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Mike-EL Navarro
Mr. Markus Bohlmann
ENG106
November 24, 2015
Post Secondary education : Is it really beneficial?
In today's society Post Secondary Education is often viewed as the "stepping stone"
towards becoming successful in one's chosen career, and an essential part to becoming a more
mature and productive adult. One often believes that in order to reach success in the world
financially, and have a fulfilling life it is critical to obtain essential skills and knowledge that will
guarantee a job that pays well. In order to attain such goals, post secondary education is often the
safest viable option for individuals who wish to pursue a successful career. However, seeing the
current reports and trends on recent college graduates makes it seem that post secondary
education does not assure the satisfaction that it promises to students. Post Secondary Education
is becoming more of a disadvantage than its proposed benefits because of its affordability,
mental health concerns and assurance.
Affordability of higher education is questionable because of its trends on increasing rates
of tuition fees. This financial factors highly affects the decisions of aspiring students in pursuing
education on a post secondary institute. In the past few decades one can observe a rise in cost of
post secondary education were it has "risen by almost five times the rate of inflation since 1983,
and graduate salaries have been flat for much of the past decade"(Grant, 2015). The rising of the
cost tuition has now become a stumbling block for students who wishes to attain higher quality
of education. As a result, one can also observe the troubling progression of tuitions. To illustrate
this, “[the] average cost of attending a top four-year college is rapidly approaching a quarter of a

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million dollars"(Grant). As tuition rates exponential increases it is safe to assume the majority of
graduating students or recent graduates have a high probability to be in debt especially if they
come from a low income family.
Post secondary education is disadvantageous for students from low income families
because some are not able to afford post-secondary education. One of the reasons is that "there is
no doubt that costs are going up, and debt is accumulating at an uncomfortable rate for many
students"(Korfmann, 2012). Factors that affect whether a student will pursue a higher education
is the availability of financial resources required to afford the education. However, since the
tuition rates have been higher, options for obtaining students loans have been difficult for college
students because "prospective students are often unable to provide sufficient collateral to
back their borrowing"(Finnie, Ross, Mueller, & Richard, 2008). As a result, students are often
coerced into working for a full time that is not of their interest. Moreover, as more college
students enter post secondary education "students holding debt are averaging more debt-per-
graduate now than ever before"(Korfmann). Grant asserts that [College students] are drowning in
student loan debt. Last year’s graduating class is the most indebted ever. The average 2014
graduate with student loans will have to pay back around $33,000.
Pursuing higher education poses concerns on mental health. Post secondary education
demands a significant amount of time studying, and dedicating a huge amount of effort into one's
chosen career. As a result, post secondary students are likely to be more prone to stress.
According to Popovic, the postsecondary student population falls into the highest-risk age group
for mental illness and problematic substance use. Moreover, "studies have shown that stress,
sleep loss, and depression are commonplace in the [college] student population"(Popovic, 2012).
One can observe that post secondary education can create a high risk in concern about one's

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health. Furthermore she adds, students are seeking counselling that are more severe and complex
issues. Popovic also describes that there is an increases in suicide ideation and behaviours, self-
injury reports, crisis counselling needs, eating disorders, past sexual trauma reports, and sexual
assaults. In addition, these increase in participation of dangerous behaviour is correlated to "the
three most frequently identified factors were a lack of proper staff, a lack of financial resources,
and a need for more (physical) space"(Popovic). These socioeconomic issues on college
environments are disadvantages for students who want to pursue and accomplish their goals. For
that reason, it creates a tremendous amount of pressure to the student which will likely cause
them to fail in attaining higher education.
Another disadvantage of post secondary education is that it does not guarantee a well
paying job. In today's society there is growing uneasiness to the real value of higher education.
People are reevaluating if post secondary education keeps its assurance of having a guaranteed
financially stable career that it initially offers. Korfmann implies that, there is a growing trend of
diminishment in the value of post secondary education, and that people are questioning the
benefits of it. TD bank describes that "post secondary education as the single best investment
you can ever make"(Korfmann). Although there a variety of financial benefits that a college
degree can offer such as a high paying job after graduation. But according to recent studies, the
estimated salary after graduation that post secondary institutes promises to students are
inconsistent. Korfmann points out that Statistics Canada reported an overall trend that the
benefits of the post secondary education decreases over time. For example, one of the comments
on post secondary education versus work experience claims that:
“It’s not that there’s no merit in the college experience, but higher
education can insulate students from the real world as much as it prepares them.

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And you can seek out the equivalent, or better, connections and social experiences
in the outside world"(Grant 2015).
In some cases people without a post secondary degree, but has the technical and practical skills
needed by industries are far successful than with people who have. Thus, post secondary
education is gradually becoming more of an disadvantage for people trying to pursue higher
education.
Pursuing a higher degree of education oftentimes have a lot of disadvantages because of
its cost, health concern, and certainty. The major factor that significantly affects the disadvantage
of attending a post secondary education is its price. Even though it offers a different advantages
it also contains drawbacks that can make a significant impact on one's decision in pursuing a post
secondary education. As one tries to find a way in achieving financial independence post
secondary education does not always provide the security needed to achieve that goal. Post
secondary education should be aspired into pursuing because it offers a greater chances of
success. However, with the disadvantages that are often hidden from individuals one should
always pay attention into the opportunities that is provided. If left unchecked its disadvantages
could out way more than its benefits.

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Works Cited
Finnie, Ross, Mueller, Richard E.. The Effects of Family Income, Parental Education and
Other Background Factors on Access to Post-Secondary Education in Canada: Evidence from the
YITS. Toronto, ON, CAN: Educational Policy Institute, 2008. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 27
November 2015.
Grant, Douglas. "The Rising Dilemma Regarding Post-secondary Education."
Acrossthemargin. Powered by the Mind, 5 Oct. 2015. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.
Korfmann, Andreas. The Post-Secondary Education Bubble: The Problem with Post-
Secondary Education; Subsidies, Debt and Income. Halifax, NS, CAN: Atlantic Instutute for
Market Studies, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 27 November 2015.
Popovic, Tamara. Mental Health in Ontario's Post-Secondary Education System. Toronto,
ON, CAN: College Student Alliance, 2012. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 27 November 2015.