ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING PRE-ASSESSMENT
FALL 2022
AUG.17 & 18
Many recent college graduates have faced record levels of unemployment. This
situation has led people to question what they value about higher
education. Some high school students and their caregivers are wondering if a
college education is worth the cost. Others, however, believe that a college
education prepares students for more than just a job or career.
Carefully read the three sources, including the introductory information for
each source. Then synthesize information from at least two of the three
sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that evaluates
whether college is worth its cost.
Your essay should take a clear stance on whether or not college is worth
it. Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to
develop your argument and explain the reasoning for it. Avoid merely
summarizing the sources. Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from
whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary. You must cite
the sources in the correct MLA format.
You will have 90 minutes to read, annotate and write your argumentative
essay. Once completed you will need to submit it to Turnitin.com.
Article #1
Is College Worth The Cost? Pros Vs. Cons
forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/is-college-worth-it/
Kat Tretina
If you’re in high school, guidance counselors, teachers and other well-meaning
adults have likely told you—repeatedly—that you need to attend college to earn a
good living. But is a college degree worth it?
The cost of attending college has increased substantially since your parents were
in school. Over the past decade, costs increased by over 25%, and most college
graduates leave school with significant amounts of student loan debt.
However, a bachelor’s degree can still pay off in the long run. Here is what
you need to consider when deciding if college is right for you.
How Much a College Degree Costs
If you’re planning on attending college, be prepared for sticker shock.
The College Board reported that the average total cost of attending a public
school for in state students is $26,820 per year, while the total cost of attendance
at private universities averages $54,880 per year.
If you graduate within four years, that means your degree would cost between
$107,280 and $219,520, depending on which type of school you attend.
Even if you qualify for financial aid, including scholarships and grants, that price
tag can be staggering. Before paying your enrollment fees, make sure you ask
yourself, “Is college worth it for me?”
3 Reasons Why College Is Worth it
For many people, college is well worth the expense. Not only do you gain
valuable life experience and make lifelong connections, but a college degree
also offers the following advantages:
1. College Graduates Earn More Than Non-Graduates
Despite the rising cost of post-secondary education, a college degree still pays
off for the majority of graduates. On average, those with a bachelor’s degree
earn significantly more than their peers with only a high school diploma.
Just how much more? The median salary for workers with high school diplomas is
$38,792, and they have an average unemployment rate of 3.7% as of 2019,
according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by Northeastern
University. By contrast, the median salary for workers with bachelor’s degrees is
$64,896, and their unemployment rate is just 2.2% on average .
Over the course of their careers, college graduates can earn hundreds of
thousands more than those who don’t attend college.
2. The Majority of Jobs Require College Education
In past generations, a college education wasn’t necessary to earn a middle-class
income. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce, two-thirds of jobs required a high school diploma or less before the
1980s.
That’s no longer the case. Georgetown University predicts that 70% of all jobs
will require some college education by 2027.
Without higher education on your resume, it may be more difficult to find a highpaying job, and competition for available opportunities will be fierce.
3. College Graduates Are More Likely to Have Health Insurance
With skyrocketing healthcare costs, having quality health insurance is essential for
your well being. However, purchasing health insurance on your own can be
prohibitively expensive. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the benchmark
premium for single-person policies purchased through the Health Insurance
Marketplace is $462 per month or $5,544 per year.
What does that have to do with college? You may not realize it, but there is a
significant correlation between college education and healthcare coverage.
College graduates are far more likely than high school graduates to have employerprovided coverage, offsetting their healthcare costs. The College Board found that
64% of workers with bachelor’s degrees and 70% of workers with advanced
degrees had employer-provided coverage, while employer plans covered just 52%
of high school graduates.
3 Reasons Why College Is Not Worth It
While a four-year degree can be valuable for many students, a bachelor’s
degree isn’t necessary for everyone. Before attending college, make sure you
consider the following drawbacks:
1. You Likely Will Graduate With Student Loan Debt
Because college costs have increased so much, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to
cover the entire cost out of your savings or earnings from a part-time job; instead,
you’ll probably have to use student loans to cover at least some of the expense.
According to The Institute for College Access and Success, 62% of 2019 college
graduates left school with student loan debt, with an average balance of $28,950.
Depending on your student loan repayment plan, you could be in debt for 10 to 30
years. Thanks to your minimum monthly payments, you may feel pressure to put
off other financial goals, like saving for retirement or buying a home.
2. High-Paying Jobs Aren’t Guaranteed
While a college degree is often promoted as a path to prosperity, it can be
tougher than you’d expect on the job market.
Especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic—which caused tens of millions of
people to file unemployment claims in 2020—finding a well paying job after
graduation may be difficult.
The average starting salary for college graduates right out of school is about
$51,000, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. While
that’s a comfortable income for most, many graduates will earn less than that. And
if you have hefty student loan debt that exceeds your income, you may struggle to
make ends meet.
