Elite Colleges Debate Post

Throughout all of the seven pieces referring to the effect attending an elite university has over community college, I notice a relatively higher number of writers believing in the power of higher education, yet their evidence pales in comparison with those who support community college. For example, Anthony P. Carnevale's Access to Money and Power expresses that one can get more money if they invest more in elite education. He states that "those who score 1200 out of a possible 1600 on the SAT -- 96 percent of those who go to the selective colleges graduate, while those who go to the least selective four-year colleges graduate at a rate of 78 percent." While this statement shows an eighteen percent increase, he performs a logical fallacy. The SAT is taken before the students even enter college. He is comparing the top scoring individuals who enter the best colleges to the lower scorers who go to their last resort. In addition, he also does not cite the source for the statistic, which further questions`his credibility.

In comparison, Martha O’Connel’s What you do VS. Where you go, the statistics are quite different. In her piece, she states that, “A long-term study of 6,335 college graduates published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that graduating from a college where entering students have higher SAT scores -- one marker of elite colleges -- didn't pay off in higher post-graduation income.” In addition to providing evidence that counterattacks Carnevale’s, she has also provided a source, with credibility by a nationally recognized organization.

However, out of all the pieces, I see David W. Brenman’s piece to be the most distinguished. Unlike the other one-sided views, Breneman supports individuality, in which the college that best suites you, appropriately, is up to you. As he states, “students must think long and hard about they type of education setting that will best fit the student. An Industrial Design major doesn’t want to go to Oxford. and a Medical Doctor wouldn’t want to go to Academy of Art. And such a close to home statement can be easily accepted without a source, because it comes from the heart. And honestly, a statement that goes without question provides the best arguement.