According to statistics given at the 2007 Glendale Community College Graduation Ceremony, only 30% of Americans ever receive a college degree. Considering the unlimited opportunities and endless advantages of having a college degree, this number is astonishingly low.
There are many reasons why I am going to attend college. Not only is a college degree the ticket to a higher paying job, but it is also a requirement for many. College graduates are preferred by professional employers for many reasons. Among these reasons, college graduates have superior methods of thought, problem solving, decision making, and communication. College increases a person's understanding of the world around them by giving students the opportunity to discover new interests and areas of knowledge while they work towards their lifelong ambitions and learn to be responsible citizens.
People with college degrees are not limited to a particular working field. With a degree it is easy to transition into others fields. Above that, once you have the degree you can always go back and obtain higher degrees without having to start all over again. Those without degrees often run into barriers preventing career advancement. More often than not, higher positions (even within the same company) require college degrees.
Perhaps the most obvious reason for attending college is the promise of an increase in income. According to statistics from monet.com, high school graduates make an average of $1.2million during their work lifetime. People with a master's degree make an average of $2.5 million.
Although all of these reasons are important, and a definite influence on my choice to pursue a college education, the most important reason for me is the sense of pride and accomplishment I'll receive along with my degree; as well as the security it will provide to me as an independent individual.
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Very well written and with very good facts to back it up with.
One thing though; a lot of high school seniors decide not to go to college because of high school experiences. they hate high school very much and compare it to college too much. college is very different from high school. maybe the number of people going to college with increase once the knowledge of what college is really like more high school seniors will start applying to their dream colleges.
Another factor is parents. my mom has been telling me since I was 11 years that I had to go to college no matter what. if parents don;t care then neither will the kids.
Very true that if the parents don't care, then the children generally won't either. Of course there are always exceptions. There are going to be those that go just because their parents didn't; and those who don't go just because their parents made such a big deal about it.
Sad but true.
I think a college education is invaluable but not everyone thinks so. One example are my own bosses who come from money, inherited a business, made it a multi-millionaire dollar brand. They barely graduated high school and so place little to no value on post-secondary education. I've talked to one of my boss' five year old daughter and she said this to me: "My mom said I don't have to go to college because she didn't and we're rich." So different strokes for different folks.
~ElegantFree~
I am currently in college and i feel that this post has accurate facts, there are generalizations that are incorrect. college is not a "ticket" to anything. not a high paying job, not a career, and not a life. that is made through hard work and individuality. a college degree looks good on paper and it will get you through the door but it will not by any means make up for a lack of work ethic or intelligence. you do not become intelligent when you go to college, you learn things. things that may never lead anywhere. none of it is a guarantee, people want it to be but unfortunately the only thing that can be guaranteed is that you have to pay for it. the cost has gone up so much because of thinking like this. paying $200,000 for something at the beginning of your life is one of the most unsound decisions i have heard of. while you may believe that this money will guarantee that you have a job, it only guarantees that you need to get one. and that does limit your options. you can no longer follow your heart because you have loans to pay. you must take the high paying desk job instead of the internship on the career path you would like.
furthermore, as someone attending college, i know that it does not necessarily expand your understanding of the world. the people you will meet are remarkably generic. 50% of the people i have met within the last two months have a drinking problem already. when kids get away from their homes they feel the need to rebel, i get that. but it gets out of control really quickly. i know kids who have gained 20 pounds in these two months, i also know people who now have drug problems.
this article presents a very romantic view of college. these are the reasons college institutions were founded and the reason why they prosper. however, it is not reality. all of this may sound hypocritical from someone in college. truth be told, i have no idea what i want to do. i do know that when i find out what that is, i am getting out of here. college may be right for you, but i ask you not be fooled by what your teachers are telling you and to explore every option before you are pressured into a decision by inaccurate facts.
What about jobs who won't hire people with higher degrees because they don't want to pay "over-qualified" people more money?