AWP ROUGH DRAFT

Topic: is college worth it?

No it is not worth it because the debt cripples college graduates and a college degree is not necessary to
succeed.

Intro: Today’s society believes that automatic success is received with a college diploma. We are taught
that you will never become anything unless we go to college like we are supposed to. College is
supposed to be golden ticket into a wealthy life. But I do not believe this to be true. I understand that
college is important and that many opportunities come with a degree, but I still do not believe that
college is worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars that students are forced to spend for that degree. I
do not believe college is worth it because of the debt that cripples college graduates and there are many
jobs that do not require a college degree.

Body:

I often ask people which they would prefer: a job that they love but does not pay very much, or a job
that they hate but pays more. I believe that their answer shows how they look at life and what they truly
value. For me personally, I would choose the first option. I would rather love what I do and not be as rich
as someone who hates their job. I want to enjoy every part of my life, not just the time after I get off of
work. My dream job is to be a photographer. I want to capture life around me and immortalize it in my
photos. But my parents do not believe that being a photographer is going to pay enough. They want me
to go to college, get a degree, and get a stable job that pays more. Both my parents and today’s society
believes that that is how everyone’s life should be. To them, college is a necessity if you want to
succeed. But I do not see it that way. I think that college debt ruins many chances that its graduates
might have. According to ProCon.org, 44 million Americans owed $1.5 trillion in student debt in 2018.
Then if these Americans miss or have late loan payments, their credit score is lowered and receive
additional fees. This causes their debt problem to worsen and endangers future purchases and
employment. This debt forces the graduates to delay moving out of their parents’ houses and buying
their own home. Society teaches us that it is necessary to go to college but they don’t mention how
graduate lives’ are ruined because of the money they paid to go.

A college degree is not necessary to succeed. More and more jobs are being invented that do not
require a college diploma. The article, “Is a College Education Worth It?”, it states that, “According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the 30 projected fastest growing jobs between 2010 and 2020, five do
not require a high school diploma, nine require a high school diploma, four require an associate's
degree, six require a bachelor's degree, and six require graduate degrees.” This shows that only 16 out
of 30 jobs require a college education. There are many people who never went to college but still were
successful. Some of the most famous of these people include Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, and Bill Gates. I
do not believe that college is necessary for me to get everything I want out of life either. I want to be
able to enjoy my youth and not worry about my student loans for the next 20 years. A college diploma
also does not guarantee a well-paying job. It still takes hard work and although a degree might open up
a few more opportunities, it is still not that big of a difference.
Conclusion: Society today measures success by how wealthy you are and by other materialistic things.
But I want to measure my life by how much I enjoyed every day of it. A college degree is not necessary
for this life that I want for myself, especially if I am stuck with student loans that I will have to pay off for
many years. I still believe that college is important, but I do not think that college is needed for success. I
do not believe that college is worth all the money students spend because the debt will cripple them
after they graduate and you do not need a degree to get a good job.