It’s just that a college degree
does not guarantee success, even though that is exactly the message that has
been fed to students all throughout their high school careers. College is more
of tool that will help you make the most of yourself, but it is not the only
way that you can make the most of yourself. There are successful people who
have gone to college and then there are successful people who have not gone to
college. The path that you will choose in the long run has to be up to you. The
decision of whether or not to go to college has to be a personal choice, one
that is made over time with much thought and consideration.
Fig. 4 Success
Pros
The potential benefits to attending
college is that college educations brings with it new interpretations and hope
of a better life, one where you can do more than basically flipping burgers and
working retail, if that is not what you want your career to be. A college
education gives you the skills to succeed in the modern workplace at a profession
that has value and worth in society. Attending college is also an opportunity
to grow not just academically, but socially as well. College life is the first
taste of freedom for some and the first taste of living like an adult for
others. College is a time to form new relationships with friends and those you
want to be more than friends. It is said that people who go on to do higher
education tend to be healthier and a generally more rounded person than someone
who has just a high school education.
Fig. 2 (Colleg is expensive)
Cons
Benefits that are not guaranteed in
college are that you can go to college only to find out upon graduation that
the career path you have chosen has too many people looking for work and not
enough work to go around. Graduation is also another thing that is not
guaranteed to college students these days. College students use to have to
graduate in four years, now it is just an exception and not a rule. Many
college students find that cost of college is just too much to bare and have to
leave before graduating due to financial reasons. Others begin a college career
simply to discover that college is not for them. Another thing that is a con to
attending college is that many students turn to loans to finance their college
education but they are not guaranteed to graduate and/or the opportunity to
find work. If a loan is taken out and the student does not graduate, or they
graduate but cannot find work, the student loan is still expected to be repaid.
Taking out a student loan means that the debt from the loan is with you until
you pay it off or die. Even if you do graduate and can pay your loans of, you
may that the student loan payments are a burden on your daily life.
Fig. 3 College funds
Personal
Experience
“I currently have to pay around $600 a
month on my student loans, plus $750 in rent, plus another $400 a month for
food and $100 a month for cable/internet/phone. Factor in other bills such as
car insurance, car payment as well as money to spend on yourself and it really
adds up." (Pros and cons of going to college)