Don't go to college out of fear.

[ken nubo]

Many students attend college out of fear. That is the base root, the motivation, for them to attend college because they don't want to be a "factory worker" or "burger flipper". There is nothing wrong with wanting things for the best, but attending college just because everyone else is doing it is not an informative choice.

And because of fear. Fear of not getting a good job. Fear of not getting the same success as your friends.

I can't recall how many times young people say “I just don't know what to do with my life ... college seems to be the best place to find it”. Where did they get this fallacious idea from? Teachers. Duh. It seems to be an awfully expensive place to find what you want to do with your life. Once I found my purpose in life while staring at the ceiling in the public library. Seriously, if you want to find out what your purpose in life is, you need solitude. Think hard what you want to do, and not be distracted in a class room with other students who don't know what to do with their lives.

College is the "in" thing to do nowadays, even though a $40,000 investment may not yield positive return in the future. Yes, so called "studies" have shown the college graduates earn more then high school graduates. What the study omit is that college graduates spend at least half a decade paying off the debt. Some fail to get a job at their field, and end up working low paying jobs in unrelated fields, so it may even take longer then a decade to pay off the debt. Imagine that! You haven't even started your “adult” life yet and you're knee deep in debt.

Think most people fail to remember that college is a place for higher learning. As in really think critically and not just an employment training center. Of course there is nothing wrong with sharpening your skills for the job market, but going to university just to get a “good” job that you're not too passionate about is a grave mistake. A costly one, too.

College is great, however, if you're going to become an engineer, teacher, doctor or lawyer. A degree is necessary, but for the rest of the young adults its best to save from getting into debt by NOT attending college. If you want to become an artist, you do not go to university. You attend an art school where you get hands on classes. Nor do you want to attend university for drama or learning half baked literature. Get the point here? Only attend college if you absolutely require a degree to practice medicine, law, education etc. Attending college won't guarantee you a job, that's a fact.

If you want to go into business, run your own business. If you want to be an artist, start painting and designing. If you want to be a journalist, start writing. People with exceptional skills aren't created in class rooms, but rather from real experience out there in the “real world”. (Where did you think the expression real world came from? Teachers. Because most class room work is akin to playing fantasy games)

Besides, do you really want to become a life long wage slave? Or would you be your own boss and work whenever you want? Don't attend college because its something to “fall” back to, its fear based thinking. Go to college only if you really want to learn. But then again, going to the library is free. Remember, going to college to meet “new” and “interesting” people is really a dumb idea. First off, they're generally in the same age group as you. More or less the same people you meet know in high school.

If you want to meet new and interesting people, it happens in the street. The business man who runs his own franchise, the harden soldier who have been in wars, the Yoga teacher from India, the singer in a local band. You will learn new things from these people, whereas all the high school graduates you meet in college are more or less then same (in terms of life progress). You want to meet people who seen and lived life, as oppose to those who are shelter in school from the “real world”.

By consciously making the decision not to attend to college and going against the fear based thinking is a very hard thing to do. In fact, most average people just follow the herd and enroll into college. Follow the social script and be a good obedient human.

Are you courageous? Are you brave? Do you have the inner self reliance to trust yourself that you will have a “successful” life without a college degree? Do you have the self motivation to work on your dream goals while making a good living at it? If the answer is yes, skip college and go into business yourself.

If you're about to graduate high school, I recommend you take a year off after high school graduation (take a job, travel, whatever) and think hard before investing $40,000 and four years. Take a year or two off to take a stab at pursuing your passion. Don't give in to social conditioning! So take a day -- or week -- to really reflect. Is it a wise investment of $40,000 plus four years of your life for a "job"? Even if there is no guarantee and fierce competition?

[Maso]

It goes like this:

Kids are excited to learn --- Society teaches them.

The education system is set up to teach very specific things.

Kids spend all thier learning energy learning these things..becuase they have to.

The result is kids who dont have a personal agenda for learning, they have used up all thier curiousity on someone elses interests.

How often do kids get asked "what would you like to learn" instead of "what would you like to be when you grow up".

These kids turn into adults...and they never unlearn poor learning attitudes.

My 2 cents.

Maso

[Shamou]

Hello ken nubo...

Would you mind telling us how you came to that conclusion...???

Are you a College or University graduate...???

And what makes you an expert on higher education...???

Mind you, I am not saying that you are wrong... however I am a strong advocate on taking advice from experts... especially on a subject as important as this one...

I personally graduated from College... and my son has five masters from five different Universities, including Harvard... and, I can assure you that if it were to do over again... we would do it all over again...

As far as I am concerned... a higher education is the absolute best preparation for life... no matter what field you chose to go in...

.

[Shamou]

For you kids who have decided to go to College… let me tell you this…

I went to College and worked my way through it… and when I graduated I did not owe one red nickel to anyone…

Was it easy…??? Heck no! It was hell… however it was the best training for life that anyone could ever have… when I walked out with that diploma… I was ready for war… I was ready for anything that life had to offer…

Many of my College buddies also worked their way through school… and, today those guys stand above the crowd and are tremendous successes…

Now, I’m not saying that this the route that you should take… but maybe you should ponder on it…

.

[Erock]

College doesn't have to be like that. Next year I'm going to college completely for free-room and board as well as tuition. You just gotta find the opportunities and have the resume. I plan on doing what I want to do, and finding a way to get a degree for it. Fortunately the college I'm going to has a large neuroscience program, which is what I'm interested in right now so I will probably take advantage of that.