3. It Can Take More Than Four Years to Graduate
When it comes to getting a bachelor’s degree, you’ll probably anticipate
graduating within four years. However, that may not be realistic. The National
Student Clearinghouse Research Center found that just 58% of students who
enrolled in college in 2012 earned a degree within six years. The rest of the
students were either still in school or dropped out.
For every additional year you’re in school, you rack up additional expenses and
likely will need to take on more student loan debt to pay for your education. Taking
six years or more to graduate can cause you to leave school with even more debt,
and it may be difficult to dig yourself out.
4. Alternatives to a College Degree
Is a college degree worth it? Not for everyone. If you decide that attending a fouryear school isn’t the right decision for you, there are other options you can use to
earn a good income.
Community College
Attending community college is substantially cheaper than attending a four-year
college or university. According to The College Board, the average cost of tuition
at an in-district community college is just $3,770.
At a community college, you can earn an associate’s degree or complete
certificate programs that lead to stable careers. For example, the following
career paths require two year degrees and have above-average salaries:
Radiation therapist: $80,160
Computer programmer: $79,840
4/5
Dental hygienist: $72,910
Registered nurse: $68,450
Telecom installer: $53,640
Trade School
Trade schools, vocational schools or technical colleges provide hands-on training
for different skilled careers. The programs tend to be much shorter than college
programs, with students graduating in six months to two years.
The cost of attending a trade school is much less than attending four-year
schools. The average cost of completing a program is $33,000.
There is an increased demand for trained trade professionals, and you can earn
a comfortable income. For example, these are the median incomes for the
following trades according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Electrician: $56,180
Plumber: $55,160
Carpenter: $48,330
Mechanic: $42,090
Bootcamps
If you’re interested in software and web development, attending a coding bootcamp
can be a pathway to a potentially lucrative career. According to The Course Report,
the average bootcamp program lasts for just 14 weeks, and you can land a new job
in data science, app development or cybersecurity.
The average cost to attend a coding bootcamp is $13,500, and the average
starting salary for bootcamp graduates is $67,000.
Entrepreneurship
If you have an idea for a business, entrepreneurship may be a better career path
than attending college. As an entrepreneur, you can be your own boss and set
your own salary. The average salary for entrepreneurs is approximately $43,000
per year.
However, keep in mind that starting your own business can be risky, and it may
be several years before your business turns a profit. To get help developing your
ideas and creating a business plan, take advantage of resources offered by the
U.S. Small Business Administration.
Article #2
Yes, College is Worth It: Busting Myths about
Higher Education
knox.edu/magazine/spring-2018/features/yes-college-is-worth-it
"Student debt is out of control."
"Unemployment rates for college graduates are high."
"College is not worth the money."
It's not a myth that faith in higher education is on the decline, but the
headlines (like the ones above) we read in the newspaper or see on social
media are just that-headlines.
Many are based upon extreme cases and not reflective of the experience
of the vast majority of college graduates.
So how do we know what's a myth and what's real? Knox Magazine set out to take
on a few of the headlines-or bust a few of the common myths-about higher
education to help us all better understand why a college degree is still worthy of
pursuit.
MYTH: College is too expensive.
FACT: College is expensive, but schools work hard to
defray the costs.
Tuition, room, and board can add up quickly, particularly if you attend a private
school, where the sticker price can exceed $50,000 per year. Even in-state
tuition at many public colleges and universities is upwards of $20,000 per year.
A college education does cost more today than it did a decade ago, but when
you account for inflation, the growth in tuition, room, and board is not
accelerating. At Knox, the increase in net price (tuition, board, and fees) has
mirrored inflation over the last decade.
Further, the vast majority of students who attend college do not pay the sticker
price, thanks to scholarships, federal financial aid, and institutional aid. The
average price for a college education is $16,164 per year; at Knox, that average
price is $20,804, and 98 percent of our students receive some form of aid, whether
that be financial aid or merit scholarships.
Sources: College Scorecard, IPEDS, The College Board: Trends in College Pricing
2016
1/7
MYTH: Colleges spend too much money on fancy
residence halls and climbing walls.
FACT: Yes, some do, but most do not.
As the competition for students has risen among colleges and universities, climbing
walls, lazy rivers, and other amenities are now found on some college and
university campuses as a means to make their schools more attractive to
prospective students. The additions to campus aren't always paid for by tuition; for
example, Louisiana State University covered the cost of its new recreation center,
which includes a lazy river, with student fees. But a large number of college and
university campuses haven't entered into what some call the new "arms race,"
either because they choose not to or face budgetary or other constraints don't
allow for such amenities. In fact, once you start to read the stories that highlight
these amenities, you'll find that these may be more of an exception than a rule.
