By Abi Smith
Those of us championing institutions of higher learning often argue that there’s a huge, positive payoff for all the trouble.
But are we delusional?
In an excellent piece entitled, “Access to College: The Contradiction,” MSN Encarta columnist Tamim Ansary argues – like many of us do – that “education remains the one instrument people can use to move up in the world. Let’s keep it tuned up and available to anyone – our democracy depends on it.”
But to his credit, Ansary does acknowledge an altogether different, yet valid, truth in another article, “Can College Still Help You Get Ahead?” In this piece, he writes that “a college degree alone doesn’t necessarily guarantee a leg up.” More specifically, Ansary adds that “graduates today have to distinguish themselves against the competition in other ways – by interning, by publishing, and yes, by going to still more school.”
This is certainly true. And that push to be competitive has unfortunately created far too many cheaters who make efficient use of their cell phones during tests, “volunteers” who lend their “helping hands” only when they can jot down their acts on resumes, and plagiarizers who lovingly make others’ hard work their own.
These realities are far from attractive. And one can’t help but notice how universities – supposedly bastions of passionate students, interested professors, thoughtful administrations and well-protected academic freedom – often fall short of their best ideals. For all its glory, college life can feel a lot like a not-so-tender trap. Between skyrocketing tuition costs and shadowy “athletic fees,” the entire experience can, at least on a financial level, suck a student dry. As Ansary notes, “You’d need a lawyer’s salary to pay fees like that, and they won’t let you be a lawyer till you’ve finished college. That’s how they get’cha!”
One can easily see, therefore, why some high school graduates opt so readily to enter the job market and take their chances; college degrees are pricey and debt-producing prizes.
All that considered, though, this sometimes frustrating sphere of brains and books is largely what students make of it; I wouldn’t be here otherwise. And attending a university is still an invaluable method of honing necessary skills, lifting social status, and building self-confidence. Sure, Bill Gates didn’t finish college and has a gazillion dollars in his bank account to show for it. And of course, some of the most intelligent people you could ever meet are self-taught. But in the end, the United Negro College Fund mantra is still spot-on: “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
So students need to fight harder to keep the cost of attendance down. How we choose to do it and whether or not it would be successful are still open questions. But those of us who have benefited from what universities offer must make a concerted effort to ensure that those who come after us actually have a reasonable chance to achieve what we’ve achieved. Otherwise, these folks – understandably – won’t even venture to bother.
And that would be a real shame.
