top of page

Student Journalist I Writer

STEPHANIE LAM

Confidence in higher education varies among De Anza students

by Stephanie Lam

An international student from India said he came to De Anza college to pursue an associate degree in computer science, but he doesn’t think the degree is necessary for him to succeed in that field.

“I think if it were up to me, I wouldn’t want to pursue a higher education, I think high school already teaches you all the subjects you need to know.” Joshua Gomes, 28, computer science major, said.

Gomes is apart of the 52 percent of adults in the U.S who do not express a “great deal” or “quite a lot of confidence” in pursuing higher education, according to an October 2018 poll conducted by Gallup.

Hwan Lee, 20, English major, said that pursuing a higher education can sometimes be difficult for students, as the cost to attend universities are high and the length of time it takes to obtain a degree is long.

“The system is always changing, it’s getting harder to get a higher education,” said Lee,  “Even then, it doesn’t guarantee you a job.”

The poll concluded that people’s political affiliation might influence their confidence in higher education. Republicans and Democrats showed a 23-point gap in confidence in higher education. The current gap is twice as large as the gap in 2015. According to Gallup, a majority of Republicans lost confidence in higher education because they believed that college and universities promoted a liberal political agenda.

Percentage of U.S adults with "a great deal" or "quite alot" of confidence in higher education

U.S. Adults

Republicans

Democrats

2015

2018

Change

%

%

pct.pt

Independents

57

48

-9

56

39

-17

68

62

-6

48

44

-4

Gallup.com

“It’s perfectly fine for people to have a political opinion,” said Christian Bao Quan Nguyen, president of De Anza’s Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) club, “(...) But to push one’s own political agenda or opinions onto, for example, students, that’s a different story.”

One way American can reverse the decrease in higher-education confidence, is by creating an idea that higher education leads to an engaging and stable according to Gallup.

Paulina Ochoa 21, ethnic studies major, is a current intern at Higher Education For AB40 Students (HEFAS). Ochoa said that she notices that students who come in to use HEFAS’s facilities, especially those who come from low-income or minority backgrounds, are driven to pursue a higher education.

“ I do see students often so I think that comes to show that they are interested in what they do and how we (HEFAS) can help them pursue a higher education.” said Ochoa.

Rex Zhang, 19, sociology major, said that he thinks pursuing higher education is useful and needed.

“It gives people the opportunity to know about one direction well, or a good place to find a community and find people your age you can interact with,” said Zhang, “I think It’s a social norm, no one really needs to dig into a particular reason.”

Institutions U.S adults have more confidence in than higher education 

1

2

3

MILITARY

SMALL BUSINESS

POLICE

Gallup.com

Take A Quiz
What percentage of adults in the U.S do not express a "great deal" or "quite a lot of confidence" in purusing higher education?
What is the point gap between the confidence in higher education between Republicans and Democrats
bottom of page