My work is college. I’m pretty sure yours is to. Vanderbilt University may think we are so grateful for the classes they offer. But let’s be honest, most of us would rather be doing something else than going to class, most of us would rather be doing something than studying for tests and writing papers on mundane topics. That’s is exactly why college, at least the academic part of it, is work. Since most of us don’t really enjoy doing work, why do we come here?
The reason is fear. We are afraid that if we don’t get a college degree we will end up on government assistance. And it is drilled into our heads since we are young that education will make us successful. That is our true motivation for attending college. It is not because we like to learn. In fact, most of the stuff we are taught we consider to be useless and only learn it because we want a good grade. It is because we think college leads to money. For most of us, going to college was never a “choice.” It was just something that we felt we had to do. We don’t like learning about theoretical jargon, especially at 9AM, but we feel if we won’t be successful later in life. We can’t help but look down at our friend who decided college wasn’t for him, or at are other friend who is learning a trade at the local community college
If you look at the top-20 schools in America, you will notice that on average, the students are wealthier than people at other colleges or not attending college. In fact, the biggest indicator of standardized test scores is wealth.[1] Most of us come from successful households and we want to emulate our parents. We want to be just as successful as them, if not more. Our parents, as well as the educational establishment in America, have convinced us that education is the path to make us smarter.
They seem to be correct as educational levels and income are correlated.[2] The most powerful man in the world has also taken this stance. President Barack Obama has called for a goal of all Americans attending college, saying that it is necessary for our economy, and will make us better off as individuals.[3] 63% of Americans have completed some college work, up from 34% in 1971. However, 48% of today’s graduates are working jobs that don’t require a 4-year college degree. The correlation between degrees, especially advanced ones, and income is nothing more than a correlation. It is not causation. Think about the people who usually get these degrees. They are very intelligent and have an impeccable work ethic. These people are extremely smart whether they got a degree or not. It isn’t the degree that made them successful; it is their intelligence and hard work.
Colleges are happy to continue duping the public with the “intrinsic value” of their degrees and the college “experience.” They’ll be glad to take $100,000 while giving you a worthless piece of paper in return. But the fact is there is a higher education bubble, and it will burst. People are beginning to see through the lies that universities push in order to justify taking so much of your money. Now 75% of Americans say college is unaffordable while 57% of Americans say colleges fail to provide students with a good value for the money spent.[4] The only reason parents keep wrecking their finances to send kids like us to college is the illogical fear in the back of their heads that we will not be successful if we don’t go. But the higher education bubble is unsustainable and will not be able to continue. Either tuition will have to fall or enrollment will decline.
We need to change our mindset. We need to realize that college isn’t the golden ticket to money. Graduating college guarantees a piece of paper, nothing more. That piece of paper will not guarantee us income either. We need to be intelligent, productive, and skilled to earn income. Income gained is a measure of the value one adds to society. If you create a product people want, have a skill that is in demand, or can outwork others, you will earn others. We should focus on honing our skills, coming up with ideas, and applying ourselves. That is the true ticket to prosperity, not some piece of paper that says you sat through 4 years of class.
[1] http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/sat-scores-and-family-income/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
[2] http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
[3] http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29445201/ns/us_news-education/t/college-all-obamas-goal-attainable/#.UwABLWRDsVk
[4] http://www.pewresearch.org/2012/05/17/college-graduation-weighing-the-cost-and-the-payoff/
I liked the message behind your argument, which you sort of “revealed” at the end. At some points in the essay, though, I would work on explaining your logic. I found it hard, for example, to follow the transition from the third to the fourth paragraph. You end the third paragraph by talking about how people believe that education makes you smarter but begin the fourth paragraph by explaining how education and income should not be directly tied together. I think I understand the point you were trying to make, but it could have been more explicit. The other thing I would be careful about is unintentionally saying negative things about the reader. I could definitely relate to what you were saying about our true attitudes about learning, but nevertheless, I think you risk insulting those who feel strongly otherwise.
I thought the point about how it is not degrees that make people successful, it is their hard work ethic was a great point for your essay. However, I felt the end became a little extreme since it is businesses that hire people and businesses would probably not hire someone for a high paying job without a college education, so it some sense people are correct in thinking that a college education will lead them to money.