Are Too Many People Going To College Analysis

Many high school students dream of having a luxurious house and stylish car and have strongly imprinted in their minds that the only way to achieve that is by attending a 4 year University. In the excerpt “Are Too Many People Going to College?” the author, Charles Murray argues that too many people are attending college, but do so for all the wrong reasons. He believes that students who do go to college do so because they believe that by attending they will acquire the skills they need to become things like--lawyers, doctors and engineers. But the truth is that these 4 year institutions are really just selling these poor, desperate students a false dream. Like Murray, I strongly concur that going to college is not the only option to being successful …show more content…
The ones who are prepared to go to college and have the proper resources to most likely success are people of higher classes. Therefore, people of the working class are left with little to no resources to help prepare them for higher education. Throughout the excerpt Charles Murray emphasizes that too many unprepared students are going to college not knowing what they are getting themselves into. He reveals “We will lure large numbers of people who do not possess adequate ability or motivation to try to achieve the goal and then fail. We will then stigmatize everyone who fails to achieve it,” (241-42). This is significant because as a college student I can confirm this. I come from a low income community where many students may not even graduate high school, let alone continue on to higher education. The few who do continue on to college are so increasingly overwhelmed by the workload that they either have no choice, but to fail or drop out of college. Friends and family who do drop out of college are then classified as lazy, dumb, or incompetent. This is extremely wrong and should be changed because it is as if this system is set for people with less academic and financial resources to fail. So, yes I do recognize that too many unprepared students are continuing on to higher education, but I believe that there should be changed implemented in order for them to be able to …show more content…
In the excerpt, Charles Murray conveys that “For the student who want to become a good hotel manager, software designer, accountant, hospital administrator, farmer, high school teacher, social worker……..four years of class work is ridiculous,” (230). The skills that these people would need they would be able to get online, community college, or even in a schools that is hands on. These students believe that the only way to have these type of careers is by going to a 4 year institution, but the reality is if they do choose to go then they’ll be wasting their time and money. In the article “Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone” the author Robert Reich argues similar ideals. He reiterates “Not every young person is suited to four years of college. They may be bright and ambitious but they won’t get much out of it. They’d rather be doing something else, like making money or painting murals. They feel compelled to go to college because they’ve been told over and over that a college degree is necessary.” Although this may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial because there many individuals out there that aspire to become things--such as chefs, mechanics, or cosmetologists, but do not need to attend a 4 year institution for those careers. In my experience with friends and