In her article, “Facing the Culture Shock of College,” Kathleen Cushman argues that first generation college students struggles fitting in with other students due to their backgrounds and cultures. She supports her claim by first describing what first generation college students have to face on a daily basis. Then, she interviewed “16 first generation college students from around the United States” for evidence to support her claim. She makes a connection in which students try managing to get a college degree while they are being judged because of their background and culture. For example, Raja, the son of Palestinian immigrants, tries to get A’s on all of his tests to assure them that he is “not a clown.”…
College is about getting a degree, but staying in a library or a dorm all day is going to make a miserable four years. College is about allowing students to feel independent and to get involved, which results in living in a stable environment, as well as community engagement. Of course getting an education is prominent, but there are other essential components to a college lifestyle. In Graeme Wood’s essay, “Is College Doomed?”, he explains the diverse dynamics of the online school, Minerva. The founder of Minerva, Ben Nelson, explained to Wood that, students yearly, “attend university in a different place, so that after four years they’ll have the kind of international experience that other universities advertise but can rarely deliver” (Wood…
For a majority of high school students, after graduation the next step usually is to continue their education by attending college. According to Thomas R. Wolanin, a senior associate at the Institute for High Education Policy, a vast majority of those students and their families will probably be discouraged to do so because of the portrayal of college life and its expenses created by mass media. In his editorial “Joe and Jane Go to College: Today’s College Student is Not Who You Think”, Wolanin argues that college students portrayed in the media are a misrepresentation of the vast majority of college students. He states that the “reality of students in American higher education is quite different”(1) from what is usually displayed by mass media. And the only reason why he brings this to America’s attention is because he believes their misrepresentation has created “some serious and unfortunate public consequences”(2).…
Although I agree with the vast majority of Frank Bruni’s claims about the benefits of the ideas of community and diversity, I believe some of his prescriptions in Demanding More From College to solve the polarizing and alienating effect of the internet on the individual in our modern society are perhaps a bit naive and misguided although for the most part a good first step. Most people agree that college is supposed to be one of the most fun times of one’s fine where one meets those who are to be one’ friends for the rest of one’ life, the Frank Bruni, author of Demanding More From College thinks “there’s another dimension to college.” In our politically bipolar landscape, Bruni suggests that college students are a crucial part of solving the problem. Bruni say that we must “confront and change political and social aspects of American life that are as troubling as the economy.” I completely agree, seeing as how…
In this essay that came from Caroline Bird’s book “The Case Against College”, she claims that most students that are in school not because they want to be, but because it is now the thing to do or to get away from their parents. (Bird 647) She also goes on to say a little later essay that she notices when she goes on campus that the students look sad. She says, “I have been overwhelmed by the prevailing sadness on American campuses”. (Bird 469) Birds has very good arguments, from how expensive college is, why a lot of students fail out of class, to letting high school graduates make up their minds on whether or not they want to go to college or not.…
Bill gates was a C average person. He is also the CEO of a million dollar industry called Microsoft. He never Graduated from High school or college And yet he is a millionaire. I don’t plan on going to college because the job I want doesn’t require a college degree. College is not right for me.…
Going to college is considered to be one of the most important parts of a person’s adult life. Lee focuses on this unnecessary pedestal that the college experience is put on. Kids treat it as an excuse to party and do not place the same level of importance on it as their parents do. Lee had this realization with her own son when she thought about how she was “paying $1,000 a week for this pleasure cruise” (52). This lead her to pull her son out of school until he was ready to go back and be serious or find a job to occupy his time more efficiently. Her son went on to have many different jobs. They were not the most glamorous, but taught him independence and how to be responsible with his own money. Lee argues that this life path got her son to a fulfilling place where he was enjoying what he was doing and had found a good job where a promotion was in his near future (2). This end result is typically why students go through college in the first place.…
In the article “College is a Safe Bet,” the author focuses mostly on the broader picture of student as a whole when it comes to college. Most of the article focuses on how and why students are questioning a college degree. The author states that “the rising college tuition, combined with slim job prospects, are leaving families with the impression that the risks associated with attending college are beginning to outweigh the rewards” (Morgan). She goes on to say that even thou we should think about these things because it “encourages students to make more thoughtful, informed decisions and pressure the policymakers to keep all colleges high quality and affordable” (Morgan). As a whole the article is effective in persuading the audience to see college as a go to option for most students.…
March uses photos and narrative to establish an emotional connection with the audience on an issue that is important to her. According to ____The Word on College_____ emotion is the fastest way to connect with readers ( ) and by beginning her essay with an emotional first-person narrative March sets the scene and pulls readers in. For instance, when she opens with “my grandmother Mary died last November at ninety-three… Mom was exhausted… and I was crying relentlessly—but still, we went, compelled to do something tangible with our grief” (para. 1) the reader imagines two women experiencing the pain associated with the passing of family. This scene evokes empathy and brings forth the fears that many have of parental or family loss, allowing…
In Bird’s article, “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, she approaches the topic of higher education as, “a ticket to the big show”, rather than the continuation of education in a chosen career field culminated with the tools to hone oneself socially and professionally. Furthermore, it would seem that personal accountability counts for naught, as she assigns the blame to societal values that influence attendance of these learning institutions. Social values play an integral role in everyday life but that does not mean that the entire populace has been brainwashed into collective servitude; nor do they regulate the desire or disregard…
Today, many students like myself all over the America have walked down the hectic aisles of high school and have sat in some of the largest lecture halls in college. As kids, we were somewhat taught that going to school and getting an education would be the key to our success and thought that if we didn’t fulfill these expectations, we would end up homeless and live a terrible life. For so many years during my educational career this was the mentality that I believed in. Although this may be over exaggerated, I believe that this may hold some truth to the many college students all over the world. It is almost like we volunteer to go into debt and deal with all the stress that a college education brings us because we feel like it will get us…
As a consequence, of graduating seniors are thrust into a world that they have no idea how to handle without drowning if not properly prepared. Notably, college allows seniors to slowly adjust to the new and somewhat exciting changes that come with being able to choose one's next path. In taking the initiative and attending college one has gifted themselves with time to figure out the next step.…
In the article, "Should Everyone Go To College?" written by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, in the Center on Children and Families at BROOKINGS. This article discusses the benefits of a college degree. In this section, you may also find many statistics and arguments over attending or not attending college. For the past few decades, a college degree has been argued as a prerequisite to entering the middle class in the United States. Study after study reminds us that higher education is one of the best investments (Owens and Sawhill).…
Every year a class of high school seniors graduate and then begin their lives as adults. While the choices they made in high school are important, the choices they make after this will be of the utmost importance. A decision of how to start their lives as adults either joining the workforce, the armed forces, or attending college are the choices they have to make. A lot goes into which direction the student will steer his or her life. Pressures of going to college come from not only school teachers, but family, friends, and peers also. Teachers tell their students that college is the best way to go if they want to succeed in life, as many careers require further education beyond that of a high school diploma. Parents are always glad to see…
College is a daunting subject for students everywhere. From the moment middle schoolers move on into high school, graduating is the sole widespread focus, and the question of “what will you do afterwards?” begins to be asked. Though many may take a gap year, others will begin to work or continue to work their high school jobs, almost all students will have the same debate: whether they will go to college or not. This has been an ongoing topic for generations, and the variance of opinions regarding college attendance are incredibly diverse, spanning from some people thinking that it’s useless and causes needless debt, to others who think it’s an absolute necessity and good jobs cannot be acquired without it. However, due to the complex and varied debate subject, one must first understand the basis it has stemmed from.…