Why College?

Why did you go to college? That question can come up in a number of instances. Talking to friends from school, talking to friends from back home, talking to your parents.. who knows. When it does come up though it would be nice to say that you did it and actually got something out of it rather than going back home after college and living with your parents again, and working the same crappy job that you worked during high school.

Some people go to college to please their parents, some do it for the education, and a job later in life, some do it because it is tradition, and some do it because it is what is socially acceptable.

Personally I am going to college for the experience, the education, and the social benefits. These aren't the 3 best things to go to college for 4 to 6 years for, but they are what fit me and what make the most sense for me to be going to college for. When I decided to go to college my parents were happy, I was happy I guess but it was just another thing on a different day. I think that they were more excited than they should have been. Although its okay with me because my brother didn't end up graduating high school, or going to college.

Going to college shouldn't be forced upon someone, if they don't want to be going to college then they shouldn't go. Avoid the financial burden and the debt that you incur as a student. If you have a good job back home and you have the choice to go to college than do what you want to do. It is entirely your choice and no one can force it on you. Sure you might piss some people off and make some people a little disappointed but at least you'll be happy. Sitting in a cubicle for hours on end everyday of the week may sound like a bad time, and guess what.. it is. It may pay a little better than the minimum wage job you had in high school but at least you enjoyed doing your job in high school whereas in today's economy you do what you have to do once you graduate college to make money and live on your own. Some people aren't that lucky though. Those are the people that get stuck doing something they hate and for bad pay. The worst of both worlds.

I decided to attend college because it would better myself and I would end up better in the long run. I have the opportunity to be more successful than I would be with just a high school diploma. I don't want to end up in a cubicle doing something that I don't enjoy. If I am sitting in a cubicle doing something that is actually enjoyable for me wouldn't be any problem at all.

Are You Prepared?

            Sarah Idzik’s article “Unprepared” in Share or Die is pretty interesting. It basically talks about how transitioning from high school to college isn’t easy, and that being the best in high school doesn’t mean that you are actually prepared for college, or ready to handle the responsibilities that come along with it.

            In her article she also talked about her fellow graduates. She pretty much said, “No one was doing anything that had anything to do with their degree.” That relates back to one of my prior blog posts “Is College Good Enough.” Where I talked about college being worth the financial toll and mental and physical stress that you take on as a student.

            I felt like I really connected to this article in the fact that high school was a breeze. I wasn’t an A student by any means but I always ended up in a risky situation where I was in danger of failing but I always pulled my grades up somehow and succeeded seamlessly with little or no effort. When college becomes part of someone’s everyday life a new leaf is turned and a new chapter is started.

            Once in college we are no longer children and we have to take care of ourselves, and take responsibility for our own actions and the actions of people around us. We actually have to work for what we want and it’s not just handed to us anymore.

            Another of my previous blog posts “What is College Good For,” relates as well in my eyes. If people aren’t able to get a good job and they can make a living off of with a college degree than what is college good for? Just about nothing. You can avoid all the financial debt of student loans by not going to college and working fulltime and starting your career or moving toward your career sooner in life. Some people even see college as a setback, and something that holds you back from your future endeavors.

            Sarah Never quit her job. She didn’t do exactly what she wanted to with her career but she knew better than to quit with the economy being the way it is. She saw all of her friends not doing anything, working a part time job at starbucks. She did what she had to do in order to keep herself going and to make sure that she was going to stay on track.

Is College Good Enough?

The question may arise in many conversations. Some say yes, and some say no. Personally I say, "I don't know." In todays society an education is an important thing although people that did not attend college are becoming more and more successful throughout the years.

Having an a modern education just makes things easier from there on out. You can get a job easily, and start a career and begin your life sooner than those without a higher education.

In Nicholas Perez’s article, “Dropping Out was a Great Idea," he states “The bad news is that along the way, I discovered that public schools are not prepared to fairly compete for their students’ attention. This has resulted in a long series of slightly traumatizing events. From the prescription drugging, to the humiliation of being singled out from the rest of my peers, to the threats of litigation, it’s been a long road. I left school at the age of 17 after deciding that I’d had enough of my school district’s attempts to forcibly shift my attention toward the classroom, and away from my independent studies. This didn’t happen because of human evils, but because of old, rigid systems that have yet to bend and break under the pressure of progress.” He didn’t go to college and he is optimistic about his future as a software developer. Quite frankly I am as well. This goes to show that college, or just school in general isn’t always the best option for your future.

If school is not the place for you, all I have to say is don’t go. If you aren’t willing to put forth the effort to make an education worth your while, don’t get an education. In some cases you don’t need an education and If you succeed without one, I envy you.

According to Noam Chomsky’s article “How the Young Are Indoctrinated to Obey” college is not good enough and with funding being cut to all schools and not just universities it is only downhill from here. With most funding for universities coming straight from tuition payments education is becoming a pitfall and the quality of education provided is becoming almost worthless. He explained this as “Failure by Design.” He states that “the masterminds of mankind pursue their vile maxim all for ourselves and nothing for other people.” Humans are selfish and lookout for themselves before they lookout for other people the majority of the time. This is an effect.

The downfall of education is a sad thing for some and the savior or everybody’s lives for the future generations. College is almost becoming pointless, and is pretty much going to have you paying loans off for the majority or your life depending on where you went to school or what scholarships you had.

In Zach Weiner’s comic strip “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal” he emphasizes that college is somewhere you go to “live in a dormitory for 3-5 years around drunk teenagers so you can get an education.” I somewhat disagree with this because personally college hasn’t been a complete breeze through kind of deal for me. I have struggled and I will continue to do so for the next few years so that I can get the education that I want, and so that I can enjoy a career in my future and not be working just to work.

In Gretchen Oltman’s eye’s college should always be a second, third, or fourth priority when it comes to personal life. She states that “I’ve taught an online university class for several years and last minute excuses are common.” “When life hands you circumstances that need you, then go. Be in the moment, and accept the consequences of late work, missing grades, or deducted points.” She is saying this as a college teacher who went through law school taking care of children. Someone once told her “Maybe it’s time you earn a B so that you can earn and A as a mom.”

College is a stress inducing place and thing to be a part of. If it is taking a mental, emotional, or physical toll on you then maybe, just maybe its time to stop and get things straightened out and try again later. In the end you are more important than your education.

Priorities are a huge part of college as well. If you can’t level out your personal life, and your college life get some help or talk to someone. It is extremely important to have things in order when it comes to everyday being jam packed with work that is due sometime in the near future.

I came across a diagram from TIME magazine comparing the cost of college to the payoff of college. It says that “22% of people can actually afford college and 48% of people say that it should be paid for by students and their families and still 86% of college graduates say that college was a good investment.” “55% say that college prepared them for a job 74% say that it gave them intellectual growth and 69% said it made them more mature.” “Student borrowers say that having to pay back student loans can affect their career choice and makes it harder to pay bills (48%), buy a home (25%), and choose a career (24%). Only 53% of college grads say that work is very interesting and enjoyable where 51% of people with a high school diploma or less say that work is very interesting and enjoyable.”

These statistics are mind blowing. College is supposedly a good investment but it doesn’t help you to get a job that is enjoyable. College makes things later in life more difficult when it comes to starting your own life by purchasing a home,, paying bills, and choosing a career that you will actually enjoy because you are to focused on finding a job that pays enough so that you can do all of these things and pay back your student loans, and still have money to spend on other things like food, etc.

Overall I think that college is what you make out of it. If you make it worth your while, then it will be more beneficial to you then somebody else. Is college worth it or good enough? I don't really know because I haven't completely experienced it yet.