Consider Yourself Privileged Essay
A privilege is defined as a special advantage held as a prerogative of status or rank and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others. This definition makes it obvious that a college education is undoubtedly a privilege rather than a right that everyone has. Everyone has the right to apply for college, but not everyone is accepted. Even if you are accepted to college you may not be financially able to attain a college education. After you get accepted and are able to pay you still don’t have the right to a college education, but rather it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.
Sure everyone has the right to apply to college, yet those who get accepted are the privileged ones. Almost every school has a set number of students that they plan to admit each year and most of the time the number admitted is nearly half of the number who applied. “Colleges compete to improve their rankings—particularly U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges”—by using wait lists, early-decision programs and mass mailings to make them look as selective as possible and to increase their “yield rate”: the percentage of students who accept offers of admission”(Mathews par3) Getting accepted is not all in the number though; there are certain criteria that each student must meet to be accepted into college. Most colleges require a minimal SAT; ACT score at which they will accept students. Other colleges require placement tests and essays in the admittance process. In some instances one person is admitted over another person based solely on athletic ability. Nobody is ever guaranteed into college, you may even be turned away because of the mere fact that the number of students for that year has already been filled. “In 2000, according to data on the U.S. News & World Report Web site, Columbia’s wait list had more names on it than its admit list of 1,749 and, like most other schools, it didn’t disclose this in its letter to wait-listed applicants.”(Mathews par13)
Sure everyone has the right to apply to college, yet those who get accepted are the privileged ones. Almost every school has a set number of students that they plan to admit each year and most of the time the number admitted is nearly half of the number who applied. “Colleges compete to improve their rankings—particularly U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges”—by using wait lists, early-decision programs and mass mailings to make them look as selective as possible and to increase their “yield rate”: the percentage of students who accept offers of admission”(Mathews par3) Getting accepted is not all in the number though; there are certain criteria that each student must meet to be accepted into college. Most colleges require a minimal SAT; ACT score at which they will accept students. Other colleges require placement tests and essays in the admittance process. In some instances one person is admitted over another person based solely on athletic ability. Nobody is ever guaranteed into college, you may even be turned away because of the mere fact that the number of students for that year has already been filled. “In 2000, according to data on the U.S. News & World Report Web site, Columbia’s wait list had more names on it than its admit list of 1,749 and, like most other schools, it didn’t disclose this in its letter to wait-listed applicants.”(Mathews par13)
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Even if you are accepted into college you must be financially able to obtain a college education. To most that means money out of their own pockets, but there are other options. Some people are academically privileged enough to get scholarships to help pay for school and others are eligible for state and federal grants that will help cut the costs of college. Although assistance is available for those who cannot afford to pay for all of college tuition there are still some people who can’t go to school because they merely are not financially able. For example a student whose family makes just enough to be ineligible for state grants and receives no scholarships probably would be unable to attend college. Also different schools charge different tuition fees so you may be able to financially afford a community college where as you are not financially privileged enough to attend a four year university. Not only is actual college tuition a factor, but also is the required test to get in. Most states charge a fee to take the ACT; SAT, yet almost every college requires one of the two test scores to be admitted.
Even if you are accepted to a college and are financially able to pay for it you still don’t have the right to a college education. It may sound obvious to say that you must attend classes to receive your college degree, but that is one thing that makes it a privilege. A college education is not something that is just handed to you for barely getting by, but rather takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You cannot receive a college degree by merely being enrolled in college classes. You must attend classes, take the required classes and complete the required work well and on time. Some people are even dedicated enough to have the privilege of graduating with honors or high honors. With a college education you gain status among the employment world.
In conclusion, everyone has the right to be apply for college, but not everyone is accepted. Even if you are accepted to college you may not be financially able to attain a college education. After you get accepted and are able to pay you still don’t have the right to a college education, but rather it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Obtaining a college education provided the recipient with a new status not given to others without a college education, thus the perfect definition of a privilege. So for all of those college students out there wishing they were doing anything other than homework, consider yourself privileged.
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