type of exposure and learning can be found only at college and specifically occurs more frequently if a student attends a liberal arts institute.

While attending colleges and universities, students have access to various opportunities like internships, studying abroad, and summer programs that cannot be found outside of college. Although on the job training is comparable to these programs, it does not hold as much worth. These school programs give you an opportunity to work in the field while still receiving college credit, unlike on the job training. This shows that these programs hold an overall greater worth in peoples’ lives. Liberal art colleges such as Monmouth College offer the chance for students to study multiple degrees more easily, have closer relations to a diverse variety of internships, study abroad, and offer respectable summer programs that provide students a chance to be involved in research that is related to certain fields of study. However, according to Megan McArdle, author of Is “College a Lousy Investment”, “it’s very easy to spend four years majoring in English literature and beer pong and come out no more employable than you were before you went in”(3). This activity may seem easy and common, but students are taking in new ideas, topics, and facts every day they attend college. What makes this statement even more false is that a majority of the students’ activities on campus are actually useful for employment. Students at any college that possess a variety of unique ways to learn and gain experience are encouraged to try their best and learn from new situations. Exposure to just one of the opportunities that colleges offer could change a student’s life and outlook on the world for ever. Each individual experience builds employable skills whether they are studying on campus or researching in a lab. These numerous occasions expose students to fellow peers, new skills, complicated life decisions, and to new cultures leading to the student experiencing a different way of life and outlook upon the world they live in. College can also teach individuals to work with others that they may not choose personally by professors forming assigned groups in classes. This scenario is similar to the fact that people cannot choose their fellow employees and must learn to get along with them in a serious environment. The skills and abilities acquired at college, do not stop once an individual graduates from their university. In fact, they continue on into the future and stay with an individual for the rest of their life.

The characteristics developed and skills strengthened within the years spent at college favors the student during their career and life. Margaret A. Miller author of The Privileges of the Parents, provides statistical evidence in which the skills of college graduates continue on into the graduates’ future family. This statistical data shows that “The more highly educated the parents, the higher the grades of their children: 60.6 percent of children whose parents have advanced degrees get mostly A’s, whereas only 27.8 percent of high school dropouts’ children do” (628). This statistical data shows the positive correlation that a highly educated person, such as a graduate from college, benefits the persons present around the intellectual, such as family members. Since the graduate has had an educational experience and developed stronger leading, comprehensive and social skills, the graduate can easily aid others such as their own children in hardships of which they encounter through their life. Being an exceptional group leader or a team member benefits an individual in the work place, being able to understand and comprehend while listening helps an individual in social situations, and being a successful individual with an expansive knowledge contributes to life in general.

            Although college is the best option for the majority of citizens in the United States, it is not the proper place for some. Financial hardship on students who want to attend college is often a problem. Not all seven and eighteen year olds are actually prepared to accept a loan up to 100 thousand dollars over four years. This can be overwhelming and can lead to a student feeling pressured into joining the work force right away is a better option. Another deprivation new students face is a change in routine, such as attending a fulltime college away from home. This can be stressful and a harsh wake up call to individuals who are not capable of developing the characteristics and skills needed in order to stick with learning and social aspects at a college level. With this being said, Charles Murray, author of Real Education, states this same opinion but for different reasons. Murray agrees that college is not for everyone but in his own particular way; he establishes a strict opinion on who should and should not attend college based upon the appropriate level of intelligence an individual possesses.

            Charles Murray’s idea in relation to acceptable college students is “for many years, the consensus intellectual benchmark for dealing with college-level material was an IQ of around 115, which demarcates the top 16 percent of the distribution”(69). With this in mind, he continues on to explain that “the intellectual requirements for coping with traditional college-level material have not changed.” Although intelligence is an integral aspect of college based learning, it is not a “make it or break it” concept that Murray tries to convince us it is. I have personally seen both sides of the spectrum with intelligent individuals not excelling in college, while other students with lower ACT scores do much better. One of my good friends earned a 31 on his ACT his senior year of High School and went on to major in engineering at a prestigious school. By sophomore year he was burnt out on school and did not continue pursuing his degree. At the same time, I know a few individuals who have received ACT scores in the high teens who have done very well in four-year colleges and grew into their schooling. My friend with the 31 ACT score’s intelligence had little to do with whether or not he had motivation or self-discipline to continue his studies go to classes, or to learn what was expected of him. Some intelligent individuals do not have what it takes for college, while others have what it takes but not as much of a heightened intelligence. These individuals have the drive in which they can be encouraged by themselves and by their professors or peers in order to finish rigorous work for college-level learning. With the way Murray thinks, the individuals with a drive but lower intellect would never have a chance to succeed in school. This statement and general idea is completely wrong.

