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EnriqueLuna

ProfessorHamlett
English102
14October2015
Collegenication:TheUnforeseenCollegeFailures
Sunisbadforyou.Everythingourparentssaidwasgoodisbad.Sun,milk,redmeat,...
collegeWoodyAllen.Collegeisaninstitutiondedicatedtohigherlearning.Aplaceinwhich
millionsofyoungAmericansgotobecomesuccessfulinlife.Thereasonbeingthatcollege's
presentindividualswiththeopportunitytoobtainadegreeinthefieldoftheirchoosing.These
degreesthenpaydividendsandprovidestudentswithagreaterarrayofbenefits.Thesebenefits
consistofhigherpayingjobs,becomingabetterpersonforsociety,expandingone'ssocialrealm,
andtheyoftenleadtoanoverallbetterlife.Nowwithallthesebenefits,collegesalsohavea
numberofdownsides.Noteverybodywhoattendscollegeactuallygraduates,andthosewhodo
graduatearenotfindingadequatejobsthatcorrelatewiththeirlevelofeducation.Collegeisalso
veryexpensive,andmanystudentshavetotakeoutaloantohelpcoverthecost.Whenthat
studentgraduatesandcannotfindadecentpayingjobtheyareleftwithahugedeficit.Despite
thedownsides,collegeisoveremphasizedtomillionsofyoungAmericans.Acollegedegree
doeshaveitsbenefits,butnotenoughtohelpyoungAmericanscapturetheirAmericanDream,
anditislimitedandunrealistictoexpectveryyoungadultstogotocollegeandgetadegree.
AstudentgoingthroughtheeducationsysteminAmericawillmostlikelybetoldtogoto
somekindofcollegetogetadegreeinsomemajor.RobertVerbruggen,aneditorforthe
NationalReview,sumsupwhatmostpeoplearetellingtheyouthinhisarticle,
Beyondthe

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B.A.
Fordecades,parents,guidancecounselors,andgovernmentofficialshavegiventhe
nationsyouthaconsistentmessage:Gotocollege.Whatthismeansisthatanyonewhohas
moreexperienceorpowerwilltelltheyouthofAmericathattheyneedtogotocollege.Schools
willusesomeformofpropagandatoconvincemanystudentsthatiftheywanttobesuccessfulin
lifethattheyneedtoattendcollege.Nowmostpeoplewillperceiveorbelievethatall
propagandahasanegativeconnotationandthatisntalwaysthecase.DonnaWoolfolkCross,an
AmericanwriterwithaM.A.,describespropagandainheressay,
Propaganda:HowNottoBe
Bamboozled
,asameansofpersuasionand[therefore]canbeputtoworkforgoodcausesas
wellasbad(Cross209).Whatthismeansisthatthepurposeofpropagandaistoconvince
peopletobelievethatsomethingiseithergoodorbad.Studentswillgetaskedbyteachers,
counselors,parents,andevenotherstudentswheretheyaregoingtocollege.Ifastudentanswers
withano,Iamnotgoingtocollege,theyaremetwithnegativereactions.Theywillbeasked
questionslikeWhyarentyougoingtocollege?Whatareyougoingtodowithyourlife?Dont
youwantagoodjob?Somepeoplewilllookatthisstudentasifheorshehasnofuture.Now
whyisthat?Thereasonforthisisbecausestudentshavebeentoldthatcollegeisthebestoption
fortheminordertomakeitfarinlife.Studentsarefedthisideologyaboutcollegeeversince
theybeganthefirstgrade.Studentsalsoheartheseamazingstoriesaboutpeoplewhomadeit
throughcollegedespitetheobstaclestheywerepresentedwith.Uponhearingthesekindsof
stories,studentswillbelievethatifotherscandoit,thensocanthey.Thereasonwhythesetypes
ofstoriesareeffectivearebecausetheyuseapropagandatacticcallPlainFolksAppeal.
AccordingtoCrossplainfolksappealiswhenaspeakertriestowinourconfidenceand
supportbyappearingtobeapersonlikeourselves.Thisiswhenapersontriestogetyour

