A college degree is more important than ever before.

In 2014 Katherine Peralta wrote “Benefits of College Still Outweigh Costs, Fed Study Says,” in which she argues that college is worth the current costs in today’s society. The author proves this by offering data from a New York Federal Reserve study. The author is writing this piece in order to persuade the reader that college education is still well worth the costs. The author’s audience is writing to is people who are currently in college to justify their education.

The author, Katherine Peralta, is a reporter for U.S. News & World Report. She specializes in economy articles for the news organization. In her article she argues that college graduates make, on average, $1,000,000 more than non-college graduates. This does not surprise me that much, because many well paying jobs in the U.S. require college degrees. The author does address the increase in tuition, or what she calls the “sticker price” (tuition and fees combined). She comes back saying that student’s usually pay lower than the sticker price due to the amount of financial aid that student’s receive. The author only glances over this part of the argument. She fails to go into detail on the financial burden’s of student debt. It seems at though that the author implies that student’s will make enough money in the long run to pay off your loans. The author also fails to address the differences in the pay off of private vs. public education. She compares the differences of college vs. non-college graduates, though does not break down the cost analysis of various sources of bachelor degrees. With all of the talk of how college is not worth the cost, it is nice to see someone who actually looks at a long term cost analysis.

Peralta, Katherine. “Benefits of College Still Outweigh Costs, Fed Study Says.” U.S. News & World Report. U.S. News & World Report, 24 June 2014. Web. 24 February 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/06/24/benefits-of-college-still-outweigh-costs-fed-study-says>

“How to Fix the Student Debt Loan Crisis” By: Jennifer Williamson

Jennifer Williamson is a columnist for Distance Education.org and published the article “How to Fix the Student Debt Loan Crisis” (2010), and gives several proposed solutions to the ever increasing problem of student debt. The author immediately gives statistics of student debt and how it is hurting our economy, Williamson supports her claim with the proposed solutions from several different sources to include The Project On Student Debt, Forgiving Student Loan Debt, and Barack Obama’s Student Loan Debt Overhaul. The purpose of Williamson’s article was to bring light to the topic of student loan debt and the possible proposals that were, at that time, viable solutions. The article is not overwhelmingly technical and seems to target an audience that would be less knowledgeable on debt or possibly interested in student debt.

Even though this article was published in 2010 I feel it is still viable today because it opens the readers eyes to possible solutions. One aspect that Williamson focuses on, that other articles seem to lack, is the issue of bankruptcy and student loan debt. She describes how it is notoriously difficult to get student loan debt waived during a bankruptcy, causing someone who is overburdened by debt, unable to fully utilize a bankruptcy. Another interesting part of the article which I was intrigued by was how she talks about “Forgiving Student Loan Debt” which was started on social media and sought for the forgiveness of student debt. I also chose this article because it is a few years old and gives us a perspective of how the view on student debt has changed. Overall, Williamson’s article seems to be incomplete. It often gives possibilities but doesn’t realistically back up those claims.

Williamson, Jennifer. “How to Fix the Student Loan Debt Crisis.” Distance-Education.org. Distance Education, 4 Aug. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. http://www.distance-education.org/Articles/How-to-Fix-the-Student-Loan-Debt-Crisis-276.html

Can I get a job after college? Tyler says YES!

In the article,”Many Recent College Graduates Have Found Employment,”  written in 2014 by Tyler Kingkade argues that higher education “pays off for graduates,” and that most college graduates have found full time employment. The author uses sources such as the U.S. Census, the Associated Press, and various universities to share this data with us. Tyler’s purpose is to show us that college graduates gain employment post-graduation in order to make the reader consider getting a higher education. Given the many sources of evidence that the author uses to persuade the reader that college graduates gain employment, the audience that Tyler is writing to are young adults that are considering a higher education.

Tyler Kingkade is a nationally recognized writer at The Huffington Post. He specializes in covering higher education as well as “millennials.” Previously he covered politics for The Huffington Post as well as other news agencies and received national recognition for his work. In this article the author addresses the employment rate of college graduates. The author states that college students having a higher unemployment rate is not a new concept. He addresses the fact that recent stories about college graduates struggling to find jobs is not something that should be surprising. He states that recent college graduates have always have had a higher unemployment rate and that it cannot be associated with the great recession. With more and more people complaining about not being able to find jobs post-graduation they should realize that they are not special, and that it is common. I am curious to whether any more recent studies show if these graduates are employed in the field of their major. The author states that the study that he cites doesn’t show this. You would think that this would be something that would be included on a professional study.

