Should Everyone Go To College By David Sawhill Summary

Improved Essays
Be Deliberate in Your Choice
The short essay Should everyone go to college? by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill discusses the different aspects and potential preferences and risks of the college graduation compared to the high school education. The authors imply economic methods of analysis to draw a comparison between costs and benefits of college education and take into consideration several non-economic factors. Owen and Sawhill argue that while it has been proven that a “higher education is one of the best investments we can make”, the efficiency of the additional education may fluctuate according to the differences in the fields of study, post-graduation occupation and several other factors (Sawhill and Owen).
There is a variety of studies, concluded in order to understand the short and long-term effects of a higher education. The increase in earnings associated with an additional education is usually the primary subject to analysis. According to the statistics, “the best studies suggest that the return to an additional year of school is around ten percent”; meaning that hypothetically a high school graduates earning $20,000 would increase their salary by $2,000 per a year of college (Sawhill and Owen). Another fact to consider is that the surplus earnings of the college graduates grow exponentially,
…show more content…
Owen and Sawhill argue that low performing students might find more success in the spheres or jobs, which need specific skills rather than knowledge. Drivers, soldiers, singers, workers of the sphere of catering and representatives of many other skill-oriented professions have competitive salaries without college education. The opponents of college education insist on the potential of self-development in the majority of the spheres. For instance, the criterion of comparison between the two software developers is the level of their performance, not the quality and quantity of their degrees and

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    Myriad Benefits of College In this century an education is indispensable and mandatory to be successful. According to a recent survey in Feldman’s book, P.O.W.E.R , college students said they wanted “ to learn more things that interest me.” Moreover, forty percent wanted to be more cultured. But sixty- eight percent reported they hoped college would provide a path to a more lucrative career.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Gamble of Obtaining a College Degree College may not be the best investment for everyone. An article called “Should Everyone Go to College was written about the varying degrees of success from going to college. It made the audience aware of the many factors that made this statement valid. It developed an effective argument on the cost of education.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the article Should Everyone Go to College by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, the authors share information about college. Their article begins with a list of advantages of attending college. The first of these benefits is, “The Rate of Return on Education”. The information provided in the article begins with showing the monetary differences in education. The lifetime earnings of someone who only has a high school diploma will be significantly less than someone who has achieved a college diploma.…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the reading "Should Everyone Go to College?", by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill they give their opinion on whether college is the best option for everyone or not. Owen and Sawhill's logos is stronger than their pathos and ethos on making their point. Their targeted audience is the kids that are undecided on whether to go to college or not. They start off by making their point of why college is not for everybody and stating that telling kids they have to go to college no matter what is actually doing them a disservice. A couple of factors that decide on the return to education is the cost and the field of study selected, and both of these are very effective in whether a kid goes to college or not.…

    • 419 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Going to a four year university seems like the only way a person is to make it in society. Contrary to common thought, Larry Cuban, a former high school social studies teacher, school district superintendent, and professor emeritus of education at Stanford, addresses some key points within his article, “Why Everyone Shouldn’t Go to College”, that favor forgoing college. Cuban gives a few examples, backed with credible information, that support one’s decision to skip out on a conventional college education to focus on alternate routes. With a strong ethos and consistent usage of logos to support his claims, Cuban is able to grasp the attention of his readers and convincingly persuade common thought. Cuban covers the costs of college, associate degrees for non-college students, whiles also including various truths that many individuals of academic authority would not advocate.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Let us go to College College is supposed to be the best years of an individual’s life, where he or she embarks on new experiences, such as attending football games, moving away from home, and meeting new friends. But, is it all worth it in the end? In the report “Should Everyone Go to College?” Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill discuss enormous variations in the rate of return on education depending on factors such as institution attended and choice of major.…