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supportbyclaimingheorsheisanaverageeverydayjoe.Thatiswhatthesesuccessstoriesdo,
theyfeedAmericansthisfalsesenseofsecuritybypresentingpeoplewiththesestoriesabout
peopleintheirowncommunity,withthesameupbringings,makingitthroughcollegeand
changingtheirlifearound.Thatiswhymanystudentsbelievethattheycanalsosucceedin
college.Itistruethattherearemanycollegesuccessstories,butthereisalsojustasmanyuntold
collegefailurestories.
Manystudentswhocantdecideonwhethertogotocollegeornot,oftentimesfeela
hugesocialpressurepushingthemtowardsgoingtocollege,evenwhentheytrulydontfeel
readyforcollegethemselves.Studentsmostoftentimesfeelthissocialpressurecomingfrom
eithertheirfamily,theirpeersorevensomeoftheirclosestfriends.Youngadultsfeelpressured
bytheirparentsbecausetheydonotwanttobeconsideredorseenasafailure.Thepressurefelt
frompeersandclosefriendsisbroughtaboutthroughonesowndesireofnotwantingtobeleft
behind.Theywillseetheirpeersandfriendsgoingofftosomecollege,universityorsometype
oftradeschool,andfeelliketheyarebeingleftbehindphysicallyandonasocietallevel.Now
becauseofthispressure,individualsoftenfeelliketheyareobligatedtogotocollege,nomatter
iftheyarefinanciallyoremotionallyreadyforitornot.Notonlydostudentsfeelasocial
pressure,theyalsofeelathingcalledPrestigePressure.JanetElfers,aguidancecounselorwitha
M.AinCounselingfromBowlingGreenStateUniversity,talksaboutPrestigePressureandhow
itrelatestoacademics.Prestigepressureinthissensemeansfeelingthepressureofbeinginferior
becausetheyarenotgoingtoabignameuniversity.Shetalksaboutherexperiencewithher
students,andhowmoststudentswilltellherthattheyplanongoingtoafouryearcollege,and
bytheendofyearmoreandmorestudentsareaskinghertosendtheirtranscripttoajunior

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college.Studentsfeelinferiortothosewhoaregoingtoafouryearcollege.Nowbecauseofthis
prestigepressurestudentsfeeltheneedtogotoafouryearcollege,despitethefactthattheyare
notreadyforafouryearcollege.

Collegesdoproducesomeofthemostintelligentpeopletheworldhaseverseen,butitis
notproducingenough.AccordingtotheNationalCenterforEducationStatisticsabout59
percentoffirsttimecollegestudentsin2007obtainedtheirbachelorsdegreeby2013.About
20.6millionpeopleattendedcollegein2007.Somathematicallythatisapproximately12.1
millionpeopleactuallyobtaintheirbachelor'sdegreewithinsixyears.Thatleaves,roughlyabout
8.5millionstudentswhowereincapableofgraduatingfromcollege.Somepeoplewouldsayoh
well,theyshouldhavetriedharderinschoolmaybethentheywouldhavegraduated.Collegeis
notsoeasy.Manystudentsfailbecausetheymightbeoverwhelmedwithtryingtobalanceout
betweenwork,family,school,andanyotherobligationtheymighthave.Justtoattendafour
yearcollegecostsaround36.5thousandforapubliccollege124.9thousandforaprivate
college,anditcostsroughly91.8thousandforanoutofstatecollege.Thatisalotofmoneyfora
studenttopayfor,somoststudentswilltakeoutstudentloanswithabank.JosipaRoksa,a
professorofSociologyandEducation,saidinheracademicjournal,
DoubleDisadvantageor
BlessinginDisguise?UnderstandingtheRelationshipsBetweenCollegeMajorandEmployment
Sector,
thatnotallbachelorsdegreesarerewardedequally.Basically,whatthismeansisthat
notallcollegedegreesareasvaluableasothers.Someemployerswillhavetwocandidates
whomtheyareconsideringtohireforoneposition,onehasamathdegree,andtheotherhas
somekindofliberalartsdegree.Dependingonwhatkindofjobitis,onedegreewillhavean
advantageovertheother.Collegestudentswhograduatewithacollegedegreearealsofaced

