Is college worth it
Going to college is a total waste of your time and money! Imagine hearing that as a student who just finished four years of hard, grueling, expensive work; or, even worse, as parents who paid for their child to finish that same grueling work. If college is supposed to prepare students to be immediately productive members of the work force, that statement could unfortunately be accurate. In other ways, however, that statement can't be any further from the truth. College can prepare a student for life in so many more ways than for a job. As a student myself, I can see how college can be both wasteful and enriching. I often find myself in my studies asking, "How will this help me later in life?" Yet on the other hand, there are ways that college gives me more control over my life and future. In trying to figure out exactly what makes college this way, and whether others feel the same ambivalence I feel, I found help in comparing two essays. One, written by Timothy McDonough, who teaches anthropology at Las Positas College, portrays a positive view of the college experience. Matthew O'Conner offers the opposite opinion in a piece entitled, "College, Is It a Waste of Time and Money?" O'Conner's point is mainly
But, that applies not only while you're in college, but also when you get out of college. He quotes John Shingleton, Director of Placement at Michigan State University: "If we care what happens to students after college, then let's get involved with what should be one of the basic purposes of education: career preparation. I found, however, that I tended to agree more with McDonough. Yet there's also so much more to college that helps you with later in life. Some people just do not fit into the college lifestyle. For this reason alone college requires a step up in maturity. Obviously you go to college to get an education toward a degree, which starts you in a career, so that's the career preparation part of it. "Life's about choices," McDonough continues. "( McDonough 11) McDonough describes college rather as a place that teaches a person "life lessons" about responsibility. " ( McDonough 8)I also agree with McDonough on another point that college prepares people for more than just work. I know that if I had decided to not go to college for a semester or two right after high school so I could save up some money, I would not have gotten my parents' blessing on the decision. McDonough, once again, describes my feelings on this topic: "Realistically, [college] may not be for everybody. "( McDonough 12) McDonough continues, "I think it broadens an individual, too, and that's really important.
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Acceptance Essays
