The Value of College Degrees: Should Everyone Go to College

Introduction

In our country, having a college degree is the currency of validation. A college education is one of the most effective ways to increase your lifetime earnings and life expectancy over time. In the wake of the economic downturn, welders will be out of work, and major manufacturing jobs will be lost very quickly. To stay in the workforce, you need a college education. We are differentiated from other living organisms on earth by our education. In other words, it makes man the most intelligent creature that exists on the planet today. Even though it is harder for people who are less privileged than others, that doesn’t mean that they can’t achieve the same goals. This paper will shed light on why college degrees are important and the impact they can have on an individual, especially those who are not wealthy and come from under-resourced backgrounds.

College facts vs. College determination

College graduates enjoy better health and a longer life expectancy, according to the author Alex Bernadotte. According to the Census Bureau, those with a college degree earn 18% more than those with a high school diploma and 62% more if they have a 4-year degree. She explains that the real question is not if college is for everyone but if it is for under-resourced students or those from environments like her own. She came from a family of no collegegoers, but they stressed the importance of education to Bernadotte, and we’re committed to getting her into an Ivy League college. Upon graduating from college, Bernadotte founded an organization that added 31 new jobs to the US economy and hired 50% of first-generation college students. According to Bernadotte, colleges and universities are broken systems that place more emphasis on whether you can afford them than whether they are accessible, inclusive, and affordable. ?

According to Ana Hernandez Kent, children follow in their parents’ footsteps when it comes to their education. It has been shown that family education can affect how much income and wealth a family has, and when at least one parent has a college degree, a family has a higher level of income and wealth. Approximately 23 percent of families in the United States were headed by someone with a four-year degree in 1989, but by 2016, that number had increased to 34 percent of families because of the increase in higher education. The place you’re from can affect your educational achievement, and parent education affects your college graduation rate, explains Kent. There is a strong correlation between children mimicking their parents, and breaking the intergenerational cycle is difficult. Only one in four family heads achieves the goal. According to Kent, parents of college graduates are more likely to have an active role in the education of their children, they have more financial resources, and they have extensive networks.

Conclusion

Alex Bernadotte, born in Haiti, came from a family without a college education, but she became the first member of her family to attend college. In addition to graduating from Stanford at the top of her class, she became the founder and CEO of Beyond 12, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing college graduation rates. Ana Hernandez Kent studies economic equity at the Federal Reserve Branch of St. Louis. Advising on economic equity and systematic barriers, Ana Hernandez conducts research and analyses data.

A TED talk by Bernadotte about whether college is for everyone and Kent’s article on Why college graduates earn more money both make valid points about why earning a degree is beneficial and can increase your opportunities in life. In my opinion, however, I do not agree with Bernadotte’s or Kent’s opinion that students who College facts vs. College determination come from less privileged homes and are not going to have the same success in college as their peers who come from more affluent families. In my opinion, what is meant for you will be for you, and where you come from has nothing to do with where you can go.

References

1. Bernadotte, A. (n.d.). Beyond 12. Retrieved from https://beyond12.org/
2. Hernandez Kent, A. (n.d.). Ana Hernandez Kent – Economic Inclusion at the St. Louis Fed. Retrieved from https://www.stlouisfed.org/authors/ana-hernandez-kent
3. TED. (n.d.). Alex Bernadotte: The dream we haven’t dared to dream. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/speakers/alex_bernadotte
4. United States Census Bureau. (n.d.). Educational Attainment in the United States: 2019. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/data/tables/2019/demo/education-attainment/cps-detailed-tables.html