Aery Does the cost of a college education outweigh the benefits provided after

graduation? As a college student and the world changing substantially over the past couple years it raises a question in my mind- if social norms that were normal 10 years ago, are still normal. When looking at this question, the topic that is most prevalent to me is if a college education is truly worth what we perceive it as. Some other questions that enter my mind when thinking about this topic are has the success rate for those with a degree when looking at obtaining a job depreciated substantially over the past couple of years and it is the college degree that gives you the success, or specifically the confidence you gain out of obtaining a degree. Do the benefits outweigh the cost is a question that is prevalent in todays society for a multitude of different reasons which I will provide throughout the paper. Firstly, the cost of obtaining a college education has appreciated sustainably. This is confusing solely because when getting a degree guaranteed more success, the price was lower; however, now the price higher yet the guaranteed success is not as existent as it was. It is quite clear that this question is relevant to todays society due to the fact that throughout the last decades- the most important thing to achieve for a teenager was to get admitted into a college. As children of my age were grown up that was everything students worked for and found when reach that step it is essentially reaching success. Not only that but when looking at the position we are in today with the economy and presidents debating upon student loans and the government continuing or discounting financial aid creates it to be very existent and important. This topic mostly involved teenagers coming out of high school but not limited to adults who want to go back to school to receive a degree. In essence, this topic is relevant to everyone solely because it benefits or hurts the country as a whole through economic reasons.

2 [Type text] One day my mother approached me with the Charlotte Observer in her hand and she wanted me to read an article that related to this issue. The article was talking about the cost of a college education but just specifically how the success for those with a degree has depreciated over the years. After saying that, I am coming into this project knowing that there is a large amount of debt many students face coming right out of college and how they can get a $30,000 job salary and work for four years as oppose to spending around $100,000+ just to get a degree to prove that you graduated from college. I also am quite sure that more and more people are becoming more unemployed with a degree. Even after reading this article and conducting some research on my own I dont have any preconceived opinion on this issue; however, I do have an idea on that statistics and arguments on both sides. I do believe that a degree does not guarantee success like it use to however I dont have an opinion on which pathway is smarter. Personally, I feel as if college is that smarter way to go solely because I am a college student and have first hand experience on what you gain from it. Being brought up in an area full of amazing schools and successful people it has always been expected to achieve greatness. The first step to goal is to attend a (good) college and finish with a strong GPA. More specifically, Coming from an Indian background, youre brought up to have a large amount of success in school and to go to the top college or else youre not looked too as highly as others would. There is a lot of pressure add onto you being of that race that isnt necessarily put on by your parents, rather by the general view of our race. An issue that I might run into is being biased about one side of this topic solely because I am a college student. . I need to gain a better understanding of the career options or just options in general that are available to those who decide to not go to college. As I 2

Aery continue my research, I intended on finding more information on the career pathways of those who dont attend college and analyze their situation as oppose to just blinding assuming. When looking at research I have found an abundance of different information that poses both the pro and con side of my issue. One that I found extremely interesting was James Cotes study where he creates a study on finding the perceived return on investment. He was able to obtain these finding through the use of looking at university attendance, net of other factors currently known to influence participation. The other

sources I have look the earnings of a college graduate and how much they are in debt after their first year, varying to a study using the negative selection hypothesis theory and making it applicable when looking at a college education. When looking at effectiveness of research I find it essential to look at studies, statistics, and empirical evidence. The most up to date, relevant information comes from studies conducted by professors of college or statistics publishing in world known newspapers. When looking for studies I intend on using the databases provided by the schools library website. When looking for statistics I intend on looking at newspapers such as the New York Times and USA Today; moreover, use Google advance when looking for specifics. Some issues that I have been running into are finding up to date studies, they vary from 1999 all the way to 2008 but I have yet to come across anything recent. I also feel like my views on this assignment is creating a paper presenting the pros and cons of the issue and then establishing my own; however, I dont feel extremely comfortable doing that solely because it would turn into a research paper that has a copious amount information derived from studies and statistics which I dont think is necessary for this assignment. In the future, I see myself not being able to fully complete the assignment they way I should because of the mentality of making this

4 [Type text] assignment argumentative. The cost of a college education can cost a substantial amount of money; however, if your chances to reach success in land of opportunity increases, is it worth it?

Aery

Works Cited Brand, Jennie E. "Who Benefits Most from College? Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to Higher Education." American Sociological Review, Apr. 201. Web. 25 Sept. 2012. Brand, Jennie E. "Who Benefits Most from College? Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to Higher Education." American Sociological Review, Apr. 2010. Web. Cote, James. "Do Perceptions of Costs and Benefits of Post-Secondary Education Influence Participation?" N.p., 2008. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. "Fast Facts." Fast Facts. U.S. Department of Education, 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2012. <http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76>. Holtom, Brooks C. "College Is Worth the Cost." Businessweek.com. N.p., Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. "Reaping the Benefits: Defining the Public and Private Value of Going to College. The New Millennium Project on Higher Education Costs, Pricing, and Productivity." Institute for Higher Education Policy, 1998. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. Rouse, Cecilia Elena. "A Degree Is Well Worth the Time, Cost, and Effort." US News. U.S.News & World Report, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. Trostel, Phillp A. "The Fiscal Impacts of College Attainment." Research in Higher Education, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012