This is a highly debated topic and while my viewpoint is not groundbreaking, I hope that my thoughts will register with those choosing whether or not to attend college.
Father = Bachelor’s Degree
Mother = Bachelor’s Degree
Sister = Working toward Bachelor’s Degree
Friend = Working toward Associate Degree
Friend(s) = All planning on attending college.
The question I have for all of them is: Why?
A few facts taken from a recently published Forbes article:
– $1.3 Trillion in student debt
– Over 44 million borrowers
– An average student from the Class of 2016 has $37,172 in debt from student loans.
If you live in the US and you know anybody that has attended college then at some point you have probably heard the phrase “everybody goes to college.” Is this true? The answer is mostly, and it is supported by the NCES. Studies show that from 2000 to 2014 enrollment has increased by 31%…A huge increase!
Enough with the stats, here’s my take:
College is NOT necessarily the path for everyone.
You may say, “Buzz, how can this be true?” The answer is that for some people it is the right path, and for others it is not. How do you know? This list may help:
Reasons To Go
– You have your mind set on a career path that REQUIRES, not recommends, a college degree or certification. Yes, I am talking to all the doctors, lawyers, and aeronautical engineers out there. If you are going into a field that truly needs the education then that is a good reason to go to school.
– The school you are going to has an extremely high job placement in the field you are attempting to go into.
– The school you are going to attend is offering large scholarships that will cover the majority if not all of your debt.
Reasons NOT To Go
– There isn’t a guaranteed return, in fact you are almost guaranteed a negative return these days. The chances of an individual incurring debt from college is greater than graduating a clean slate.
– You want to experience the “college-life” which often translates to the “party-life.” As a teenager I have never been a part of the party-crowd. For me to say that going to school to party is a waste isn’t necessarily fair, but I can say that I know many people who chose to go to “party” schools. These people often didn’t graduate on time, incurred large debts throughout their education, and graduated with a degree that meant nothing to them.
– You don’t know what else to do. The default for young adults shouldn’t be to go to college. At any age — and especially the age of 18 — people in general need to search for what makes them happy, not just do what they think they should do.
– Your field might not require a degree to start in. A field like fashion design or marketing is something that most people believe that you must have a degree to break into. My friend who works as a designer for a large corporation is living proof that no such education is needed (I’m sure many of you are wearing his designs right now). No degree was required and this is the case for many fields.
If you are interested in reading more about how the facts utilized in this article were attained, please visit the sources below (or you could just take my word for it).
Again, college is NOT necessarily for everyone. If you think it’s for you, great! I wish you luck, however, if you seem to fit into the mold of Reasons NOT To Go, then I encourage you to consider another path than just attending college.
– Buzz
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2017/02/21/student-loan-debt-statistics-2017/#3ce207885dab (Forbes) https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/unemployment-rate-2-point-5-percent-for-college-grads-7-point-7-percent-for-high-school-dropouts-january-2017.htm (Bureau of Labor Statistics) https://hbr.org/2016/05/two-thirds-of-college-grads-struggle-to-launch-their-careers (Harvard Business Review) https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cha.asp (National Center for Education Statistics)
My father was the first person in my family to go to college. College is now so ubiqitous that it is hard for me to imagine a time when it wasn’t. In my opinion, the college trend can be attributed to the following:
(1) Income Data – multiple studies have shown that folks with college degrees earn more than folks with only high school diplomas over their lifetime.
I believe that historically this has been true, but we are beginning to see (especially in technology) that “skills” are becoming more valued than degrees. If you have the skills – you can make the money. You may need to update your skills over time, but that’s true of degree holders as well.
(2) Social Stature – college is looked at as an essential stepping stone for success
Graduating with a college degree proves that you “can” be proficient in a career field, but not that you “will” be or even later “want” to be. I agree that a college degree has significant value for careers in medicine, law and engineering, but there aren’t real alternatives for gaining knowledge and practical skills in these fields outside of college. This is NOT true for tech and creative jobs, however. Honestly, for the cost these days, I don’t see much real value in getting a degree just for the sake of it. I also don’t see much value in MBAs.
My Advice:
While I find it to be true that many people who wait to go to college never do – it’s not a bad option if you have the discipline to do it. Takes some online courses first, if available, and test the waters. Also, where you go to college is a lot less important these days. After your first job, no one really looks at it. Go somewhere reasonable that leaves you with the least amount of debt.