Interview

    I researched Professor Patrick Carr of the Sociology Department in Rutgers University. He co-edited the book "Coming of Age in America: The Transition to Adulthood in the Twenty-First Century". He is also currently working on a project which examined the experiences of young adults transitioning into adulthood in the Great Recession. He researches the three major classes (lower, middle, and upper) and how they have been affected by the economic crisis of 2008. 

    His background on the subject showed him to be knowledgable on the subject of young adults transitioning into adulthood. He was very informative on the subject and explained the comparison between the generation now and the young adults of the 1950's. He explained that at the time of the 1950's young adults were mostly "naturalists" which meant that they rushed into adulthood by marrying and settling down very quickly, normally right out of college. During this time, education for women was not taken very seriously. Women attended college for the sake of finding a wealthy and educated man to marry. There was no focus on the independent female self until now. This is the time of the "planners" which are people who wait and get comfortable before rushing into serious commitments and settling down. Planners are men, but also women who now take their education seriously. Professor Carr stated that the increase in college attendance and performance has increased in the past years due to women now attending college. He stated that within the past years, women are the ones to beat because they are statistically proven to be smarter than men. 

    On the subject of college in general, he stated that "it is part of growing up, but it doesn't signal the end part of a long transition" (Carr). College is not the rite of passage into adulthood as it used to be. He specifically stated that it is more of a "rite of passage for a select few" (Carr). Arguing against Arnet's point about the use of these years for self exploration, he stated that not all college graduates have the privilege of spending their time and money of "exploring" themselves. Here, he specifically meant the school dropouts, the criminals, the poor, etc. These young adults would not be able to afford to take time off of their lives to soul search. 

    With student loan prices on the rise, Carr expressed how he is not looking forward to the future of education for the sake of young adults. It is becoming more taxing to pay off the education needed to move on in life. 

Case

   Students are not taking their education seriously which is one of the reasons why they do not find success after college graduation and therefore, do not make the income needed to pay off student loan debt and other financial responsibilities. The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), an exam given to students that tests their improvement and capabilities in critical thinking, complex reasoning and creative writing, has shown through statistics that college students in the bottom quintile are three times as likely to not find employment after graduation. Those on the top quintiles are students who found success after college. The better grades they received, meant the more they paid attention and took their studies seriously. With that, the more likely were they to have success.

Roksa, Josipa & Arum, Richard. "Life After College: The Challenging Transitions

of the Academically Adrift Cohurt." Change. 2012: 8-14. Print.

Argument and Counter-Argument

  I believe that college is no longer the rite of passage toward adulthood because it is not taken as seriously as it should be. College education is not the highlight of college years, it is the social life and freedom. Also, the financial set-backs push students back from settling down. Without students being able to deal with their financial obligations, they are unable to move on past young adulthood.
  Arnet stated that it is a positive that students take this extra time to stay back after college and not settle down so soon. He states that they use this time for self-exploration to understand themselves. Carr on the other hand believes that it is more complex for certain young adults to move on. Young adults that have criminal history or those that are financially unstable find it more difficult to spend their time exploring themselves. they can't afford the time spent to explore various options when they have no money to support themselves. For the young adults with criminal history, they are unable to fins many job opportunities as easily as those with a clean record.
  Arnet's argument that this delay in adulthood is a positive is fought against by Carr due to the consideration of the less fortunate and financially unstable. Not everyone benefits from this delay like Arnet states.

Final Abstract

Abstract:

  The transition into adulthood has been altered through the past generations. College once represented adulthood, but now it seems that it no longer holds true to its role. College led to settling down, which included getting a stable job, getting married, buying a home and having children. These factors have been delayed due to the financial effects of college. Student loan debt has left young adults behind in search of a way out into the real "adult" life. So, what is the current transition into adulthood? I believe that now it is the acceptance of responsibility, which includes financial obligations and consequences, along with taking higher education seriously. Those who took their studies seriously were proven to be more successful in their adult lives and were more likely to find a job. When young adults take on responsibility and take their education seriously, then can they really enter adulthood.

Link to Paper: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_MedR_XlL1ia0bD7feQLwg2tQD13HRnqocfrjMB0Wz8/edit?usp=sharing

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