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withtheissueoffallinginthecategoryofunderemployment.Underemploymentiswherea
personisoverqualifiedforajoboraposition.Agoodexampleofthiswouldbelikearecent
collegegraduateworkinginthefastfoodindustry.AccordingtoTamiLuhby,aCNNSenior
Writer,talksabouthowtherateofmalemploymenthasriseninherarticle,
RecentCollege
GradsFace36%MalEmploymentRate,
andisclaiminghownowittops36%forcollege
educatedworkers.Thirtysixpercentof12.1millionisapproximately4.4milliongraduateswho
haveendedupfallingundertheunderemploymentrate.Sincethose4.4millionareworking
inefficientjobs,itbecomesmoredifficulttopayofftheirstudentloans.Somepeoplemightsay
thatsincetheyhaveacollegedegreetheyshouldbeabletogetagoodjob,andbeabletopayoff
theirdebt,butthatisnotalwaysthecase.Jobsarebecomingascarceresource,andthejob
marketisbecomingmoreandmorecompetitive.Thejobsthatusetorequireabachelor'sdegree
arenowrequiringamaster'sdegree.Sosomeofthejobsthatareleftoverarelowlevelentry
jobs.Oneofthemainreasonsastowhygraduatesarecapableofacquiringtheselowleveljobs
arebecausetheywereabletobeatoutotherapplicantswhodonthavecollegedegrees.Doto
theseineffectivemeansofrepayment,statisticsshow(forthefirsttimeinhistory)theaverage
studentloandebtislargerthanthatoftheaveragecreditcarddebt.Theaveragestudentloandebt
isestimatedtobeequivalentto1.2trillionwhilethecreditcardaveragedebtis890.9billion
dollars.Evenwithallthisunderemployment,debt,andthepossibilityofnotgraduating,society
stillseemstobeemphasizingtheimportanceofcollegetomanyunpreparedyoungAmericans.
Everybodywantstobesuccessfulinlife,andhowtobecomesuccessfulinlifeisthe
questioneverybodyasksthemselves.Everystudenthasbeenmoldeddifferentlyfromone
another,whetheritbefromtheirlifeupbringing,personalstrengthsandweakness,thequalityof

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educationreceivedorlackthereof,andalltheothernumerousfactorsthathelpshapestudentsfor
therealworld.Nomatterifthatmeanspreparingstudentsforcollegeorpreparingstudentsto
immediatelyjointheworkforceaftergraduation.Soitdoesntnecessarilymakeanysenseto
keepfeedingthisideologyofcollegebeingthebestoptionforeverystudentwheneverystudent
isnttaughtormoldedinawaythathelpsthemtransitiontocollegesuccessfully.Thisideology
isharmfulbecauseitislimitingtheAmericanYouthbyforcingthemtobelievethattheonly
waytomakeitfarinlifeistogotocollege.Wouldyouliketohaveanideologylikethisoneto
continuecausingharmtooursociety?Wouldyouliketoplayapersonalroleinmoldingachild
forfailure,orwouldyouratherplayaconsciousroleinmoldingAmericasYouthandexpanding
theirrealmofpossibilities?

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WorkCite
BacktoSchoolStatistics.U.S.DepartmentofEducation,nces.ed.gov.Web.20September
2015
Cross,DonnaWoolfolk.Propaganda:HowNottoBeBamboozled.
LanguageAwareness:
ReadingforCollegeWriters
.Ed.KarenS.Henry.11.Boston:Bedford/St.Martins,
1977.209219.Print.
Elfers,Janet."PrestigePressure."JournalofCollegeAdmission2007:33.AcademicSearch
Complete.Web.6Oct.2015.
GraduationRates.U.S.DepartmentofEducation,nces.ed.gov.Web.20September2015
Luhby,Tami.RecentCollegeGradsFace36%MalEmploymentRate.Web.
Money.CNN.com.25June2013.20September2015.
Roksa,Josipa."DoubleDisadvantageOrBlessingInDisguise?UnderstandingTheRelationship
BetweenCollegeMajorAndEmploymentSector."SociologyOfEducation78.3(2005):
207232.AcademicSearchComplete.Web.6Oct.2015.
Verbruggen,Robert."BeyondTheB.A.(CoverStory)."NationalReview61.18(2009):3839.
AcademicSearchComplete.Web.7Oct.2015.