4/9 Response to American Dream articles

At the same time I believe that attending college is a good investment for my future career, I also believe that it has become an obstacle that one can no longer ignore because of colleges' increasingly high tuition. In the article "A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College," Martin and Lehren detail issues in regards of students in the U.S. who are in debt because they could not pay back the money they borrowed for pursuing a degree. According to a Department of Education survey of 2007-8 graduates, almost two-thirds of bachelor's degree recipients borrow money to attend college. However, most students admit that they didn't realize that the amount of money that they have to pay back would cost more than becoming an undergraduate. "Many colleges don't offer warnings about student debt in the glossy brochures and pitch letters mailed to prospective students," Martin and Lehren claim. For-profit colleges urge students and parents not to worry about the costs because most students don't pay full price; however, the price is still high, and neither students nor parents make clear how much they "may have to pay or borrow." Still, most people believe that "the only thing worse than graduating with lots of debt is not going to college at all," as Martin and Lehren phrase it. On the one hand, it has been shown in research that graduates earn more over a lifetime compared to those who do not have any degree. On the other hand, many of those students who were in attempt to graduate had to drop out of college because "to finish it mean borrowing more money," said a participant who owes $70,000 in student loans. Borrowers are unable to pay back the money because they were still in school, have postponed payments or have stopped paying altogether. In other words, while attending college in order to get a degree would make better employment, it does not follow that all graduates would get better income to pay back their loans. These interpretations challenges students and parents' decision whether to make it to college after high school or try to find other ways to make money for future investments. 

Adding to Martin and Lehren's point about college tuition and students in debt, arguments arise on whether the money that students and parents pay to college would worth the price because of the degrading quality on learning institutions. Holland's view in his article "Millenials Didn't Abandon Our Institutions - Our Institutions Failed Them" aims the trend in "millenials," those born between the early 1980s and 2000, who lack of interests in major concentration that builds up this country. The essence of Holland's argument is that young people have become ignorant of any issues. "Many are turned off by religion and see little difference between two major political parties. They're less trusting of strangers than previous generations. Fewer are tying the knot. Less than half consider themselves patriotic." However, rather than blaming on the millenials, Holland emphasizes on the role of education on younger generations. He states, "The reality is that America's institutions have become a lot less worthy of the Millenials' trust." He compares the people in modern era to "have more higher levels of student loan debt, poverty, and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income..." with their more patriotic predecessor generation. To put it another way, Holland argues that the millenials seem to carry heavier burden than their parents and grandparents' generation had at "the same stage of their life cycles.

As an international student, I myself have considered attending college in both my home country and abroad. Reasoning the fact that American institutions offer a lot more choices than colleges in my home country do, and my personal dream to experience cultural differences and see other parts of the world, I prefer to pursue higher education in the U.S. I could hardly relate to the so-called 'American Dream' and the issues that surround it among American citizens, but I think I have made the right choice to attend my lower division classes in community college rather than going straight to 4-year institution, which would cost international students more than thrice local students do. Referring to Martin and Lehren ideas in the first article, I agree that most institutions blurred many essential informations, leaving students and parents in debt once they found the ugly truth about the amount of money they have to pay and the loans they didn't count. However, education is the key to development. Gaining the ability to expand minds is important for young people, who are in charge of governing the country in the future. Increasing the tuition of education would only encourage students not to pursue higher education, which would lead to ignorant generations that do not have the competence to think critically. It supports Holland's assertion that institutions seem to have failed American students.