Charles Murray's Essay: Should Everyone Go To College

The article Are too many people going to college sheds light on why only a handful of most intelligently able students should go to school in many respects. The main points Charles Murray makes in the article are that college is too intelligent demanding, and it’s not necessary to attend physical college simply for making a living. He splits the passage into five parts and backs up each part with relatively convincing facts and statistics and applies various rhetoric appeals and reasoning to the passage. However, he establishes an ethos as a prejudiced libertarian from his other works and somehow diminishes his credibility. In this essay, we will discuss how Murray’s ethos plays on the persuasiveness of his article and how he develops his ideas

College is great but education systems shouldn't wait until college to finish teaching the students what they need to be literate Americans within society. Murray creates a good argument for teaching the core essentials in K-12 curriculum. A high school diploma should set a person up to be a productive person in society nothing more, nothing less. College should be a choice but not something that everyone has to obtain to be successful. Granted different people define success

In his article, “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray argues that too many people are going to college universities when they should be focusing on other lifestyle options. In his opinion, whether or not to attend college is a personal decision that should be thoroughly thought through. When weighed with the unrealistic prerequisites, the financial expenses, and the time needed to obtain a degree, many people will find that attending college will not be beneficial to them. Speaking of this Murray attests, “The question here is not whether the traditional four-year residential college is fun or valuable as a place to grow up, but when it makes sense as a place to learn how to make a living.

People go to college to get a good paying job, have job security, and get a degree. Well at least that’s what it should be about. That’s what Charles Murray believes in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College.” Murray counters the argument of Sanford Ungar who believes colleges should have a more liberal approach towards its classes and have students actually learn a broad range of real life skills instead of just going into a career just because it pays well. In Ungar’s essay he explains the misperception that Americans have on obtaining a liberal-arts degree and how they believe it doesn’t translate well to the real world.

In conclusion going to college is very much worth it. Getting a degree will not only improve the quality of a job’s pay substantially, but make the job search extensively easier. Knowing this students of all ages can make the right decision when deciding whether or not college is the right choice for them. So as a nation let's build ourselves to be better, richer and smarter people by making the right choice when it comes to our education;

Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of is it quite necessary for college. Whereas some are convinced that going to college is more beneficial, others maintain on the idea that colleges isn't quite necessary. Most people would say that if you don’t go to college, then you’re basically considered a failure or a secondary class. “College is like your life.if you don’t go to college...you can’t live a successful life.” Schlock from “Not Going to College is a Viable Option” acknowledges that young kids are being told about college being the only way to live a better life.

In my opinion, I agree with Murray’s claim that four year college is not worth, job satisfaction for intrinsic reward, and the dark side of the Bachelor's degree. In my view, Murray’s is right, because college requires student to take 32 courses in four years or longer and not all courses are relate to the field they study with. More specifically, I believe that four years college will take more time to achieve our goal and knowledges doesn’t teach us how to make a living in our society. Murray described in his article, “More people should be getting the basic of a liberal education. But for most students, the places to provide those basics are elementary and middle school” (235).

Owen and Sawhill include the claim of the article by acknowledging that, “[b]y telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice” which also answers the question presented in the title (par. 1). The authors side with the position that not everyone should be forced to attend college and for some people, it can be a disfavor to their future. Not only does the claim appropriately ties in with the title and main idea of the article, but it also effectively sets up the foundation for the organization in which the article is written because the article builds off of the claim by adding evidence and reason to their side of the argument presented. Owen and Sawhill, later on, develop aspects of the article to show evidence to emphasize the claim throughout the essay, such as “[t]he purpose of this brief is to highlight the reasons why, for a given individual, the benefits may not outweigh the costs” (par. 6). Overall, the claim presented is written that students who are interested in whether or not to go to college are not confused on what side of the argument the authors support and the constant repetition of the claim throughout the article assists to make the point come across very

In making this statement, Murray is right about what he says. It is true that young people are pushed all the time to go to college. Although the situation has gotten better, many people always see the person who skips out on college as the odd and weird person. Many of people are going to college and studying something they have no interest in simply because their parents want them to or because they don’t want society to look down on them. Although getting a college degree does give a person much more security in the future, it is not the only option and not everyone should be pushed towards that choice.

College Isn’t for Everyone "By telling all young people that they should go to college no matter what, we are actually doing some of them a disservice" (Owen). This quote from “Brookings Paper: Is College a Good Investment” goes into detail about how college isn’t for everyone. By educators, parents, and authority figures telling graduating high school seniors that college is necessary, they are limiting the potential of that student’s true skills. College isn’t right for everyone and not everyone wants to go to college.

For many people, college is an important key for their future. Some people go to college for the job opportunities and the new windows it can open. Others go just for the education and experience. A good education is beneficial from many different viewpoints; in truth, it is a possibility that one's adult life could be much harder than people care to think. One can have better wealth, is less likely to be unemployed, and a much higher chance of being closer to your family.

The final point is policy implications. The writers argue that it is a big mistake to tell students that are preparing for college that college is the best decision they can make, and I agree. It is important to insure that you are attending the college that best fits your educational needs. In closing, in the topic of is college the best option or not most will readily agree that college may not be the best option after graduating high school.

There is an ample amount of information that leads people to believe that college is a great choice. In Source F, it is shown that, “Adults who graduated from a four-year college believe that, on average, they are earning $20,000 more a year as a result of having gotten that degree. Adults who did not attend college believe that, on average they are earning $20,000 a year less as a result.” Also, provided in Source F, “...55% say it [college] was very useful in helping them prepare for a job or career.” While these statistics are true, the negatives still outweigh the positives.

(Procon.org). Learning and engaging in everything is a skill everyone should have, so like he said we should go to college to be able to do that. Additionally, education shows people to develop more intellectual skill and become more responsible (Pew Social and Demographic Trends). Thus said, being educated and smart is something everyone can do and college helps with that. Likewise, college can make someone more educated and happier.

Although college is stressful and time consuming , having your dream career, is a huge life achievement. Having a job isn’t the same as having a career “I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life”(Maya Angelou). If you sell yourself short by not going to college you’ll end up working just to make ends means not because it's what you enjoy doing, it's due to your family counting on it. Those who go to college will end up having a better future than those who don’t. I agree that going to college is more beneficial because my view on the topic states that in order to have a secure and clear future you must go to college.