Why Should Everyone Go To College

Everyone grows up hearing their loved ones tell them how college is the uppermost important decision a person can make, pushing them to attend a college. But is college really the best choice? Authors Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill of “Should Everyone Go to College?” argues yes, college is the best choice but not for everyone. Sawhill (a codirector of the Center on Children and Families) and Owen (a senior research assistant at Bookings’ Center on Children and Families when the report was written) believe college should be carefully considered before committing. Things such as cost of education, return of investment, career choices, and college choice all need to be considered. Owen and Sawhill give the potential student many considerations
“According to Census’s calculations, the life-time earnings of an education or arts major working in the service sector are actually lower than the average lifetime earnings of a high school graduate” ( pg.216, par 1). While “the highest paid major is engineering, followed by computers and math” (pg.215, par. 1). The authors of “Should Everyone Go to College?” used graphs to show the earning of someone holding a bachelors’ degree and their occupations compared to the work-life earnings of a high school graduate. Amazingly enough a high school graduate only makes slightly less than someone holding a bachelors’ degree in the education field! The bar graph show people holding a bachelors’ degree in architecture and engineering make close to 3.5 million in their work-life. Meanwhile, someone holding a bachelors’ degree in science make 2.5 million dollars in their work-life. Sawhill and Owen go even further saying “we see that just as not all college degrees are equal, neither are all high school diplomas” (pg.216, par.2). They give an example of someone with only a high school diploma working in a STEM job could make more in their lifetime than a bachelors’ degree holder “working in education, community service and arts, sales and office work, health support, blue collar jobs, or personal services” (pg.217, par.2). The authors also go into details about unemployment rates in different occupations and suggest
Sawhill and Owen believe college is the right choice although it may not be for everyone. Cost of education and career choice is especially crucial to making a decision on attending college. The authors give sufficient facts and supportive evidence to get the readers thinking about their options and career choice. Making a point that college is the right choice for people who are willing to give more then they get sometimes. An example of that kind of person being someone in the education or services career. They also suggest financial aid is defiantly a tool for low-income families to implement to attend college. Everyone considering attending college should weigh all their options, not just attend because they have been told over and over college is the