Sarah Graves, an opinion contributor for USA Today, explains her belief that it is not worth it to bribe admissions officials in order to get into college. She debunks the belief that going to an elite college makes it easier to be successful in the future by using data from past studies. In fact, she provides evidence of less elite schools providing an education that is just as good or maybe even better. She continues her argument by explaining that some companies do not require their employees to have a college degree because although they may be valued, it is not because of the prestigious school they received a degree from. She concludes her argument by stating that parents can not control the destinies of their children. It is up to the student to take advantage of the opportunities they are given and working hard to achieve their goals. She explains that successful careers and lives are not direct results from receiving a prestigious college degree.
Graves uses an appeal to ethos to accomplish explaining her opinion that it is not worth it to bribe an admissions official to get accepted to attend a prestigious school. She uses Β “2011 research by Stacy Berg Dale of the Mellon Foundation and Alan B. Krueger of Princeton” to prove that the college a student attends, wether elite or not, does not affect their future ability to be successful. She also uses evidence from “a 2013 Gallup Poll” to show that employers value “skills and knowledge”, not a prestigious college degree. Her use of outside evidence helps her explain her argument and back it up well.
I completely agree with Graves argument. I believe that it is not acceptable to bribe your way into an elite college or university. From my perspective, if it is important for you to attend a prestigious school, then you should work for the opportunity to go there instead of cheating your way in. I also believe that it is more important to go to a school that you love and that you fit in well at instead of forcing yourself into an elite school that you think might benefit you in the future.
Kaylee's Blog 
Good job, Kaylee! Maybe just expand a little bit next time on HOW the appeals to ethos/logos are effective in the argument and try to give some evidence in your agreement paragraph.
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