Is Education Important for our Future?

When the percent of students pursuing their education after high school starts to drop, you know there’s a problem. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that, “A figure that rose regularly for decades — now appears to be declining. Last October, just 65.9 percent of people who had graduated from high school the previous spring, had enrolled in college.” I believe that the sudden decrease in students continuing their education after high school is caused by the high and unnecessary prices required to get into college. If students could actually afford college, more would attend. With lower student loans, more students will be able to get the education they need. There are a few different things included in the cost that don’t need to be as expensive as they are. I am apart of the next generation responsible for taking care of our economy. The only way our economics will stay strong is if we are strong. In order to keep everything going, we need to be educated and ready for the future.

The majority of the population can’t afford college. Research by Edward Jones Poll shows, “College costs continue to rise,... Jones survey finds that 83% of Americans say they cannot afford the expense of a college education.” While it is true when universities say the price is reasonable and that there are ways that everyone can afford college, it is not true when they say that everyone can afford it. Yes, some students receive scholarships or private funding to pay for school, while others aren’t so lucky. Some pay money out of their own pocket in order to pursue their personal goals in life. While some say that it’s their fault for not being smarter or trying harder for their grades, not everyone has that capability to learn as well or as fast as other students. My sister worked very hard throughout high school. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA. However, she wasn’t the best test taker. My parents spent so much money paying for ACT test fees and preparation classes because she couldn’t get the score she needed for the better scholarship. The work she did all through high school didn’t mean hardly anything. She didn’t get very much money for college and my parents had to pay more money.

The cost is unreasonable and doesn’t need to be as high as it is. Tuition, books, and even supplies are getting to the point where no one can afford them. When you buy a name brand, new drug (medication), they are of very great value. When the drugs first come out or surfaces, they’re very expensive and a lot of the time are unaffordable. However, after they find a way to produce the drugs more efficiently, they then become generic drugs. They are so much cheaper than the name brand drug. Now compare that to textbooks. The writer should make the money for the book they wrote, however, after that book has been out for an amount of time, couldn’t they lower the cost a little? Students would be able to save money and still get the textbook. It doesn’t make sense to buy a book for two times the price just because it’s “name brand.” If the book has been out for enough time that the price could be lowered, it’s considered “generic” and shouldn’t be as expensive as the “name brand” or new textbook. E-books are also a great resources and could help reduce the cost even more. If we put all textbooks and other things needed for classes online, students would only have to pay for the course, the fees for copyright/research put into developing the book, and any other supplies needed to complete the course.

The only way our economy is going to stay strong and functioning is if students of the next generation attend college and get that education for future jobs. Part of the economy and keeping things normal, is how much money we make in order to pay taxes. “...Education plays a key role in both finding and keeping a job and can open doors to higher-paying, more stimulating and rewarding careers” states Van Thompson of the Seattle PI. With the E-books, there wouldn’t be all the paper from creating the textbooks. Having E-books would cut down on our landfills, and there wouldn’t be the needs to recycle not wanted or “out-of-date” textbooks. Things are becoming harder, which means that we need to be prepared for whatever is thrown our way. Student can take most college courses while still attending high school, which gets them ready faster. However, in the short time of high school you can’t complete every course you need to pursue most careers. For concurrent enrollment classes, you pay 5 dollars per credit hour at the high school. Classes in college the estimate cost is up to 400 dollars (collegeview.com). Taxpayers pay for most high school textbooks, but they don’t pay for courses. I'm not saying the cost should be 5 dollars to take a college class, but there isn’t any reason it needs to be 400 dollars plus.

In conclusion, for our future to be bright, the next generation, my generation, has to receive education and gain good knowledge. Being responsible is getting harder and harder as we get older. Student loans are very hard to pay off and usually come back to haunt you in the future. The high cost of education sometimes scares students into pushing off or not applying for college at all. If those high costs were lower by even a few hundred, more student would look into college and be more confident about attending. As a Junior at Spanish Fork High School, this time is one of the most critical times in my life. I’m looking into colleges and deciding where I want my future to go. I’m working hard to get good grades to receive a scholarship, however, my dream of going into the medical field requires a lot of work, which also means a lot of college credits. It would be easier if I could go to the college I want and not have to pay tons of money on top of any scholarship I may receive.