“
2/7
Sources: Chronicle of Higher Education, U.S. News & World Report
MYTH: Students are drowning in debt.
FACT: The average debt level of a bachelor's degree
recipient is equivalent to the average price of a new
car.3/7
We've all read the stories about students graduating from college with
burdensome amounts of debt, sometimes topping $100,000. While it is true that
college debt has grown over the last decade, the extreme stories you read about
in the news are just that: extreme. In 2014, only 4 percent of all borrowers owed
$100,000 or more in student debt, and the vast majority of large debt is incurred at
the graduate level or at for-profit educational institutions.
The average debt incurred by a Knox graduate is $27,000, below the national
average of $30,000, and 72 percent of Knox graduates start to repay their loans
within three years, compared to the national average of 48 percent. While we
recognize that $27,000 of debt is substantial, here's another way to think about it:
Many of us don't blink an eye at incurring a car loan of $30,000, and you'll only
own a car for roughly a decade, give or take a few years; your education will last
you a lifetime.
Sources: Council for Independent Colleges, College Scorecard, CNBC, Student Loan
Hero
MYTH: A bachelor's degree isn't worth the investment.
FACT: A bachelor's degree is one of the most
important-and beneficial-investments you can make.
The sentiment that the expense of attaining a four-year degree, particularly at
a private school, isn't worth the outcome is certainly growing. But we need to
remember that a college degree has benefits that last a lifetime.
According to a report by The College Board, college graduates also earn
roughly 73 percent more than high school graduates-and those with advanced
degrees earn two to three times as much as high school graduates. On
average, college graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetimes than high
school graduates. A recent study by the Brookings Institution further shows
that college graduates ultimately lead healthier, longer lives. So while the cost
of a bachelor's degree is not inconsequential, the benefits that graduates
realize over their lifetimes are well worth the initial investment.
Sources: Chronicle of Higher Education, College Scorecard, College Board
MYTH: Liberal arts graduates aren't desirable employees in
today's marketplace.
FACT: Liberal arts graduates are highly desired by employers.
5/7
While it may seem counterintuitive that a broad-based education may be more
beneficial than a skills-based one, it's true. The core outcomes of a liberal arts
education-the ability to think critically and creatively, work collaboratively,
communicate clearly, adapt to new technologies, and navigate today's global
economy-are not only desired by today's top employers, but also provide students
with the skills they need to adapt to an ever changing world. Today's graduates
may have two or more different career trajectories during their lifetime, which
makes a broad-based education even more beneficial.
Companies in the tech industry aren't shy about the benefits of a liberal arts
degree-Google often touts its appreciation for employees who can think creatively
and adapt to evolving technologies, and Microsoft president Brad Smith and EVP
of AI and research Harry Shum
wrote in their new book, The Future Computed, that lessons from liberal arts will be
critical to unleashing the full potential of AI. We hear this exact sentiment from
employers who hire Knox graduates on a regular basis. Take Epic Systems, whose
human resources recruiter says, "Epic values the well-rounded liberal arts
education students receive at Knox College and actively recruits students majoring
in everything from classics to computer science."
Sources: Council for Independent Colleges, Knox College Bastian Family Center
for Career Services,
Article #3
Is College Still Worth It?
bestcolleges.com/blog/is-college-still-worth-it/
May 22, 2020
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A college degree is correlated with higher lifetime earnings for both
men and women.
Opportunity gaps limit the potential for success for minority and
low-income students.
The rising cost of college means more students are taking out loans to
attend.
In Hasbro's The Game of Life, you have two options: "Start College" or "Start
Career." Players who go to college must initially take on a sizable amount of debt,
but they also get to pick from more career and salary options later on — just as in
real life.
College is often worth the time and cost if your target career requires a specific
degree, or if you simply want the college experience. However, the value of
college in terms of professional success, personal fulfilment, and financial return
remains a point of debate.
Generally speaking, well-paying jobs require postsecondary degrees. Employment
data shows substantially higher median lifetime earnings for college graduates.
Even people with just some college education tend to make more than those who
never attended college.
Although the cost of college continues to rise, saddling some 45 million
Americans with student loan debt, higher education still holds real, practical
value in today's job market.
The Value of a College Education
To most Americans, college is the first rung on the ladder to success, representing
adulthood, personal development, and upward social mobility. The importance of
higher education to many students and families gives them the confidence that
college is worth the investment.
Over the decades, the number of bachelor's degree-holders in the U.S. has steadily
climbed. In 2019, 35% of American adults over the age of 25 had completed four or
more years of college — more than double the percentage of bachelor's degreeholders in 1980.
In 2019, 35% of American adults over the age of 25 had completed four or
more years of college.
In that same amount of time, however, the price of college has risen sharply. In
1985-86, the average total cost of tuition, fees, and room and board at four-year
colleges and universities in the U.S. was $5,504. By 2016-17, this figure had
increased to $26,593.
