The Obstacle of Going to College

Among the mass population of the United States of America, approximately 38.3% of its

people have obtained a college degree. For the last few decades, there has been a trend where the

percentage of those who gain a degree has decreased. There have been numerous accounts where

one questions whether getting an education in college is really worth it at all? This begs a

question unbeknownst to the public: Does a college education influence a person’s success in the

future economically? Even if it did, will it do the same emotionally? Everyone has a different

way of measuring their happiness: satisfaction, money, or love. In other words, it does not solely

depend on the amount of money one earns. Although a college education may be correlated with

income and guarantee a higher accumulation of wealth, other factors emotionally could arise that

might override whether one should get a degree.

One side of the spectrum and also the most popular path is the decision of getting a

college degree. However, this is also seen as the most profitable way to not only earn money but

also “lead” to happiness. There are certainly many benefits one may gain from going to a

university prestigious or not. Peter states that the reason behind it is that, “There is a wide range

of benefits to individuals associated with a college education and a more educated citizenry also

has benefits for societies, but the focus here is only on the financial payoff to students having

college degrees.” (Cappelli) Some people pursue a bachelor’s degree, while others take a step

further and get a master’s degree or even a PhD. Peter Cappeli specifically focused on collecting

and analyzing the benefits of pursuing a college degree. As one of the people responsible for the

department of management in the University of Pennsylvania-- the world’s most renowned and

notable university for those who want to pursue any type of business--, Peter holds the credibility

and experience in publishing this journal. Reported in the Oxford Review of Education, Cappeli

published this information through his article “The Return on a College Degree: The US

Experience.” On page 36 of this source displays a graph that showcases the varying amounts of

money a person earns hourly with different types of education levels. As of 2018 someone

without a high school diploma earns $12.76, while someone who has a diploma earns $17.00.

Obtaining a bachelor’s degree ups the ante to $28.37, and one who has a master’s degree earns

$36.71. (Cappelli 36) These median hourly earnings are clear to show a positive correlation

between the amount of education one receives and the amount of money they earn later in life.

Additionally, Anning Hu conducted a study discussing the issue of happiness levels in Chinese

college students. She collected data for evidence and tested her hypothesis in the article that she

wrote “The Changing Happiness-Enhancing Effect of a College Degree Under High Education

Expansion: Evidence from China”. Hu’s results gave her the conclusion that, “In this process,

nevertheless, a growing extent of heterogeneity in the positive association between higher

education and happiness among urban residents was detected, suggesting a widening dispersion

in the pro-happiness function of higher education.” (Hu) In this sense, one can see that there is in

fact, a trend that a higher portrayal of happiness is found whenever one achieves a greater level

of education. Whether that be a reason because higher education shows a trend of a higher gross

income in a person’s life. From this, it supports that higher economic status from education gives

people a considerable amount of satisfaction than those who have a lower education level. Yet,

this does not reveal the cost of what college might entail nor the amount of money earned if one

did not indulge time in attending college.

This brings us to the next point where there are multitude of variables that can dictate if

getting a college degree is really worth it after all. Boris Nikolaev takes this into consideration

and defends his side of how a differing view might be set that offsets what the public thinks. By

publishing his work “Does Higher Education Increase Hedonic and Eudaimonic Happiness”,

Boris informs the people his view. Although it might be true that satisfaction is significantly

impacted and consistent with one’s education level, it does not necessarily prove one’s self well

being. Through Nikolaev’s research, he explicitly abbreviates SWB and how it is not subject to

having one definition. He divulges how there are many ideas that stem from what self well being

might be(it is not solely on satisfaction). Through three fundamental measures of evaluative,

hedonic, and eudaimonic, Nikolaev can more easily extract the true definition of what SWB is.

In specificity, Nikolaev describes the three with the first one, evaluative, used to describe

happiness studies and life satisfaction on a cognitive level. Hedonic deals with the stability

between the good and bad emotions people encounter daily in their lives. Lastly, eudaimonic is

defined as the fulfillment of success and finally reaching up to a goal that has been designated

ever since one was young. (Nikolaev) With these three factors together, only then can someone

really define what happiness is. To put it in the author's words, “Majority of these studies,

however, use life satisfaction as a proxy for SWB. Yet, it is by now widely recognized that SWB

has multiple dimensions which are only weakly correlated with each other.” (Nikolaev) The

definition of happiness is broad--the meaning behind it is endless--and is up for interpretation

depending on each person. Hence, the evidence behind how education may propose a greater

connection to happiness through hard work earnings is only generalizable for specific groups of

people and even then could also be reiterated in a more facile way. Still, the majority of people

tend to pursue a higher education due to their environment of other people as well as what is

normally expected in a society. The only reason why education is sought out is the psychology

behind the social norms and conformity displayed by the public.