Kingkade, Tyler. “Many Recent College Graduates Have Found Employment.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 July 2014. Web. 24 February 2016.  <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/08/recent-college-graduates-employment_n_5564881.html>

“How Congress Can Fix the Student Debt Crisis” By: Balaji Rajan

Balaji Rajan is an immigrant who earned an education here in the United States and went on to become CEO of a company who helps former students manage their debt, “How Congress Can Fix The Student Debt Crisis” (2014), is his perspective on a possible solution. Rajan takes a stance that the student loan set up needs to be revamped so the student is held more liable for their spending habits, he does this by providing data of student loans and where the money goes. Rajan’s purpose is to inform the audience that the solution of student debt is to make the borrowers more responsible for their spending by having different types of student loans. By not simply giving an out for debtors but by giving a solution that would adhere to accountability; Rajan’s targeted audience are parents, voters, politicians a prospective students.

Rajan’s article is not the traditional article about a solutions to student. He states that debtors should be held accountable for their spending habits. Tuition averages are stated as being an average of 32,500.00 for graduates. Rajan goes further than this and seems to target the irresponsibility of students by stating statistics such as: 68% of students max out their loans, 25% take loans higher than their tuition, 40% do not earn a bachelors degree after 6 years in college and that portions of student loans go to non educational expenses. A possible solution that he proposes is to have two separate federal loans for students, one at a low interest rate to only be applied to tuition and school fees, and a second loan at a higher interest rate to apply to living expenses. Rajan also states that non-educational expenses should be prohibited. By doing this students will be motivated to be more responsible with the amount of debt that they accumulate and how they spend it.

Rajan, Balaji. “How Congress Can Fix the Student Debt Crisis | Commentary.” Roll Call. Roll Call, 21 July 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2016. http://www.rollcall.com/news/how_congress_can_fix_the_student_debt_crisis_commentary-235004-1.html

Are College Degrees Nothing More than Social Indicators?

In Naomi Riley’s online article “You Can Lead Kids To College, But You Can’t Make Them Learn” (2011), she argues that a college education does not indicate knowledge or skills, but is more of a signaling mechanism used in today’s society to classify someone as hardworking and intelligent.  Riley supports the thesis by providing personal experience; she discusses a handyman who has an in-demand job and is able to vacation with his family (he even has sent his children to college), as well as the fact that the handyman is very knowledgeable—on the other hand, the author’s family member who is attending university for a degree in education struggles with the knowledge that she is supposedly gaining with a college education, even though she will most likely attain a masters degree.  The purpose of the argument is to demonstrate for people that a college education does not necessarily denote the intelligence or knowledge of an individual and to convince readers that society should stop using a college degree as a marker for these qualities.  The intended audience are those who think that a college education is very valuable and who believe that a degree signifies the capabilities of others; an example of someone in the intended audience would be a parent planning on sending their child to college to get a degree.

I think it is important for society to realize that a college degree does not necessitate the intelligence, work ethic, or capabilities of individuals.  Attaining a college education is a huge achievement, but just because someone has a college degree does not mean that they are automatically better for a job, or more knowledgeable than individuals working in more technically-trained positions.  However, when Riley discusses that she believes that a college education should not be used as a signal for hardworking or intelligent individuals, I do not agree with that point.  More often than not, people have to work hard and learn a lot in order to attain a college degree.

Works Cited

Riley, Naomi. “You Can Lead Kids to College but You Can’t Make Them Learn.”US News. U.S.News & World Report, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. 24 Feb. 2016. <http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-a-college-degree-still-worth-it/you-can-lead-kids-to-college-but-you-cant-make-them-learn&gt;.

Only the Motivated Should Apply to College?

In Craig Brandon’s online article “With College, Only the Motivated Need to Apply” (2011), he argues that many students that attend university are not fit for the university track and that those students should not be encouraged to seek a college degree while only motivated, non-partying students attend university.  The argument is supported with statistical figures such as that students regularly graduate with $25,000 in student loan debt as well as statements of opinion such as that a “majority of college students are lazy, narcissistic, anti-intellectual party animals. . . [who] spend more time drinking that studying” (Brandon 2011).  Brandon’s purpose of this argument is to convince people that a college education is not necessarily a right and is not intended for everyone to attain.  The intended audience for the argument are individuals who believe that a college education is a right and the best path for most (if not all) people.

I agree with certain aspects of Craig Brandon’s argument in “With College, Only the Motivated Need to Apply”, such as his statements regarding the fact that college is not meant for everyone.  Some people are more well-suited for technical schools and other professions that do not need college degrees but instead require other forms of training.  However, overall, I disagree with Brandon’s argument.  He repeatedly makes references to the laziness and apathy of millennials, which I think is not only an offensive statement, but also incredibly untrue.  Many millennials, such as myself, attend university full-time, have part-time jobs, internships, and are active members of clubs and other extra-curricular activities.  That Brandon frequently makes statements that are in a way ‘talking down to’ millennials makes his argument weak and seemingly very biased.

Works Cited

Brandon, Craig. “With College, Only the Motivated Need Apply.”US News. U.S.News & World Report, 17 Nov. 2011. Web. <http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/is-a-college-degree-still-worth-it/with-college-only-the-motivated-need-apply&gt;.