    • 726 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this essay, “College Prepares People for Life,” by Freeman Hrabowski portrays the notion that college is an absolute requirement to prepare students for “THE REAL WORLD”. Hrabowski embellishes the fact that without college, students are not going to be ready for the competitive job market and won’t be able to reach a high level of success if they don’t have the college experience. Yes Hrabowski point of view is completely understandable because in today’s society college has become such a norm and a place if you don’t go you will ostracized for, that students have no choice then to mindless focus on something that they are not passionate about. As a joiner in high school I can vouch first-hand the peer pressure from school, friends, teachers,…

    • 1107 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Motivated by the President Barrack Obama, the attention on the problem of whether postsecondary education is worth or not is rising than ever before. The article – “Making College Worth It: A Review of the Returns to Higher Education”, written by Philip Oreopoulos and Uros Petronijevic, focuses on this concern and trying to explore the complexity behind varying cost-benefit relationships of the optimal decision that prospective students or their families should invest in college or not. The article starts its illustration with the factors which cause the complexity. Such may include financial constraint, which is definitely a common problem hinders individuals from college.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    High technological companies in Silicon Valleys have a high demand for young talents, indicating that students choosing and excelling in the majors like science and math can have more chances to get employed. Bruni also argues that the high tuition of college and the rate of college loan also become obstacles for students. The title “the imperiled promise college” is not a completely denial of the usage of college but also a critical attack on the current problems of the college education. College diploma cannot be an amula but it is still a necessity for individuals to be more competitive in the job markets.…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Study after study reminds us that higher education is one of the best investments we can make...”(Owen, S., & Sawhill). In the essay, “Should Everyone go to College”, written by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, the two authors work together to form a strong argument on idea that everyone should go to college. Money, personal success, and personal well- being are the main subjects that the authors present to the readers. This paper will evaluate some of the different components of writing that the authors used to get their ideas across to the audience. In the text, the authors use a few different methods and devices to help convey their point to the reader in a more clear manner.…

    • 1372 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    From the day we start school, it is drilled into our brain that college is the only way to have a good future, but that may not be the case at all. Just ask Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. Although it helps to have a revolutionary idea like these men, it is not necessary. Ordinary people can also achieve success without a college degree. At least, that’s what Charles Murray in his article “Are Too Many People Going to College?”…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    College: To Go or Not to Go? Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill unveiled the constructive and adverse features of obtaining a college degree in the article, “Should Everyone Go to College?” “A bachelor’s degree is not a smart investment for every student in every circumstance” (Owen and Sawhill 222). The author’s stress to their audience that college is not for everyone and…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We view “college as a job” that gives substantial earnings returns to a college degree, irrespective of occupation, whether an individual is an insurance agent or a rocket scientist. This is not true because there are people with high degrees, like a PhD or a computer programmer, who have lost their jobs to layoffs. So having a college degree does not guarantee “substantial returns,” as Richard Vedder summarizes in his article, “For Many, College Isn’t Worth It." Vedder thinks the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are fairly accurate and that college is not worth it for everyone because we are all created differently. An impartial understanding of the information is that school is justified, despite all the trouble, for some huge number of youngsters, but is a significantly more financially dangerous…

    • 1046 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In “Should Everyone Go to College,” Owen and Sawhill states that college allows students who graduate to earn a higher rate of income; however, various factors should be considered before choosing a degree. Moreover, the authors clarify that while the value of college outweighs the costs associated with earning a degree, just any college degree is not the best investment one could make to ensure the completion and success of their education. The authors also explain that the value of college can outweigh the costs associated with completing a degree. Owen and Sawhill emphasized that college improves certain values, such as job satisfaction and overall well-being, while also improving equally-as-important more monetary values such as graduates’…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On one hand, college helps people get better-paying jobs. From this perspective, college seems like a worthy investment; however, others such as Caplan argue that college is a waste of time because students do not learn what they need for jobs. In words of Caplan, one of his view's main proponents is that "Trying to spread success with education spreads education but not success" (para. 34). According to his view, college does not determine success. In sum, then, the issue is still whether or not students should attend college.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays