Kartic 1 Jehrame Kartic John Reimringer EngC1101-94 Feb 15, 2013 The Right Decision "Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off", published in 2011 in the New York Times, David Leonhardt, Pulitzer Prize winner for Commentary, argues against the case that college is not for the masses. Aside from his passionate belief that the need for college is crucial, he explains the misleading claims about the prices of tuition and follows with showing that the benefits of a degree are substantial even when a degree is not essential within that field because, aside from all else, colleges teach general skills. As he examines the anti-college argument bit by bit, Leonhardt rapidly lays out all the facts and supports them with astonishing statistics. "Three decades ago, full-time workers with a bachelor's degree made 40 percent more than those with only a high school diploma. Last year, the gap reached 83
He goes on to say in the second misperception, “college graduates are finding it harder to get good jobs with liberal arts degrees”, but “the recession has no differentiated among major fields of study in its impact” (192). Ungar believes students who focus on one particular field of study do not learn necessities such as writing and literary texts, and this puts them at a disadvantage when compared to a liberal arts graduate. While long-standing jobs, such as doctors and lawyers, will not become extinct soon, liberal arts graduates have a better chance of employment in most areas. 95% of employers surveyed would give hiring preference to graduates with skills to contribute in the workplace. 74% would recommend a liberal arts education to a young person they know today, so they will be prepared for success in today’s global economy.
He believes not everyone should go to college to pursue a major just because they want to make a lot of money. Murray states something that it is true, ‘Young people with okay-but-not-great academic ability who are thinking about whether to go after a B.A. need to consider the competition they will face after they graduate.’(Murray,2008). If all people want to get into the business, finance, and/or management world once graduated they might have a rough time. There are certain skills needed to be successful, even when giving orders to other people.
Murray and Ungar Synthesis In the many recent debates about how to approach higher education, one issue that has constantly appears is the question of students benefiting from a liberal arts based education. Some argue that a liberal arts education is helpful in teaching students the basic life skills, others claim that a more specific field of study is necessary in order to b successful in life. In Ungar’s essay “the New Liberal Arts”, he claims that with a liberal arts education, students can benefit tremendously when they receive their jobs. In Murray’s essay “Are Too Many People Going to College”, he proclaims that a liberal arts degree is not highly recommended because the more difficult careers want students to take classes that are more specific to a job. Sanford J. Ungar and Charles Murray both conduct and display their own opinion towards the facts they learned through their own strenuous research.
If the younger generation begins to perceive the higher education system (and accompanying loans) as being inherently unjust and/or illegitimate, what implications does this have for the labor sphere? I've previously used the example of a college graduate working at Starbucks only to find himself or herself effectively relegated back to Starbucks after receiving a graduate degree. If people begin to perceive higher education as being illegitimate or akin to a sort of nationwide fraudulent scheme, at some point the cost of academic tuition and the number of students attending higher educational institutions will contract and collapse. Of course, a pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model. In this light, one might also note that our current system of higher education is unsustainable.
Legacy Admission Debate There will never be a day that the world is fair. Discrimination is illegal now, but accepting people based on legacy remains legal. This adds more obstacles for minorities and gives people less of a chance of getting into a college, if they do not come from a college educated family. Universities may need the money they get from legacies to keep tuition affordable, and it might be impossible to function without it, but that does not change the fact that it is unfair and keeps everyone from having an equal opportunity. Legacy admissions should be banned because they allow students with average credentials to be accepted over students with far more impressive ones.
Also, family’s higher income has an advantage amongst SAT classes or special tutoring. Creighton uses personal reference and statistical facts to persuade the audience to go against SAT testing. I agree with Creighton’s argument that SAT’s should not determine a students’ eligibility for college. SAT’s do not test an individual’s performance on relevant or irrelevant potential. The SAT might have made sense when it was developed in the 1920s, when higher education was an elitist proposition and the college admission pipeline led a relatively homogeneous population of young adults into a similarly uni-dimensional set of colleges and universities (Creighton).
What good does Jill’s degree do then? The cartoon points out that sometimes degrees don’t even matter. If you attend college and pursue a major not currently in demand, then what good does the degree you earn do? Today, picking and choosing majors wisely is important. With the expense of college continuing to rise, most people cannot afford to pursue something they will not make money and benefit from later on.
Although they may have the motivation and willingness to work hard, students often need practical help (161). Unfortunately, in this fast-paced society, there are consequences to dropping out of college (164). Leonhardt mentions how there are limited pay raises for those without college degrees (160). Also, not everyone has the opportunity to acquire a job that is usually only given to college graduates. Although non-graduates may live satisfying lives, many worry how long their prosperity will last (164).
Why is a college degree so important? It is important because of the opportunities it provides. Whitney M. Young, an American civil rights leader, once proclaimed, “It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.” Possessing a college degree means being prepared for possible career opportunities in the future. Although the cost is high, he reward may be even higher. As investing in a 401k helps one prepare for the financial future, attaining a college degree is an investment in one’s future career