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Resolved: The cost of a college education outweighs the benefits. This is a disturbingly incorrect
statement with a large number of repercussions if affirmed today. The first thing you must ask yourself
judge is what is a benefit. Dictionary.com defines benefit as making improvement or something that is
advantageous or good. By this definition the entire college experience is a benefit, and a benefit that
outweighs any college cost. Additionally, we must consider what an education gives a person the ability
to do. For instance, without a college degree a person cannot hope to earn the same sum of money as
his college-educated counterpart.
Contention One: People go to college not only for the pertinent education but also for the
college experience. The college experience for many is the making of friends, the finding of a spouse,
and the finding of a life. Through college, people discover what and who they truly want to be and be
with. Many are introduced to their future bosses or colleagues, and all are introduced to a new and
more lifelike structure of learning than they received in their earlier education. President Barrack
Obama stated “In a global economy where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good
education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity – it is a prerequisite.” You cannot buy your life back
with money, and when you die it’s not the money, but the memories and life-lessons, that will live on. I
ask you judge, what is more important, being able to support yourself and your family forever or never
having a college payment to make? Currently, a large number of desirable jobs require a degree such as
being a lawyer, doctor, psychologist, engineer, etc. Without a college degree a person could not hope to
get into their preferred higher-level and paying profession. Collegeboard.com released a study which
showed 14% of families with a bachelor’s degree or higher were in poverty in 2001 while 44% of families
with a high school diploma were in poverty. Additionally, college students are less likely to pick up the
smoking habit and more likely to read to their children, encourage their children to exercise more than
twice a week, teach their 3-5 yr. olds how to count to 20, write their names, recognize letters, and be
persistent at tasks. They are also more likely to participate in voting, blood donation, and volunteer
work. By attending college, a person is not only benefitting themselves, they are benefitting their future
families and communities. Additionally the CS Monitor reported the ten top benefits of a college
degree, better prepared kids, fewer social costs, more tax revenue, more volunteering and voting, fewer
smokers, more exercise and less fat, higher job satisfaction, better recession protection, more benefits,
higher pensions, and increased earning potential.
Contention Two: The average high school graduate cannot hope to make the same amount as
their college-educated counterpart. Keydegree.com stated, “In today’s business world, getting a college
degree is a career necessity, and makes advancement in a career easier as some job promotions require
a college degree.”Collegeboard.com released another study showing the median earning of a student
with a bachelor’s degree is approximately $19,000 over what a high school grad would make, it went on
to state, “a typical bachelor’s degree recipient can expect to earn about 73% more over a 40-yr working
life than a high school grad. The study also projected the estimated amount a person was likely to make
after paying off their education for a bachelor’s degree from an average public college compared to a
High school graduate. If the High school grad begins working at 18 and the college student at 22, at age
32 the two are expected to meet, and while the high school grad’s earnings will begin to taper off, the
college student will continuously increase until retirement. According to the college power bulletin a
Bachelor’s degree is worth 1.2 million dollars more than a high school diploma. Yes, paying off your
loans will take time, but you will be able to pay it off and will quickly pass up a person with a high-school
diploma. CS monitor also stated during the recession 1 in 5 high school grads would lose a job whereas
only 1 in 100 college grads would. A bachelor’s degree is like the high school education of the past. With
large numbers attending, planning on going to college, and graduated from college a person with merely
a high school diploma cannot hope to beat them in a job interview for a higher paying job and therefore
are forced into lower level professions.
Resolved: the cost of a college education outweighs the benefits. Judge, this is obviously an
incorrect statement. Why would the number of people attending college continue to rise if the cost
outweighed the benefit? It’s a simple answer, they wouldn’t. By attending a college you better your
future, your current and future family, and your community. Without a college degree you will make less
money and be less secure in your job. A college education is well worth the money. Thank you.