            Every person should have a fair and equal opportunity to receive a college education if they do so choose to. Pharinet, author of Is College for Everyone?, has a similar mindset to the previously mentioned Murray. Pharinet states, “there are too many students enrolled in school who simply don’t belong there” (635). He also believes that “some students may be better suited for a different type of education, if any” (635). These two statements do bring up a problem. The problem is the fact that he believes he has the knowledge and understanding of millions of students to determine who is right and who is wrong for college-level learning. The only person who can properly and accurately answer those questions are the students themselves. How can someone know what they want to do, if they are never given the chance to decide? Regardless of the capabilities a student possesses after they graduate high school, they need the opportunity to figure out what they want to do with their life. Every person deserves an equal opportunity to succeed even if they do not have high ranking skills when they first begin their postsecondary education.

            With students using their choice of equal opportunity of higher education, abilities can be built stronger by interacting socially, thinking critically in class, frequent problem solving, and developing numerous other skills during their four years of schooling. The mindset of increasing and progressing the quality of students’ abilities does not exist according to Murray. He states “the probability that a student will enjoy Paradise Lost goes down as his linguistic ability goes down, but so does the probability that he works on double acrostic puzzles in his spare time or plays online Scrabble hour after hour”(83).  This statement is a false assumption that once students have a certain skill or ability, it stays at that initial level for the rest of their lives, no matter what they do to increase it. I strongly disagree with this Murray statement. Throughout middle school and high school, I was horrendous at math. I was placed in study halls that would give me extra help and easier work assignments to try and progress me along. With this being mentioned, Murray’s claim would mean that my ability to accurately complete and do well in math would never improve and I would be stuck in my lower than average ways. However, I strongly disagree with him. I am now doing well in math and it is currently my highest grade in college. I find joy in overcoming my weaknesses and turning it into something I can be proud of. I look forward to my math class now because I know I have done well so far and I can continue to get better. Murray continuously forgets to take into consideration the motivations that students often possess within them to do better and become smarter. It would be hard to find a student who would disagree. Students want to do better and achieve more, that is why we seek a higher education, like college.

In conclusion, it is not about what the name of the university or college is; it is about what was learned and obtained throughout the journey of those four years. The time spent in college is about putting forth the hard work to get a good grade, and the ambition that grows while achieving them. Also, the understanding of personal sacrifice whether it is social time, or money, in order to complete a certain task that is needed to gain a degree. A higher education such as college teaches students more than skimming over a textbook or practicing vocabulary for hours in order to pass an exam. College is meant to build a students’ character and capabilities within themselves and among their peers. College graduates are more equipped for real life situations because college shapes them into well rounded individuals and exposes them to many different opportunities. Attending a college not only benefits the student, but it also benefits his or her career path and future family of the student. Regardless of where their experience takes them, they are more ready and capable to achieve goals than without a four-year education. This is why college is such an important step in bettering our self and communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

McArdle, Megan. “Is College a Lousy Investment?” The Daily Beast (Newsweek). 9 Sept., 2012

Miller, Margaret A. "The Privileges of the Parents." Trans. Array Practical Argument. Boston, New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 628-630. Print.

Murray, Charles. Real Education. New York: Three River Press, 2008. Print.

Perry, Robert T. “On ‘Real Education.’” Trans. Array Practical Argument. Boston, New York: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2011. 625-627. Print.

Pharinet. “Is College for Everyone?” Trans. Array Practical Argument. Boston, New York: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2011. 635-636. Print.