Person, Sarah: Paglia

Many people, including Camille Paglia in her article Revalorizing the Trades, feel that colleges and universities are not preparing students for the real world as well as they should be. Both institutions try their best to prepare their students, but currently are not doing a very good job. However, universities do a better job at preparing students than community colleges do. Preparing for life after college is important and students should enter the world prepared for the challenges they will face.

Universities do a better job at preparing students than community colleges, and even trade schools in my opinion. Universities provide an environment in which students get the opportunity to take a wide selection of classes, which help them to become well rounded. The students are well rounded, however, their schooling is longer. But, I think that helps students to become more proficient in their profession. For example, nursing majors might have to fulfill a speech requirement. The nursing majors are not gaining any medical knowledge by taking the speech class; however, these classes will most likely help them to communicate better with their future patients. Universities are better because the schooling lasts longer again because of the varied classes they have to take. The four to five years that most people attend universities allows them to grow and to mature so that when students graduate they are usually very mature and ready to take on the world. Another advantage that universities have is the skills that are incorporated into the curriculum. Research has shown that most employers want their employees to have some skills in team work, flexibility, computer skills, communications skills, and many others. Most universities try to incorporate building these skills in the curriculum. A third advantage to a university is the atmosphere and the resources that students have access to. For example, at a university there are Greek fraternities and sororities, more activities to participate in, and more organizations to join. At a community college the organizations are much smaller, and in some cases, there may not be many organizations for students to join. The larger resources are also a plus to universities. Universities usually have resources such as large libraries, tutoring groups, writing centers, and computers that can be used by the students.

Even though I believe that universities do a better job at preparing their students community colleges have some advantages, and some people would argue that they actually do a better job. One of the benefits of going to a community college is that students are not in school as long. This is because usually they are only required to take classes that will help them in their particular major or occupation. For example, a student majoring in nursing may not have to take a speech class. Another advantage to a community college is that it is cheaper. The average community college usually costs about $5,000 a year, which is much lower than the average $20,000 per year at a university. Yet another advantage to going to a community college is the quality of the professors who teach there.

I would have to say that colleges and universities are not doing all they could to prepare their students. However, I believe that universities do a better job than community colleges and trade schools. Preparing for life after college is very important and should not be taken lightly.