The American Dream is the national belief that inspires thousands to work hard and to reap the benefits. Despite being well-known, most Americans are not familiar with the original definition of this phrase. The American Dream was first coined by James Truslow Adams in the epilogue of The Epic of America in which he describes it as a “land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” For many Americans, education is the opportunity that can lead to “better and richer and fuller” life for those who work hard. Cal Thomas reflects this sentiment as he writes “The rules for achieving the American dream… [starts with] studying and staying in school [and] achieving at least an undergraduate degree” in the article “Is the American Dream Over?” Although some question the adequacy of college in helping students achieve the American Dream, the facts prove that the American Dream is attainable through higher education.
Due to the recent economic recession that caused hundreds of Americans to lose their job, including college graduates, some have lost their faith in education and the American Dream. In the Wall Street Journal article “Generation Jobless: From Ivied Halls to Traveling Salesman,” Dana Mattioli follows the story of 4 college graduates, all of whom had trouble finding jobs in a field related to their majors and had to lower their sights and settle as a sale representative instead. If a graduate from an Ivy League school cannot find work, then clearly a college education is no longer integral to one’s chance of employment, which is almost essential to reaching the American Dream. While it is true that college graduates do struggle in the job market, they struggle less than those who do not graduate college. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, for the past four decades, there’s a discernible relationship between one’s level of education and unemployment levels: the more educated groups have a noticeable lower level of unemployment than the less educated groups. In 2015, 20-24 year olds are most affected by this trend: 19.9% of those who do not complete high school are unemployed while only 5.1% of those with a Bachelor's degree are unemployed. (This excludes those who were in school). That’s a 14.8% difference! Of course a college education is not a guarantee at landing a job, but it certainly is a major factor. The stories of failed college graduates may be pervasive, but they do not depict an accurate image of a typical college graduate, and statistics prove that college graduates are better off than others. After all, even if college graduates may not procure their ideal job, having a job at at all is already a huge advantage. Through education, Americans have the ability to start their career and start a “better and richer and fuller” life.
Recently, there has been an outcry about the steady rise of college tuition and a growing sense of college not being worth the costs, making the American Dream appear even more distant than ever. The National Center for Education Statistics reveals that for the past 30 years, the average total cost of all two and four year colleges increased from $10,210 to $21,728, the average total cost of all public institutions increased from $7,626 to $16,188, and the average total cost of all private institutions increased from $18,354 to $37,424. Due to this rise in cost, some Americans believe college is not worth the thousands of student debt, two to four years of their life, and that the American Dream cannot be sought out through advancing one’s education. While this response is reasonable, these people do not see the big picture: college teaches students valuable skills and prepares them for the job market; as a result, they are more valued than non college graduates. Thus, college graduates get better jobs and higher wages. In “The Upside of Income Inequality,” the authors insist that college graduates “earned roughly 70 percent more” than those with only a high school diploma. With a college degree, college graduates are able to receive the best jobs, and so the cumulative money a college graduate earns throughout his or her career tends to surpass the cost of a college education. David Autor, an economist and professor of economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote an article where he focuses on higher education as the cause of income inequality. In a Q&A concerning the article, Autor was asked to elaborate about college premium, so he explains that the college premium for men is $590,000 and $370,000 for women in 2010. Of course, this number is the difference between the lifetime earnings of the college graduates and tuition costs. With almost a quarter million return, a college education is more than worth the cost. A successful career, and the American Dream by extension, is reliant on a college education. For anyone who is able, college is almost a given.
Even though college is a great investment for those who can afford it, others argue that college, and the American Dream, is more difficult for the financially disadvantaged to obtain. Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics support this claim as the difference of the percentage of recent high school graduates from high income families enrolled in college and the percentage of recent high school graduates from low income families enrolled in college in 2011 is 30.2%, favoring those with wealthier families. This percentage strongly implies that there is not equal opportunities for Americans in terms of education. While this may be true, the fact that there is an inequality does not indicate that the American Dream is dead: Adams’s definition designates the Dream as “opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement,” and there are still opportunities for students with low income. For example, the government provides financial aid for those in need. The National Center for Education Statistics presents that 82.9% of undergraduates received some kind of financial aid from the government in 2013-2014. Thanks to the Department of Education, most low income students are able to attend college with alleviated economic stress. In addition, there are several ways to get a cheap ride through college such as colleges that meet full demonstrated need like Lafayette College, or colleges that offer full rides for exceptional students like Villanova University with its Presidential Scholarship Program, or even private scholarships like the Gates Millennium Scholars Program. Although these are great opportunities, they are highly selective, and in order to get accepted, similar to the American Dream, one must work hard. With all of these resources, any student, regardless of their socioeconomic status, should be able to pay for college and reach the American Dream as long as he or she is willing and able to work for it.
In the modern era when higher education is greatly valued, the American Dream is even more attainable than before. With college open to anyone ambitious and capable enough, America has become a society with opportunities that are proportional to one’s labor. However, this is only thanks to those who create these opportunities like the Department of Education and generous patrons like Bill and Melinda Gates who seek to support the future philanthropists. For the good of America, the talented must not squander these gifts, but capitalize on them instead to lead the world into the future. This is the American Dream.
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