Persuasive Essay On Success Before College

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For most high school graduates there are two options. Go to college or join the workforce. Finances play a giant role on which option a graduate will choose. If college is chosen, how is it going to be paid for? Not every student will have the money necessary to pay for college, so then it is either a student loan or financial aid. Financial aid can be very selective, so that leaves student loans. Will those loans pay off with a degree to have a career that will financially pay off those loans, or is that student going to be left in debt that is unable to be paid?
I believe that if a student is careful when borrowing money, and is prepared to live frugally, that it is worth it to invest in college. Ultimately though, it is up to that individual if paying back loans is something they are prepared to do. If a student decides that they would rather immediately join the workforce that is not necessarily a bad thing. A person can be just as successful having a career that does not require a college education, as one that does. While it is important to receive a college education, it is not necessary to be successful in a desired career. A college education can be a very important thing to have when it comes to being successful in the workforce. The New York Times says,” The report contended that Americans without advanced education are being shut out of an economy that increasingly demands specialized skills that are learned in college”(1988). Most employers look for an employee with a college degree. Even if it is not necessary to have a degree for a particular job, most employers will still choose a college graduate over a high school graduate when they hire. The article “College is still worth the Expense” says, the central factor that makes college – even at inflated prices - worth it is the ability of graduates to enter higher work “zones,” as defined by the US government. The lower work zones pay the least and are filled primarily by college graduates” (2009). This is very accurate in my opinion. Higher paying jobs require some sort of degree. While a person could still earn a living without a college degree, they are usually not making as Is College Necessary 4 much as a person with a degree. For instance, a person can work at a bank as a bank teller with no college degree, but in order to become a loan officer, that person would have to have a degree. In order to get the degree however, most people would need a student loan. Not all students are willing to take on debt to earn an education. With that being said however in the article “Not all Student Loans are Alike” they say, “Student loans are often categorized as good debt, because a college education is considered a sensible long-term investment. In 2005, the typical full-time worker with a four- year college degree earned 62% more than an employee with only a high school diploma”(2012). Basically they are saying that a student
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In the article “Success without College,” the author defends young adults after Larry
King insults them. She says, “Any serious attempt to get some young people to decide to pass on college for their own benefit has to begin by asking eighteen-year-olds to make more mature decisions than our current culture thinks they should make. When Larry King interviewed Kobe
Bryant about his decision to enter the NBA Draft after high school, King asked, “What was the hardest part about being eighteen and playing in the league with adults?” My thought was, eighteen-year-olds are adults, Mr. King, even if they are less wise than their elders.”(2011) I couldn’t agree with her more. An eighteen-year-old may not have as much wisdom as someone twice their age, but everyone has to learn sometime. Everyone was eighteen once. There was a time when most people were married by the time they were eighteen. If a person can have that much responsibility at eighteen, they can also decide whether they want to go to college or not.
She then goes on to say “Anyone who can legally drive a car, vote in a presidential election, or serve in the military should be treated as a young man or woman, not as a “college

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