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MadisonMedrano
ProfessorRosenfeld
ENGL113B
09May2016
CollegeisaSeriousInvestment
Ifcollegeissuchanecessarycomponentforabetterfuture,thenwhyisitthatmost
peoplewhotrytoachieveitcantseemtoobtainit?Approximatelyfiftypercentofstudentsin
theU.S.whobegincollegenevergraduate.Manypeopletodayfailtorecognizethatthereason
topursueacollegeeducationhaschangeddrastically.Inthearticle,IsCollegeForEveryone?
byPharinethestatesanobviousfactthathasgrowninvisibletoalargeportioninsociety.He
claims,Onceuponatime,collegewasaplaceyouwentwhenyouwishedtolearn.Now,
collegeisaplaceyougowhenyouwantagoodjob,orappeaseyourparents,orbecauseyouare
findingyourself(Pharinet681).Forthisreasonandmoreiswhymanywhostartcollege
cantfinish,becausetheyaregoingtoschoolforthewrongreasons.Learningandactually
captivatingwhatwelearnatacollegelevelpaceischallengingasitis,butevenmoresowhen
thereasonapersonisthereisnotclearorcertain.Noteveryoneismadetoenjoylearningor
readytoendurethelongtermcommitmentacollegeeducationrequires.Itisimportantto
recognizethatacollegeeducationisnottheonlymethodtohighereducationafterhighschool.
Whenmakingthedecisiontogetacollegeeducation,itshouldbethoughtoutcarefullymaking
sureitisasecurechoiceofeducationthatwillneedfullinvestment.Somemayarguethatthe
onlywaytosuccessorabetterfutureisthroughacollegeeducation,howeverIbelievenot
everyoneismadeforthefullcommitmentofacademicinvestment.Thedecisionofpursuinga

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collegeeducationitselfisadmirablebutwhatmattersattheenditthecompletionofaneducation
thatcanbepresentedinaspecificworkforce.Themethodofeducationisnotwhatdetermines
thecapabilitytoworkbuttheperson'sknowledgeandabilitytoputittouseistheultimatetest.
Somemayarguethatcollegeiswortheverypennybecauseofthecollegeexperiencea
studentgetstoencounter,butwiththerisingpriceoftuitionanexperienceisnotenoughtotake
fromoutofallthemoneybeingpaid.Thecollegeexperiencethatmostpeopletalkaboutisthe
networkingandtheexposuretodifferentcultures,butitdoesnotchangeorlessenthedebta
studentleaveswithaftercollege.Goingtocollegeknowingthat,aftergraduating,notonlydoes
thesearchforajobtoputthedegreeintousebegin,butdebtbecomesanimmediatepurposeand
necessityformoney.Thisisaconstantworrythatgoesthroughstudentsminds,intheDaily
SundialbyKwokChanhementionsastudentstressingabouthisloanof20,000saying,Idont
reallywanttotakeajobthatdoesntrequireadegree.IcouldntimaginehowIcansettlemy
studentdebtifIonlycanmakelittlemoney(Chan).Thecommitmentofgoingtocollegeisto
betakenseriousbecauseitisaninvestmentoftimeandmoneythatcannotberefunded.With
collegetuitionrisingmoreandmorestudentareforcedtotakeoutloansinordertokeepgoingto
school.
Itisdisturbingtohearthateventhosewithacollegedegreehaveahardtimefinding
jobs,butitissadlytheharshrealityoftoday.Atthispointtherearepeoplewithabachelor's
degreeworkingatajobthatdoesnotrequiresuchhighleveleducation.InTheHuffingtonPost
article,ACollegeDegreeIsIncreasinglyLikelyToLandYouInLowWageWorkbyShane
Ferroheimplies,NewresearchfromtheWashingtonCenterforEquitableGrowthshowsthat
findingawellpayingjobisgettingharderevenforthosewithlotsofeducation(Ferro).

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Withsuchinformationitmakesthedecisionofcommittingtoafouryeareducationanoption
insteadofanobligation.Unlessthecareerchoiceastudentispursuingisabsolutelywhatthey
wantnodoubtsaboutit,whichisraretofindincollege.Thedecisionbecomesaleapoffaith
thatisbeingtakenhopingthatsomethingbeneficialwillcomeoutofit.
Anotherstrugglethatisnottakenintoconsiderationmostofthetimeisthesimplefact
thatsomestudentsaresimplynotqualifiedtolearnatsuchadvancetermsthatcollegesexpect.In
suchcasesstudentshavetheoptionofleaningtowardavocationaleducationthatprovidesa
morehandsonlearningexperienceforthosethataremorevisualandphysicallearnersrather
thanananalyticallearner.CharlesMurrayspeaksonthepositivesofvocationalschoolandthe
misconceptionsthatareregularlythoughtaboutthedifferenteducationsinthearticle,Whats
WrongWithVocationalSchool?.Heprovidesanexcellentcomparisonofapersonwhois
simplyunqualifiedtolearnincollegelevelcoursesto,someonewhoisathleticallyunqualified
foracollegevarsitywantstohavehisshortcomingsexposedatpracticeeveryday(Murray677).
Throughthiscomparisonhepointsoutthatalthoughthestudentmaybeattendingcollege,the
difficultyofkeepingupwithcollegelevelworkwillalwaysbeastruggle.Ifastudentisnot
capableoflearningsuchadvancedanalyticalskillsitisimportanttosupportothermethodsof
educationsuchasvocationalifnecessary.Anyformofeducationthatwillhelpobtaintheskills
necessaryforajobiswhatisimportantwhenitcomesdowntoit.
Thethoughtofcollegebeingtheonlywaytosucceedhasbeenspreadallthroughout
societytodayandhasstuck.Murraymentionsacommonmisconceptionwhenhewrote,But
nobodywillsaysobecause,vocationaltrainingsecondclass.Collegeisfirstclass(Murray
677).Thisisathoughtthatgoesthroughmoststudents,parents,andsocietyingeneral,which