Before one grew up college was a stable and expected path coming up after graduating

from high school: it was expected. A higher education equated to a better life and was just

assumed. CEOs, government officials, and other highly ranked individuals have attested to that

as well. Kevin Finneran shared his thoughts through implementing it in the Editor’s Journal. The

title, “The Path Not Studied”, describes a different path that not many people follow. The

preponderance of people apply to universities because they know that it simply works:

millionaires and billionaires around the world can vouch for that from experience. Finneran's

argument is that, “The nation’s leaders have followed this path themselves, many traveling far

from humble and difficult beginnings. They know it well, and they know it works. The only flaw

in this vision is that this path is not really open to everyone. And even if everyone did earn a

college degree, most would still find themselves in jobs that do not require a college degree...”

(Finneran 21) Many people have tried to obviate and instead of selecting one particular path,

they took account of the gray area. Similar to an English question where one can have numerous

ways of answering a prompt, the public has resolved to a solution where it involves both aspects

of what will benefit them in the long run and what will satisfy them to a certain degree where

they can still live happily. Money or happiness: the decision between wealth and euphoria is a

tough choice to make. This ambivalence can intertwine between what one shall choose. Still

though, people tend to override that and choose one decision in the midst of it all. In India, the

most populated country in the world with over 1.4 billion people, many students are forced into

this path. Different cultures around the world experience diverse ways of thinking of how one

shall achieve success. Education should already be set as an example and path to ensure a high

income to satisfy life around the world, but in certain nations such as India, China, etc, they are

further enforced. (America is on the better side of the spectrum compared to these countries)

Pretty much, college determines a person’s life in these strict places and is considered life and

death between whether one shall thrive in the future. Shelby’s Ortiz provides a great example of

just how brutal the education system is in India. Her research was conducted in the Archives of

Suicide Research within her writing “Examining the Relationship Between Academic

Expectations and Suicidal Ideations Among College Students in India Using the Interpersonal

Theory of Suicide”. Under the section “Academic Pressures and Stress Elevating Risk for

Suicide Among Young Adults in India” Ortiz explains the reason by the stress involved with

academics. Considering India has a denser population plus a greater deal of competition between

students is incredibly conspicuous. On top of that, the selection of fewer job prospects and fewer

slots in institutions--from overpopulation-- increases the pressure tenfold. Shelby moreover

affirms that, “Parental pressure for better academic performance, in particular, is one of the most

common contributing factors to academic stress among young adults in India...parents highlight

the importance of academic and extracurricular excellence to their children from a very young

age...parents in these families actively work toward ensuring their children’s future occupational

success...” (Ortiz) The people in India are again, simply expected to follow this path because

society has made it that way. Parents telling their children the importance of education does not

hide the significant impact it may have on them in the future. Expectations stay true to their word

and the likelihood of failing the public’s anticipation will only follow perdition.

From what mankind expresses ideals, pursuing a different path compared to others, and

the truth behind the association of money and education, there really is not a right or wrong way

to further in life. It all depends on the type of person and their decisions that will shape how they

might perceive the cultivation of knowledge. Depending on the circumstances and how one may

view happiness, college may not be for everyone. All we can really say is that it is one’s choice

in how they might want to settle this obstacle: by going to college or not.

Works Cited

Cappelli, Peter. “The Return on a College Degree: The US Experience.” Oxford Review of

Education, vol. 46, no. 1, Feb. 2020, pp. 30–43. EBSCOhost,

https://research.ebsco.com/c/6fal5v/viewer/pdf/5inalojcr5.

Finneran, Kevin. “The Path Not Studied.” Issues in Science & Technology, vol. 24, no. 4, June

2008, pp. 21–22. EBSCOhost,

https://research-ebsco-com.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/c/4gsskb/viewer/pdf/3pplrqygpf

Hu, Anning. “The Changing Happiness-Enhancing Effect of a College Degree Under Higher

Education Expansion: Evidence from China.” Journal of Happiness Studies, vol. 16, no.

3, June 2015, pp. 669–85. EBSCOhost,

https://doi-org.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/10.1007/s10902-014-9528-1.

Nikolaev, Boris. “Does Higher Education Increase Hedonic and Eudaimonic Happiness?”

Journal of Happiness Studies, vol. 19, no. 2, Feb. 2018, pp. 483–504. EBSCOhost,

https://doi-org.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/10.1007/s10902-016-9833-y.

Ortiz, Shelby, et al. “Examining the Relationship between Academic Expectations and Suicidal

Ideation among College Students in India Using the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide.”

Archives of Suicide Research, vol. 27, no. 4, Oct. 2023, pp. 1163–79. EBSCOhost,

https://research-ebsco-com.allstate.libproxy.ivytech.edu/c/4gsskb/viewer/pdf/e6geuo4lcv.