Erock

[Scott]

I entered college for the career opportunities... and I stayed for the experiences. If a job was the only thing I planned to do after college, I'd have probably dropped out a year or so ago and gone to get a CCNP or some other high-level technical certification. I've learned more about myself and how the world works than any professor could teach me about some "field."

[openeyes]

I seriously considered not going to college, as most likely I'd end up self employed or doing something that didn't require a bachelor's degree. I read books such as The UnCollege Alternative: Your Guide to Incredible Careers and Amazing Adventures Outside College.

Still I applied to a few, with a resolution that I'd only go if most of it was covered by scholarships. I ended up actually getting more scholarships than I could use, so I went It's mostly been for the social experiences. I'll graduate with a degree that, while not the most marketable, has been fun, and hasn't loaded me down with student loan debt. I'll leave having had some amazing experiences. Now that it's been a few years, there are some things I know I could have done from the beginning that could have made it even better, but that's how life is: we learn.

One recommendation I'll make is to take a year or two off between high school and college. I wanted to but my parents were afraid I wouldn't go back, and I didn't realize how easy it'd be to defer my scholarships and have them waiting for me. Schools like Harvard actually PREFER that students take time off before coming in. Maybe spend a year with Americorps.

If you can't get college debt down to under a few grand per year, either by working or scholarships or grants, it could be worth considering exactly why you'd be going. Are you passionate about one of the professions that requires a good deal of education? Or would you simply be going because that's the IN thing, as mentioned here? If the latter, I recommend taking time off and looking into something like the above book even more.

[medaille]

While everybody has the freedom to choose their life and to make the most of it, the reality is most people are on autopilot following the paths that are laid out before them rather than creating their own path.

The default path is: You get X amount of education to get a license which results in job Y. If you want a job that pays a certain amount you have to get a degree in a certain field or get a degree of a high enough rank.

College has long since past being an institution of higher learning, and instead has switched to being merely a method of getting a degree/higher paying job and a social experience. As a recent graduate at a major university, I can tell you that the vast majority of people in the school are getting degrees which won't really lead them anywhere special and you have to go off the beaten path to get a diverse higher education.

Most people get to college and have no idea where they want to go in life. They just know they "have" to go to college for some reason or another.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by medaille

Most people get to college and have no idea where they want to go in life. They just know they "have" to go to college for some reason or another.

Should you not go to College to train and develop your mind and to prepare yourself for the challenge that life has to offer...???

The mind is like a muscle... you must work it if you want to develop it... and, what better place to do it than in a College... And, if it were not so... why would so many people try so hard to get into the best possible College/Universities...???

.

[Erki]

Originally Posted by Shamou

Should you not go to College to train and develop your mind and to prepare yourself for the challenge that life has to offer...???

Only if you don't put yourself deep into debt. And college/uni isn't a "real" life either.

Originally Posted by Shamou

The mind is like a muscle... you must work it if you want to develop it... and, what better place to do it than in a College... And, if it were not so... why would so many people try so hard to get into the best possible College/Universities...???

.

Pressure from parents, friends, school teachers, society in general.

I don't understand this glorifying of college/university... everywhere I turn my head, I see someone saying that you can't live a decent life without having a degree. Plus of course the experience...

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Erki
…college/uni isn't a "real" life either.

Could we have your definition of “real” life…???

Pressure from parents, friends, school teachers, society in general.

I don't understand this glorifying of college/university... everywhere I turn my head, I see someone saying that you can't live a decent life without having a degree. Plus of course the experience...

If you don’t believe it… read biographies of people who have succeeded… of course you’ll find the story of a few genius who dropped off of College and today are billionaires… but the very vast majority of successes are College/University graduates…

.

[medaille]

Should you not go to College to train and develop your mind and to prepare yourself for the challenge that life has to offer...???

Sure why not, if it's a conscious decision and you weighed the pros and cons. Most people, however, aren't choosing to go to college to train and develop their mind or to prepare themselves for what life offers.

Could we have your definition of “real” life…???

I would define "real life" in this context as such:

Real life is the working world, where everybody stops being sheltered materially from the consequences of your actions. College for most people isn't "real life", because a lot of the pressures are removed. You don't HAVE to work for a living, you just have to work for beer money. Parents pay for the rest or its put on loans. The skills needed for college are completely different than what you need for "real life." College tests your ability to write essays or take tests. "Real life" tests your ability to provide for yourself, to hold down a job and make headway in your career. You can get straight c's and live with the exact same standard of living as people who get straight a's while you are in college. Most people will say something along the following lines, "You'll learn more from being on the job for a month than you will in all the time you spend in school." I think that's very telling and very accurate.

For people that aren't making conscious decisions, college can be a time where you gain tremendous debt, but aren't receiving enough benefit to offset that debt (ie the return on investment was too low)

If you don’t believe it… read biographies of people who have succeeded… of course you’ll find the story of a few genius who dropped off of College and today are billionaires… but the very vast majority of successes are College/University graduates…

That's improper logic.

I could just as equally say that "the vast majority of successes are from people that were born." There is a correlation between the two, but its not a distinguishing factor that causes success. Society IS set up in such a manner that rewards going through school. Higher paying jobs require having the piece of paper that says you're qualified for the job regardless of whether or not you are actually well suited for the job. I would say a stronger correlation would be whether or not you came from a wealthy family or at least a family who understands the mindset of being "successful."

A better question than "who is successful in society's eyes" is "who is successful at life?" Being successful at life has nothing to do with college and has everything to do with knowing what you want and then going out and getting it.

In your case, I would think it would be more accurate to say that you are successful (read happy) because you knew what you wanted and then got it. This country is filled with people who are college graduates who aren't happy.