Is college overrated?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, almost 20 million students will attend college and universities in fall 2019. Today’s society makes attending a university or college very high on the list of priorities for young adults.

As a full-time college student beginning my junior year at Florida Gulf Coast University, I find myself asking the question, “Is college really worth it?”. After attending a university for three years now, I don’t know how much it has benefited me. This is scary to say considering my family and I have put thousands of dollars into it. Don’t get me wrong, there are aspects of the college experience that I feel everyone should have. For instance, living on your own, going to parties, meeting lifelong friends, etc. For the purpose of this piece, I am talking more about the educational portion of college. This deals with problems such as costs of tuition and the amount of stress college students face every single day.

Choosing not to attend college calls for a lot of unwanted stereotypes. The main one being not able to get a decent job. Nowadays, having at least graduated with a bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for most professional careers. Even if you graduate, you are still not guaranteed to get a job. A study performed by Burning Glass Technologies and the Strada Institute for the Future of Work states that 43% of graduates first jobs out of college do not require a degree.

The pressure of knowing what you want to do for the rest of your life at the age of 18 is immense. How am I supposed to plan my forever when I’ve only been on Earth for less than two decades? Seems impossible to me, but we are forced to choose something and stick with it. When you’re in too deep and you decide you don’t like what you’re studying, it is a real hassle to make a major change. According to a report done by the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics, almost a third of first time college students end up changing their majors at least once. One in ten have changed their majors atleast twice. Not only does this mean that students have to start from scratch but there is also a risk that they could have too many credits under there belt. How do they repay you for taking a couple extra classes? They charge you more. I made the mistake of choosing something that I thought was for me but it turned out that it wasn’t. Towards the end of my sophomore year, I went through hell and back trying to get everything situated in order for me to start studying something that I know would keep my interest for a long while.

Moving from high school to college, there are many things a student should expect like loss of sleep, having little to no money, and almost no time to do anything. All this for the price of $4,000 to $22,000 a year depending on where you come from. Now, doesn’t that sound thrilling? Don’t forget to multiply those numbers by four. The digits above are for an average FGCU student. Keep in mind each university will vary in tution costs. Fun fact, these figures do not include housing, meal plans, books, or any other extra-curricular activities that you might want to get involved in. Trust me, getting involved is a MUST. If you plan on attending a Master’s program or medical school, they expect to see that you are a well-rounded student, meaning you must have good grades, volunteer hours, an internship, and be involved in campus life one way or another. Students all across the country need to maintain these things in order to graduate. On top of this, the majority of students need to have an outside job just to pay for it all.

Graduation rates are not very high for a lot of universities. The reason being is that many students have to attend school part time. The rest of the time, they are working in order to pay for school or help out with their families. Even for those who push through all of their college requirements and graduate on time, a lot of these students will be up to their eyeballs in debt. Federal student loan providers estimate that it takes about 10 years to pay off student loans. For your standard college student, it typically takes a lot longer than that.

As I was growing up, I knew I was going to college no matter what. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. This was an idea that was always instilled into my mind by both of parents who never attended college. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized that there are other options. I am the type of person that enjoys my education so I chose the college route. I have learned that college is not for everyone. There are other opportunities for people that do not wish to complete a four-year program. There are technical schools, the military, or starting a business. Some careers that can be obtained without a bachelor’s degree pay more than some jobs that require a degree.

The matter of fact is that education is a business that colleges and universities are selling to whomever they can. Society is buying it. When you ask a student why they are going to college most likely their response would be something about getting a job and making enough money to provide for themselves or their families. The goal of going to college has become making money, not getting an education. It looks as if college has lost its original purpose.

I think this story would do well on Facebook.

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