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addstothepressureincommittingtoafouryearcollegeeducationwithoutreallyknowingifitis
therightmethodofeducationforthem.Thissituationhappenstobeacurrentissueinmy
householdwithmyolderbrotherandhisrecentdecisiontogotoatradeschoolthisyear.Hehad
triedthetraditionalcollegeeducationbutitsimplywasn'tforhimbecausehecouldnotkeepup
withthedemanding,fastpace,andadvancedlearning.Aftertakingabreakfromschoolhe
realizedthatitsnotthathedidn'twanttogetaneducation,butitwasthemethodhechosethat
wasnottherightfitforhim.Headmittedthat,Sittinginaclasslisteningtoaprofessorspeakfor
hourswasnothiswayoflearning.Hetookthetimetoresearchthedifferencebetweenatrade
schoolandafouryearcollegeeducationandfoundoutthatatradeschoolwillbeabetterfitfor
himthatheisamoreofahandsonlearner.Heisnowinhissecondweekofschoolandfeelsa
differencebecauseheisdedicatinghimselftoonespecificareaofskills.Incollegeyouare
forcedtotakeclassesthatdon'tinterestyouandattimeshavenothingtodowithyourchoiceof
career.Manyfailtoseethesedifferencesinthetwokindsofeducationandleadsthemtothink
vocationalortradeschoolsarenotagoodchoice.Ibelievethatthepressuressocietyputson
studentsafterhighschoolhasalottodowithit,becausemoststudentswillgotocollege
becauseitisperceivedastheonlywaytoabetterfuture.Sadlyitisnotnecessarilytrueandeven
ifitwasnoteveryoneiscapableofhandlingandcommittingtotheexcessiveinvestment.
AsafreshmaninmysecondsemesteratCaliforniaStateUniversityofNorthridge,Ican
testifythatcollegeisaseriousinvestment.Imyselfamafirstgenerationstudentwhowentto
collegethinkingitistheonlywaytoreachasuccessfulfuture.Thechoicetostaycommittedtoa
fouryearuniversitywasadifficultoneandafterknowinghowmuchtimeandmoneywillbeput
intomygoalofonedaybeingasuccessfuleducatedwoman.Thischoicehasbecomealeapof

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faithbecauseevenafterreceivingabachelors,ajobinanyworkforceisnotguaranteed.Itisa
constantworryformeknowingthatthereisapossibilitythatafterallthetimeandmoneyspent
incollegeIcouldendupworkinginajobthatdoesnotrequireanyseriouseducational
backgroundandindebtbecauseoftheraiseintuitioncosts.TravisMitchellprovidesstatistics
showninhisarticleGetaLookatHowExpensesatBothPublicandPrivateSchoolsHaveShot
upsince1995,thatshowstheriseintuitioninallcolleges.Heclaims,Thecostofattending
collegegetshighereveryyear,evenasstudentsstrugglewithdebtandpayingforschool.Over
thepast20years,tuitionandfeesatNationalUniversities,bothprivateandpublic,haverisen
sharply(Mitchell).Thisisnotonlyafearthatwashauntingstudentslikemyselfbuthasnow
becometherealitymoststudentsareboundtofacewhentakingtheresponsibilitiesacollege
educationdemands.Withsuchincreaseincollegetuitionitisimportantthatthedecisionis
securesothatsuchmoneyisgonetowasteandthattheinvestmentisworththemoneyandtime
apersonwillneedtodedicateinordertogetadegree.
Sowhenthequestioncomesupwhethercollegeisworththeinvestment,Isimplyanswer
no,becausenoteveryonehasthecapacitytolearnatsuchadvancedintellectuallevelsandissure
aboutthechoicetobeinvestingalotoftimeandmoneyintoacollegeeducation.Students
shouldenrollintocollegefortherightreasonsandthat'sbecausetheywanttolearnandare
committedtothecrucialinvestmentittakestosucceedinacollege.Notbecauseofparental
pressureorbecausetheythinkitwillgetthemabetterjob.Thetraditionalfouryearcollege
educationmaybetheperfectfitforapersonwhoisenjoyslearningaboutdifferentsubjects,but
it'simportanttorecognizethatthereareothermethodsofeducationthatcanbetherightfitfor
somepeople.

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WorkCited
Chan,Kwok.Students,StaffTalkWhatCollegeMeanstoTheirLives,Careers.The
Sundial.27Feb.2014.Web.14Feb.2016.
Ferro,Shane."ACollegeDegreeIsIncreasinglyLikelyToLandYouInLowWageWork."
Huffingtonpost.com.N.p.,03Sept.2015.Web.20Feb.2015.
Mitchell,Travis."GetaLookatHowExpensesatBothPublicandPrivateSchoolsHaveShotup
since1995."USNews.U.S.News&WorldReport,29July2015.Web.09May2016.
Murray,Charles.WhatsWrongWithVocationalSchool?.PracticalArgument:ATextAnd
Anthology.2ndEd.Eds.KirsznerandMandell.
Pharient.IsCollegeForEveryonePracticalArgument:ATextAndAnthology.2nd
Ed.Eds.KirsznerandMandell.