Elijah Cross

EN 102

Summary Essay

19 January 2021

The Cost of College

College tuition is ridiculously high in today’s world. Many people believe that college is

not worth attending due to the high cost of tuition, which they believe sets people back from

being able to make big or important purchases at an early age, or even saving for retirement. In

the essay “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” author Freeman Hrabowski, president of the

University of Maryland, emphasizes that college is 100 percent worth the cost for multiple

reasons. Hrabowski believes that college is worth it because most faster-growing job categories

require at least a college degree, colleges allow many different opportunities, and college

prepares people for life.

The first reason why college is worth the cost is because higher paying jobs are starting to

require higher education to be able to be employed. Hrabowski agrees with this statement when

he writes, “Many economists and educators point to dates showing that the fastest growing job

categories require at least a college degree” (260). He reminds people that college graduates have

a higher chance of employment than those with only a high school diploma and that college

graduates tend to earn much higher salaries (260). If you have a higher degree, you are going to

be able to get paid more.

Another reason to prove that college is worth it is colleges allow many different

opportunities for people with all sorts of interests. Hrabowski believes that one of the biggest
strengths of American higher education is the diversity of missions between nearly 5,000

colleges and universities (260). Hrabowski himself writes, “Students can find institutions--

public and private, two-year and four-year--for just about any educational niche and budget”

(260). Hrabowski also stresses the importance of researching as much as someone can about

each institution they are thinking about attending (260). By researching, people will be able to

find out if the institution has the classes available to pursue their career, and if so they can find

out if tuition cost is reasonable.

Finally, Hrabowski believes that college prepares people for life and the real world. In

Hrabowski’s view, “Colleges prepare people for jobs, but more critically, they prepare people for

life. A job may be the starting point for the good life, but it should not be the end point” (260).

He also suggests that higher level education should work more with lower level education

systems to help prepare students for college (260). By preparing students for college, they will be

able to have an idea of what courses and classes they might want to take when they get to college

and if college is right for them; they can also help them select a college that won't overwhelm

them with student debt.

In “Colleges Prepare People for Life,” Freeman Hrabowski believes, in his opinion, that

colleges are worth attending, even with the high cost of tuition. He believes that most higher-end

jobs require at least a college degree. Additionally, a degree allows different opportunities for all

students, and college prepares people for life. All in all, Hrabowski thinks that everyone who

wants to be successful should attend college.

 Work Cited

Hrabowski, Freeman. "Colleges Prepare People for Life." They Say I Say with Readings, by

Gerald Graff et al., 3rd ed., New York, W.W. Norton and Company, 2012, pp. 259-63.