Student loans normally bridge the gap between what students must pay for college
and what they can actually afford. Unfortunately, repaying student loans —
especially if interest rates are high — can take a large chunk out of a worker's
earnings for years after they graduate.
Despite this drawback, data shows that the more postsecondary education you
have, the more likely you are to achieve higher lifetime earnings. The jump in
estimated lifetime earnings between workers with a high school diploma and those
with a bachelor's degree is roughly $765,000. A similar gap in earnings was found
between graduate degree-holders and bachelor's degree-holders.
College often pays off, but for some, this return on investment (ROI) is
much more significant.
Looking at income data by gender reveals that men make far more than women
at all education levels. According to the Social Security Administration, men earn
about twice as much as women in their lifetimes.
Due to the gender pay gap, college's ROI remains greater for men. While men
with bachelor's degrees report median lifetime earnings of $2.4 million, women
with bachelor's degrees make about $1.4 million over the course of their lives —
less than men with high school diplomas.
Employment Outcomes Depend on Major and School
In addition to gender, what you study and where you go to school can have a big
impact on college's value for you.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Education amended the College Scorecard to
include the median earnings and median debt for graduates of postsecondary
programs in the U.S. Established to bring more transparency to educational
outcomes, the scorecard now allows students to compare majors by the numbers.
The highest-paid majors are STEM (science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics), health, and business.
Data shows that what you study at college affects your ROI. The average
difference in wages between an institution's highest- and lowest-earning
bachelor's degrees is almost $33,000.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the highest-paid majors are STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics), health, and business. Of these, STEM and business
are also the most popular majors, accounting for 46% of college graduates' chosen
fields.
The type of institution you attend can also impact your employment outcome.
Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce reports that the ROI is very
high at small liberal arts colleges; in fact, it's on par with the ROI at many doctoral
research universities.
But you don't have to attend one of the country's most selective colleges to
find gainful employment. As a whole, college graduates have high
employment rates.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 86% of individuals with
at least a bachelor's degree were employed in 2018, compared to 72% of
individuals with only a high school diploma.
Opportunity Gaps in Higher Education
Achieving success through effort and education is a prominent theme in
American meritocracy, but the gap in college opportunity means that not
everyone makes it to the starting line. Many low-income and minority students
lack equal access to quality schools and academic resources, with these
disadvantages beginning at an early age.
Closing the opportunity gap in higher education starts with primary and secondary
education, and recent data indicates promising trends in these areas.
Many low-income and minority students lack equal access to quality schools and
academic resources, with these disadvantages beginning at an early age.
According to the Stanford Center for Education Policy Analysis, achievement
gaps for minority students in reading and math declined sharply in the 1970s
and '80s before stagnating in the '90s. Fortunately, these gaps have narrowed
dramatically in the last 15 years.
Going to college can have a lifelong positive impact, propelling students into
good careers and the middle class; however, the upward social mobility that
college promises is often withheld from students who lack proper college prep
and financial support.
Remedying this situation requires both funding and policy changes, as well as
rewriting college admission practices that have known exclusionary effects,
such as standardized testing requirements.
Student Debt and Rising College Costs
Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. made headlines at the end of 2019 when
it surpassed national credit card debt. As of the first quarter of 2020, student debt
sits at $1.68 trillion.
Many call for the government to forgive student debt, either in full or in part,
and to make college free. At present, 70% of students take out loans for
college.
The cost of college tuition ticks up each year, according to U.S. News & World
Report. And while annual increases aren't always major, they gradually add up.
Interestingly, wages have not kept pace with the rise in college tuition.
The median household income is barely higher now than it was 20 years
ago.
The rising cost of tuition reflects, in part, the rising cost of running a college. With
significant decreases in state funding, many colleges are more dependent than
ever on tuition. On campus amenities, like sports facilities and state-of-the-art labs,
are used to attract incoming students, but these ultimately add to students' bottom
lines.
What's more, salaries for faculty and staff rely heavily on tuition.
So Is a College Degree Still Worth It?
Possessing a bachelor's degree is positively correlated with both wealth and
health, but the pure ROI of college depends largely on your major. Students
debating the value of college should compare fields of study while adopting a
broader, long-term perspective.
Given the rate of change of technology and the job market, maintaining a
successful career may require workers to complete continuing education.
Although attending college isn't necessary for all careers, it's a standard
prerequisite for many. Degrees act as currency on the job market, which is why so
many people enroll (or re enroll) at colleges during recessions.
In addition to being more competitive for higher-paying jobs and opportunities for
career advancement, degree-holders tend to enjoy their work. A 2014 Gallup poll
found that most college graduates like what they do every day.
So is college worth it? Yes, but as with all things in life, you need to make the decision
that's right for you based on your personal circumstances.