My exquisite padlet by Nihar Khadawala

Reaction to Liberal Ideology Promoted on College Campuses

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-02-25 21:07:24 UTC

This article highlights how dramatically the perception of higher education has shifted over the past few decades. Specifically, the belief of many conservatives have transformed, that colleges promote a liberal viewpoint that evidently differs from the conservative standpoint. Because of this, the United States has seen a mass decline in conservative students attending a university. To support this claim, Tough uses a study that showed 79% of Republicans believe that college professors bring "their political and social views into the classroom" (10). Another claim Tough makes is that the impact of political views acts as a decision-maker for whether college is worth it or not. Tough backs this up by stating how college campuses generally have more of a left tilt, and college freshmen are 3 times more likely to identify as liberal than conservative. Thus, this proves that liberals consider higher education more valuable than conservatives.

The College Casino

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-02-25 21:08:07 UTC

Tough introduces an important point about how the idea of pursuing a higher education is a gamble rather than a guaranteed path to success, also known as The College Casino. Some factors that the author states include debt, graduation rates, and field of study. Firstly, Tough states that the total student debt was $500 billion in 2007 and has exceeded over $1.6 trillion today. Next, the college wage premium shows that graduates earn much more than non-graduates, on average. But this does not account for debt and living costs. Additionally, low graduation rates cause "The college casino" to be prevalent, as 40% of people who start college do not finish it. Lastly, major has a vast impact on your success in the future. The article states that STEM degrees yield high-income rates, while humanities often do not.

America as an Outlier

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-02-27 03:27:13 UTC

Tough claims that the US is becoming an outlier in terms of higher education compared to other countries around the world. Some factors Tough goes into depth with include high tuition costs and a decline in enrollment. Tough starts by supporting his argument by acknowledging the average cost of attending college in the US ($19,000) and comparing it with the average cost of tuition in other developed countries.

-Canada ($5,000)

-Italy( $2,000)

-Germany & France (Free)

This breakdown evidently shows that Americans do not want to invest in higher education because of the financial burden. These numbers directly correlate to the decline in enrollment for US universities. Tough states that in 2010, the enrollment rate was 18 million students, which has rapidly fallen to 15.5 million in just 6 years. The reader can make the conclusion that students are discouraged from enrolling in university even if they want to, just because of financial stress.

The High Cost of Higher Education

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-02-27 03:41:12 UTC

I have already mentioned the crazy high costs of education, but let's take a deeper look at some counterarguments. Evidently, Tough expresses how high tuition rates deter students who want to pursue a college education, but it doesn't always have to be a financial issue. For example, students with stunning scores in high school, such as GPA and SAT, could be eligible for merit-based scholarships despite their financial being. Additionally, a counterclaim lies in the value a college education brings, such as social and critical thinking skills. Based on this, some people would offset their finances to acquire these skills based on importance. Lastly, the studies in Tough's article show that the return on investment for college students is generally low but doesn't account for which colleges and the type of student studied. For example, a student at an Ivy League university is more likely to land a high-paying job than a community college graduate.

College Wage Premium vs College Wealth Premium

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-02-27 04:02:26 UTC

Tough introduces two points: the College Wage Premium and the College Wealth Premium. The College Wage Premium is the idea of higher salaries for degree holders, while the College Wealth Premium is total financial assets minus debts. Tough claims that the college wage premium remains an important measure of success in the United States, whereas the College Wealth Premium has deteriorated based on high tuition costs and student debt. Thus, making it difficult for an American to have confidence in the long-term benefits of a college degree. To back the claim of the college wage premium remaining strong in the US, Tough states that this measure has begun to "rise steadily" and has "hovered around 65 percent" (4). On the other hand, the decline of the college wealth premium is seen in Americans born after 1980. Some reasons for this include that college tuition rates have more than doubled since 1990; thus more students are struggling to purchase a home, save for retirement, and invest.

Importance of Major

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-02-27 04:09:54 UTC

Choosing the right field of study is one of the most significant decisions an undergraduate student will ever make. Not only do they have to be interested in their major, but they have to weigh every factor of that major. These factors include the potential for financial stability, happiness, and various career options. Tough makes it well known to the reader that the field of study a student chooses is a critical factor in determining whether attending college is effective based on return on investment. First, it is obvious that not all degrees reap the same financial benefits. A STEM major, such as a career in healthcare, technology, and business, is in high demand and pays more than a humanities major. Although fields like philosophy, sociology, psychology, and performing arts are important, they have limited career options and aren't widely demanded. Tough brings up an important statistic: an engineering or business student has about 75% more of a chance of earning more than a high school student with a constant rate of $50,000 tuition per year. This is important because if one were to choose a humanities major, it is quite possible it would be more beneficial for them not to attend university and start working after high school.

5 Key Terms

niharkhadawala06 — 2025-03-06 03:55:25 UTC

College Wage Premium: Percentage difference between average wages earned by workers with a four-year college degree and those by workers with a high school diploma
College Wealth Premium: Additional income earned and the wealth acquired by a family headed by a member with a college degree over a family headed by a member who does not have a 4-year college degree
Ideology: Set of opinions or beliefs of a group or an individual
Paradox: (logic) a statement that contradicts itself
Casino: A game of chance, usually more of a risk than reward.