WR - a college education is the most important factor in one's success in life?

In modern society, it has been controversial whether education is the most essential factor in success in life. However, I basically disagree with the position that a higher education is the most crucial element in success in one’s life because a college education hardly allows students to acquire pragmatic knowledge and there are many often qualities for success in their life.

           Most of all, education in colleges is less likely to provide people with practical information. As a matter of fact, when people receive a college education, they can obtain not only broad knowledge but also academic information. However, it is so theoretical that it is uncertain whether a college education would lead to prosperous success or not. For example, we know Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs. He rejected traditional business ways since he ran his company. He turned his Apple Corporation into a working campus where workers could work barefoot, sleep and put in the hours they wanted. Besides, many people succeeded without a college education such as William Edward Boeing, Bill Gates, Michael Moore and so on.

           In addition, a college education is not the only exclusive key to success. We need not only a college education but also combinations of several often qualities. There are too many people who graduated from colleges today. Thus, the value of a college diploma is gradually decreasing. Generally, it is necessary for people to learn in college to achieve success in their life. Yet, these days, many qualities such as character, creativity, work ethic, and good manners in addition to a college education are more important.  This means, a college education is not absolutely necessary to success in their life.

           That said, a college education is a very good step toward achieving success in life, but it is not the only path to success. We should give some thought to the fact that there are many people who have been successful without a college degree; instead, they used the practical knowledge they gained in society. Overall, success is the result of the mix of many different qualities.