Over the last fifty years, college has become a necessary element to success. Instead of only a few people of our society being allowed to get a college degree, it now seems that everyone can get one with relative ease. Parents of today often force their children into college. They want their kids to have the chance to make it in life, to be successful and wealthy. But with this growth in college attendance, comes a decline in the difficulty of college courses. Fifty years ago, according to author William A. Henry III, a college grad with an English degree was expected to be "versed in Latin, Anglo-Saxon, and medieval French." (138) But today's college graduate is expected to have only a strong grasp of the American language. The growth in college attendance has lead to the decline of college curriculum. College should be more selective and not a commodity that one can buy and cheat their way through.
             Prior to the second half of this century, a high school diploma was considered to be a significant accomplishment. It held the same power that a college degree holds today. But a high school is basically automatic for teenagers outside of the ghettos and barrios (Henry, 135). A high school diploma is often looked at as merely stepping stone toward college. It is no longer considered to be a big accomplishment on its own. College has become virtually the only accepted path after high school. Unlike in the past, a college education has become a rite of passage rather than proof of some great accomplishment.
             In countries, such as England, France, and Japan, university attendance is limited to a small portion of high school graduates. In such countries, only about 10% to 15% of teenagers are allowed to attend college (Henry, 135). Yet according to the Department of Commerce's Statistical Abstract of the United States, some 63% of all American high school graduates go on t
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