Analysis Of Colleges Prepare People For Life By Freeman Hrabowski

Quincee Brown

English 120

Instructor Toland Perry

11 Sept. 2016

An Account and Analysis of Colleges Prepare People for Life

Freeman Hrabowski wrote an article, “Colleges Prepare People for life,” which appeared in the Baltimore Sun. Hrabowski gives numerous examples of how college graduates are more likely to get a job and to make a higher salary than those with just a high school diploma. He talks about how college is something that is great to experience not only for the education that the student acquires for their future job but also the knowledge that they learn will help with the impact they have on the people around them. Hrabowski captures the reader’s attention by evoking reasons why college ought not to be seen as a waste of time

or money and explaining why it should not be seen as insignificant. He refutes the thought that college is not worth the time or money. More specifically, Hrabowski argues that colleges not only prepares a person for a job and puts a person on the right track but prepares an individual for life. In my analysis of Hrabowski’s text I will examine how he has made and supported the argument that colleges prepare people for life and show through claims made and strategies use.
Hrabowksi claims that the American higher education system falls short of properly preparing potential students for college.

On page 260, Hrabowski talks about how our current schooling system fails to “help students find institutions that are best suited to them based on their academic preparations, aspirations and resources” (260). He feels, “we focus so much on monetary inputs and outputs we ignore the question of what it truly means to be educated” (260). In other words, Hrabowski is saying that students have a choice when it comes to which type of college they would like to attend. It is not strictly based on a four-year college or strictly based on two-year. He proceeds to say how students should choose their colleges or universities wisely because there are so many options. Hrabowski wants readers to know that choosing the right college is very important for not only the job that they want in the future but on how they get educated in the

process.
The author claims that counseling is necessary if the potential student wants to go to the right university or college that fits their planning, goals, and resources.

Hrabowski talks about Barack Obama’s call on higher education to standardize the information given to students, and how Maryland was the first to sign the initiative. He supports that claim by saying “Lack of counseling is one reason that fewer than 10 percent of Americans from the lowest income quartile have earned a college degree by age 24, compared to the 80 percent of those in the top quartile” (261). To support this, he provides an example of how his colleagues expend a numerous amount of hours while counseling potential students. In which, students end up making a choice if they should, or not, attend that college or choose another. He strategizes this by referring to Obama’s initiative, and how the University of Maryland was one of the first to sign the initiative. This helps because Obama is a very well respected and powerful person. It appeals to potential students because of Obama’s social status in the United

States.
Hrabowksi asserts that because Walter Sondheim went to college he received an education that not only benefits him but also lends a handed to the people around him. He says that college prepares people for life and using Walter Sondheim as an example to back up this argument. Hrabowski asserts, “Sondheim graduated from college… and had no idea what else he wanted to do with his life… fortunately, college had given him a strong grounding in the liberal arts and the ability to think broadly”(262). Hrabowksi’s tactic is to persuade his audience that college prepares a person for life by using someone, like Sondheim, who is very successful after attending college. Sondheim’s education helped him get a job, but it also helped him transform the state of Maryland.
Not everyone agrees that college is the way to go. While going to college gives us a higher possibility of getting a good job with a steady income than someone that has not been to college. Hrabowski’s argument is that not only does it get us a job but also it prepares us for life. College is more than just an education but it is an experience that gets us ready for life at hand. Throughout the essay he uses rational and reliable appeals to address his many claims. In conclusion, counseling potential students and picking the right colleges to go are the key steps in going to college. They set us on the right path to learn the right information we need to be prepared for life. From Hrabowski’s article College Prepares People for Life, I have come to believe that college does in fact prepare people for life. Furthering education can lead a person to do great things for themselves and the people around them.