Why Should We Go To College – Term Paper

Rationale of Going to College

For this proposal, I am planning to research and synthesize the perspective on the issue of students going to college. Going to college has been a discussion on the media over the past few years, and some scholars even have come forth to argue that going to college has no benefits. They base the claim on the fact that some part-time jobs give high school level students some pretty good cash. However, this claim has been refuted by many other scholars who emphasize on the many benefits a person gains from attending college. In the same line, this proposal aims at showing clearly the advantages of a person attending college in comparison with disadvantages. With this in mind, I plan to research and find out more about the importance of college education and try to answer the question many people ask themselves “Why should we go to college?” it is a question that has been asked by many people including students and parents as well. The general answer that people normally synthesize and get is to get good jobs in the employment market and earn good money. Yes, that is true, but going to college has many more benefits than this as I will examine in this research.

One might think that college is just high school continued, but it’s not. Among what I will discuss in the research is the many opportunities that college education opens to the life of the participant. One of the main advantages of college is unlocking many opportunities through the skills, knowledge, and experience student gains while attending college education. By doing this, a student who attends college and qualifies can get a good job and earn enough money. Another benefit I will look into is how college makes a person more independent through exploration of the chances that are there in careers hence a transition from high school to college. Also, I also plan to provide information on the importance of social interaction among students attending college. It is important that I emphasize on this matter as it relates to people from different backgrounds who should learn to coexist well with others. Also, I will look into the matter of investing in oneself by going to college. Some people have been asking how college is an investment but fail to get the true meaning of college as an investment. The research I will conduct will explore and show how getting good knowledge and skills from college becomes an investment. Of course, it is through getting a good job and earning real cash which also affirms job security and satisfaction. I do not hold a hold a strong, passionate opinion about the issue, and I look forward to this research to forming an informed stand. I hope to discover the many advantages that I might not be familiar with for going to college. To do this, I will explore and use several academic sources as analyzed below.

Benefits from Attending College and College Education

Brand, J. E., & Xie, Y. (2010). Who benefits most from college? Evidence for negative selection in heterogeneous economic returns to higher education. American sociological review, 75(2), 273-302.

The summary: the article was published in 2010 by the SAGE journals. Many of the intended readers of this article are the parents and students. Written by Jennie E. Brand and Yu Xie, the article clearly outlines the economic return that can be realized from a college education. Also, the publication covers the issue of individual benefits that can be achieved from college. In general, it includes a study that proves to show the theories that are used in reaching the conclusion of advantages of college education like the positive selection theory where those who opt to go to college education benefit from it.

The use: this article is crucial as it analyses the economic benefits of college education. It will help me a lot in preparing my research since it answers the question of why we should go to college on the wider perspective.

Benefits that Students Gain from College

Braskamp, L. A., Trautvetter, L. C., & Ward, K. (2016). Putting students first: How colleges develop students purposefully. John Wiley & Sons.

The summary: it is an article that was written by the authors to emphasize the importance of taking students to college. In this article, the authors claim that colleges should invest in the holistic development of the students for them to recognize purpose in life. It emphasizes on colleges mission as preparing the students to be morally responsible and dynamic contributors to the society. They have to be critical thinkers and skilled professionals that the community needs. 

The use: this article answers the research question from the perspective of social and moral responsibility benefits that a student gains from attending to college. I will use this article to incorporate information regarding social and moral responsibility as a benefit that students gain from college.