Tyus Martin Professor Connie Douglass ENGL 1102 093 March 11, 2014 Annotated Bibliography "Is College

e Worth It?" Pew Research Centers Social Demographic Trends Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2014. Pews Research Centers gives many statistics from a survey of the general public. It starts off talking about how the majority of Americans think that the cost of college is too expensive for the educational value you get from going, but then turns around and says that 86% of college graduates think that college has been a good investment for them personally. If the college graduates think college has been a good investment, then its clear this article presents the standpoint that college is worth the money and life of debt after. I think that this article is useful as a source. Even though it is a survey of only 2,142 people ages 18+, I think that it gives nice information. It is way too small of a sample to use as a deal breaker on an important decision in your life however. Also if they included 18 year olds in the sample, then they are using data on someone who is still early in their life. The data in the article is interesting, however I think that it would be even more useful if it surveyed more people. The survey Pews Research Center did does fit into my research because it presents an interesting view. I think that as a college student now and knowing what Im going to do after college is probably going to be worth it reassures that my research is helpful. As I said earlier though, my only complaint is that I wish it surveyed a lot more people.

Green, John. "Is College Worth It?" YouTube. Vlogbrothers, 21 Aug. 2012. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. John Green posted a video on YouTube where he uses statistics and gives an example of an average college tuition and the debt you would receive from it. John doesnt however state where he got his information from, so it isnt completely valid. He says that the debt from college is worth the investment in the long run if you make $1.75 more from your degree. This is not useful as a source even though it introduces a similar viewpoint, but from a different perspective. It doesnt give me any valid information from citations so the information isnt completely factual. Also, by using a rough example of a college tuition and the years of debt after, the money the degree would get you would vary from college to college. The source does fit into my research. It isnt exact information, but a rough estimate. The way Green presents the information, it makes it another reassuring source in my research. I think that the majority of sources will end up saying that college is worth the debt in the long run.

Levine, Arthur and Nidiffer, Jana, 1957- Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College (1st ed). JosseyBass Publishers, San Francisco, 1996. The authors of this book start off by discussing the odds that a poor family and student will have to face when going to college. They also discuss the various programs available to poor students to help them. The authors also surveyed 24 poor college graduates: 12 high achievers in high school, and 12 not so high achievers in high school. They results were that the 12 high achievers had many success stories, and a few of the not so high achievers also had success from college. This is useful as a source because it gives many options for students that arent as wealthy to use to attend college. The number of people they surveyed however is a very small amount and isnt

credible. The other sources didnt give a viewpoint from the perspective of a lower class college student, so it gives another look into whether college is worth the debt or not. Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College definitely fits into my research. It broadens my research by showing how even the poor can benefit from going to college. I think that a lower class student would have to put in a lot more effort than an upper or middle class family, but in the end it is still worth the time and effort to attend college.