America's University

Preparing and enduring college can be a stressful time for many people. There is all this pressure put on Americans to excel in school in order to get a well paying job. According to lawyer, Dr. Ronald B. Standler, "Someone with a bachelor's or master's degree usually earns more money than someone who did not graduate from high school. However, more education does not always translate to a higher income" (Standler par.#9). This poses the question, is it worth spending thousands of dollars, and years of time to have the college experience? Granted high school does not teach most people everything they need to know for their future. So maybe the problem with college is the fact that there is not an option to dive right into what is important to the student. There are set curriculums to be followed, which is part of the reason it takes four to five years in order to graduate. Today's large universities are like large shopping malls by striving to get students to succumb to what is perceived as the best way to go.

When deciding where to go shopping there are different malls to choose from. Convenience is a big factor in deciding where to go, along with the style of the merchandise, or the stores that each mall has. Another big factor is the affordability of the items in the mall because some malls are higher priced, and have more expensive clothing lines. There are also factors that go into deciding where to apply to college. People choose to go to particular colleges for certain reasons most of the time, and affordability is a major reason when choosing where to go. Another reason for choosing a certain college to apply to is having the right credentials to be accepted. Since most colleges charge to apply, most students cannot afford to apply to all the colleges they are interested in.

Almost everything that goes on between two different malls and two different large universities involves some type of competition. Malls will compete with one another by having sales and discounts at certain times during the day or on particular items. To truly get ahead of other malls though, some malls will have special guests on holidays such as Santa Claus on Christmas, or the Easter bunny on Easter. This helps bring in smaller kids, which in turn brings in more parents to generate more money. Well, universities come up with ways or slogans that try and convey a message of superiority over other universities. According to Bill Readings, "Excellence is rapidly becoming the watchword of the University, and to understand the University as a contemporary institution requires some reflection on what the appeal to excellence may, or may not, mean" (Readings 21). This asks the question of, what is excellence, according to the vast amount of universities that use the word in their mission statement? The American Heritage Dictionary says that excellence is the state, quality, or condition of excelling; superiority (Excellence). All of the universities that use excellence in their mission statement cannot be superior of each other in every aspect. Universities should try and individualize themselves from the common grounds that these groups are conforming to. As a student, things or ideas that stand out and make them notorious help show their real character.

Freshman year in college, and sometimes sophomore year as well, are just like entering the mall through one of the specialty stores on the ends. There is still a lot of walking to be done through Lazarus, or L.S. Ayers just to get to the main part of the mall. Well, in college there are so many classes that have to be taken in order to just get to the heart of the major. Spending one to two years just taking introductory classes is simply a waste of time and money. People spend lots of money in order to attend college. So they should be able to choose the classes they want to attend; it is their money. When a class does not spark an interest and is perceived as a waste of time and money, then the chances of exerting a lot of effort are not high. In comparison to taking a class that applies to a students major, or simply comes across as an interesting or beneficial subject. Most students are faced with taking these introductory classes their freshman year, and many times they pose no interest. Travis Cohron, a senior law student at Indiana University said, "I would rather just give them the money if that is what they want, than have to go to these classes that have nothing to do with why I am in college right now." As a senior in college, a soon to be lawyer, Cohron is still faced with taking these introductory classes.

In some ways college could be compared to high school except in college it costs most people thousands more than high school did. In high school there was a choice of electives that could be taken, and usually all the electives that the school offered could be chosen from. There were still the core classes that had to be taken though such as Math, English, and Science, but there were the electives that balanced it out. For most students at most public high schools the cost to go is a minute fraction compared to the cost of attending college. In college I was shown the classes I needed to take in order to get into the particular school for my major, and I was given the opportunity to take one elective to receive more credit hours. I was given the choice of only two classes though, neither of which interested me in the least bit. So now there is a sizeable amount of money being paid for a class that I cannot even pretend to humor. Not to mention the money that could be made, or the effective ways that time could be used doing something else. Many of these introductory classes were taken in high school anyway, so that goes to say high school could be just a formula to get into college.

According to Pierre Bourdieu's version of the role of school in society:

Regardless of whether they attain a postsecondary credential, no student who has failed to acquire elaborated code is able to accumulate knowledge that is equated with cultural capital. So while it is arguable that going to college is the necessary condition for accumulating cultural capital, it is by no means sufficient. Although there are millions who now attend and millions more who have graduated an institution of postsecondary schooling, many lack the elementary presupposition of professional marketability, to be well spoken and culturally glib. (Aronotwitz 7)

This is one of the most critical factors in being hired after graduating from college. In speech class we are told that communication is the number one most important factor in getting a job in the future and being successful. Bourdieu is saying that someone can get all the education they want, but it