Thursday, January 31, 2013
The Reality of Graduating College
In this article, Tamar Lewin of the New York Times discusses the recent concern towards the lack of college completion. The main issue is that the people who do go to college tend to overestimate their chances of completing college. They have expectations that they will finish college on time so that they can graduate and get a better job with a good pay. However, many students who don't receive credentials and have debt from student loans are in trouble because of the unlikeliness that they will find a job.A report by higher-education advocates known as “The American Dream 2.0,” suggests that colleges should make it easier for students to apply for financial aid so that college completion is both the priority of the school and student. The problem is that colleges focus too much on admissions and not enough focus on graduation rates.
In the United States, we value education, so it doesn't surprise me that so many people have the dream of completing college and receiving a degree. I think that it is very typical for any high school student to expect a diploma from the college they will attend. There has been a point in time that most people didn't go to college and instead worked for their family business or married off in order to get money to survive comfortably. Now that education is valued so strongly, many people focus on getting into to college more than actually finishing college. Ideally, Americans want to go to college, find a good job, and have a decent salary. Realistically, many Americans fail to realize that, while hard work is valued and can get you into college, hard work is not the only factor that goes into play when graduating college. Some students don't have enough money to continue at college and many schools don't fight hard enough for the students to stay. Like the name "The American Dream 2.0," suggests, it is the goal of most Americans to receive a higher-education and diploma, but setbacks that should be avoided make it more difficult to obtain. I believe that colleges should make an effort to help the graduation rates so that America can have more fully-educated citizens which in turn would help society as a whole.
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I think that this is a really interesting point. When I research a college, I've never looked at the graduation rate. I've never thought about the way the college will help me once I arrive, I more focus on getting in. The article says colleges pretty much do the same thing. I agree that colleges should fight to find ways to keep students in, help them find ways to graduate. I also agree that colleges should find ways to help students that need online or late night classes that can work around a work schedule, if that's the type of college, or the major, they are attending or getting (i.e. certain degrees and colleges are more demanding, I don't think you can get a bio medical engineering degree online...)
ReplyDeleteStudents end up in a massive hole of debt after just one year of college, and what if they cannot graduate. They now have debt and have no degree to help get a job. On the other hand, it feels like everyone has gotten a college degree (at least where I am from). People don't contemplate attending college, it is expected. A lot of people may work hard to get into college because it is what everyone does, then they get to college and realize they didn't want to do go there / do this. This could be another reason that students drop out, it just wasn't what they wanted or expected (not a good reason to loose so much money, but it is another explanation that wasn't expressed in the article).
That's a good point. A lot of people might drop out because college isn't living up to their standards. Maybe if more people focus on what the school is actually like after acceptance, they would enjoy the school more and have a better chance of graduating. Instead of going to college just to get in, people should understand the reality of going to college.
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