The Importance Of College Education

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Today, more students are considering continuing their education to the next level after high school by attending colleges and universities. Clearly, this rise in ordinary education admission and the pressure to get good grades, test scores, and scholarships have created an important defense if college is really worth it. Many experts wonder if students are best served by attending colleges and academic institutions, or if lifestyle courses such as going straight into the workforce or going to trade school can also work just as efficiently. Studies of all differences have been conducted over these matters, and there is no shortage of evidence indicating that college graduates tend to do better than their non-college-educated peers. Therefore, a college education is definitely worth it because a more educated populace is better at solving problems of both social and psychological nature.

One familiar argument against the furtherance of a student’s education into college is there is a financial woe to deal with. Pew Research explains that “A record share of students are leaving college with a substantial debt burden, and among those who do, about half (48%) say that paying off that debt made it harder to pay other bills” (Source C). It can definitely be stated that unnecessarily high tuition rates combined with reduced time for earning money are a compelling reason not to send a student to college. Many college graduates work for years to pay off their debt, and some may move the debts incurred through student loans around for decades after they get their degree. Yet regardless of the damaging outcome that debt can exert on a person’s life after he or she graduates from college, the reality is that the alternatives that are, not attending college is worse. According to Pew Research, college graduates brought home nearly twenty thousand dollars more than those with only a high school diploma in 2010 (Source C). One hundred-thousand-dollar debt could be paid off in under a decade by employing the extra twenty thousand dollars earned per year towards paying off student loans. Once the debt is taken care of, a person with a college degree will likely end up producing thousands of dollars more over a lifetime than one whose highest educational achievement is a high school diploma. Debt, although a rather difficult and necessary part of the college experience, most definitely does not represent an impassable obstacle. Furthermore, as our world becomes progressively united and populated, good-paying jobs not demanding a college degree are lowering.

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Everyone knows that technology and science are playing a broader role in society and ordinary life than ever before. With this improvement in advanced engineering comes a simultaneous increase in educational prospects. According to Wieder, “… the demand for a college education has grown significantly in the years since Mr. Thiel was a student [in the 1980s]” (Source A). Those disputing against the need for a college degree often mention that college does not make a student essentially more gifted or original. Yet the entire intention of education, whether it’s kindergarten or grad school, is to help a person’s perception and abilities. Even though college might not cause a person to gain the creativity that he or she never had, it will most definitely help in developing the potential that is already there. In today’s progressively competitive and STEM-based jobs market, a student must gain all the abilities he or she holds. Truly, illustrating this modern tendency of higher ability sets and intelligence is the pay gap described by Leonhardt. Three decades ago, a college graduate made “on average 40% more than a person with only a high school diploma. In the present day, that disparity has jumped to 83%”(Source E). The main purpose for this is that a higher level of academic achievement helps individuals in solving problems occurring in society, a superior skill for working in intellectually intense jobs. Fundamentally, the ability of a person without a college degree to obtain a good-paying job is decreasing. College is rapidly becoming not only a worthy choice but a necessary one as well.

A cliche saying insists that “money can’t buy happiness.” Up until now, the only cases that we have judged have been those of financial aspects which are profits and job availability. But the benefits of attaining a college degree extend significantly beyond the realm of stocks, bonds, and dollars. Actually, eighty-six percent of college graduates claim that attending college has been a good investment for their long-term goals (Source C). Furthermore, studies have shown that “beyond money, education seems to make people happier and healthier” (Source E). Even if the primary goal of life is not to gain as much wealth and money as possible, college can support one to progress intellectual growth that can be given to areas of life beyond the workplace. For example, consider a person who completed basic biology classes in college. While their major might be psychology or economics, the knowledge gained by studying human and animal physiology could benefit them in creating healthy food and lifestyle choices. In addition, attending college can be broadly positive, even if a person does not earn a degree. University campuses are among the most diverse settings found anywhere, and exposure to people of various races, creeds, and interests can help to develop one’s own mindset and introduce them to creative ways of thinking.

Understanding the importance of life necessities brings one to a concluding thought, is college ultimately worth it? There is an excess of research around the topic, and evidence for both sides is abundant. However, a college education is worth the cost because better-educated people are more capable of overcoming problems, whether they enter a troubled relationship or internal economic crisis. People who have obtained college degrees tend to increase large debts from student loans, but the increased income they enjoy offers an investment return throughout a lifetime that far outweighs the negatives. Those with college degrees also see their earnings outdistance those with high school graduates by up to 82%, and they find that their job opportunities are more varied and numerous than their non-college-educated peers. The benefits of obtaining a college education also stretch beyond the field of jobs and salary, with college-educated people seeing an increase in their health and nature of life. In today’s world, youth is encountering a challenging question: college or not? By attending college and going through difficult or unfair times, youth can see a brighter and healthier future than if they had chosen to abandon college entirely. 

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