Jackie Ferguson
Andrew Johnson
W233
10/12/17
Full Annotated Bibliography
Nemko, Marty. “America’s Most Overrated Product: the Bachelor’s Degree.” The Chronicle of
Higher Education, 2 May 2008, www.chronicle.com/article/Americas-Most-
Overrated/19869.
In many cases it is not worth it for graduating high school students to attend college right
after graduation. This is especially true for students that graduated in the bottom forty percent of
their class. Also, many colleges admit students that are not prepared for college classes which
leaves them failing and or dropping out after spending thousands on tuition. Even students that
did well in high school do not necessarily fare well either, only about forty-five percent of
college freshman graduate. Forty percent do not graduate in four years, which means they must
spend even more money to receive a bachelor’s degree. Not only is a degree expensive, but in
most cases the overall education is not top quality as a lot of classes are taught by graduate
students or teachers assistants and have more than thirty students in each class. Also, universities
still receive government funding and grant whether students graduate or not which reduced the
universities’ incentive to achieve higher graduation rates. The author also lists a few examples of
students who graduate or even go on to get their master’s degree and still are unable to find a
quality job. I was surprised to learn that so many students do not finish college. I would be able
to use this article to support the idea that it is not worth it to many graduating seniors to attend
college.
Leonhardt, David. “Is College Worth It? Clearly, New Data Say.” The New York Times, 27 May
2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/upshot/is-college-worth-it-clearly-new-data-
say.html.
This article explains that on average, a person with a bachelor’s degree will make about
half a million dollars more than one who does not graduate college. The author believes that it is
economically irrational not to attend college and that the average debt is only around $25,000
which is a small amount compared to the potential money one can make from earning a degree.
He explains that the unemployment rate is small for those who earn a degree, although there are
many stories about graduates not being able to find jobs. I could use this article to support the
argument that it is beneficial to earn a college degree.
