Congrats, you graduated High School!
After an exhausting four years in high school, you’ve made it out. But then, you get bombarded by your parents, extended family, and even friends, with the most asked question, “what are you gonna do now?”. Or even better: “what are you gonna do with your life?”...annoying isn’t it? Some people think it’s an easy fix, “oh, I'm gonna go to college”. However, I’m quickly beginning to learn that college is definitely not such an easy reply, and it is not for everyone.
College is an expensive experience
So, first things first, I firmly believe that if you have great networking skills and a decent amount of work experience in your personal life (possibly before you graduated high school), then college is not for you. College to me is mainly for the kids who may not have participated in getting a job while in high school, are mainly dependent on their parents, and have little to no networking experience or skills; I am definitely one of those people. I only mention for the people who have experienced working and networking to not attend college, only because college is basically gonna teach all these things again, just in a way that applies to your major. It’ll be worthless to kick out a bunch of money, for skills you’ve already developed during your time in high school.
Society has us fooled into thinking that college is the only way to success - that without college you won’t get anywhere in life. False. There are so many famous and/or successful people out there that skipped going to college. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to set a bad example for high school graduates, I’m just trying to paint a big picture. College is not for everyone, especially since the pandemic has hit the world. It is no longer what it used to be, it’s all about survival: mentally and physically.
Not everyone can handle College
According to “College Dropout Rate [2022]: by Year + Demographics” from educationdata.org, “In the United States, the overall dropout rate for undergraduate college students is 40%.” Mind you, this information was last updated November 22, 2021. Moreover, according to this report, “30% of the dropout rate comes from college freshmen dropping out before their sophomore year. In 4-year colleges , 56% of students dropout within 6 years. Black students had the highest college dropout rate at 54%, and 38% of college dropouts- the largest majority- said they left due to financial pressure.” Now that we have numbers involved, the picture becomes a little more clearer - College is not easy.
However this wouldn’t be a good argument if I didn’t mention that some careers will require a little more than experience. For some, you would actually need to have a certification and/or degree to prove you have the necessary knowledge for the job, which is completely understandable. Some of these career choices include but are not limited to: lawyer, doctor, or social worker.
Essentially, college has proven to be a place where you either sink or swim. I believe that some people’s sanking can be completely avoidable by thinking through your decision to attend college. Success is not promised by enrollment, and in some cases this step can be completely evaded in one’s path to greatness.