Is College Really Necessary?

To go to college or not go to college… Was that even a thought you were allowed to have?

I think high schools are very pushy when it comes to college. For good reason! It’s very important to prepare students for college but there’s also harm in not preparing them for… LITERALLY. ANYTHING. ELSE.

I have strong feelings about this and felt the need to type that in all caps.

Transitioning from high school to college I felt my high school did not prepare me for a lot of things, such as:

• Filing taxes
• Writing checks
• Budgeting
• Paying bills
• Advocating for myself
• Applying for college and FASFA
• Knowing what student loans really mean
• How to write a resume and apply for a job
• And so much more.

Basically, everything needed to be a functioning adult in society. Now, I know not all high schools are like my high school. I didn’t attend every high school in the world. What I say here can and should be generalized. If your high school taught you all the things I listed above, I’m officially jelly of you.

I feel I should also mention I have a masters degree. I’m not trying to bash on getting a college education. I have a masters degree and I work as a college academic adviser. I’m obviously very pro college education. I will always advocate for it and how awesome it is, however, there’s also a lot of ways pursuing college creates barriers and additional issues for certain individuals.

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I don’t know how many people know this but, not everyone goes to college. Some people go to college but do not finish or have a college degree. And guess what? You can be successful, with a decent paying job, without a college degree or college experience.

Thinking about it I actually know a lot of individuals who do not have a college degree, who went straight to the workforce after high school, and who are doing great (financially). I also know individuals who do not have a college degree, who went straight to the workforce after high school, and who are not doing great (financially).

Whether college is or isn’t something you pursue should be based on what you want to do or where you want to be. You should not go to college just because high school, family, friends, etc. tell you to, especially if you are not prepared for college (especially financially – student loans are not the answer to everything! They can seriously hurt you later unless you are prepared and do your research).

Some students will go to college regardless and find they love college life and are really good at navigating the college experience. I’ve also met students in my office who were told to go to college by their parents and ended up failing all their classes because they did not want to be in college. TIP: College classes and college grades are FOREVER. I’ve had students come back years later when they actually want to be in college and find their previous grade from when they didn’t care about school is now negatively impacting their ability to get into their major. Just saying, *ahem* parents *ahem*.

I think a college degree should be required for a lot of careers. Can you imagine going to your college adviser or a doctor and finding they don’t have any college experience? That being said, I also don’t think a college degree is necessary for every career or life path. Sometimes technical school, an apprenticeship, or other is more than enough. TIP: Some employment companies will pay you to go back to school and pay for your college degree while you work for them (i.e. technical companies, hospitals, etc.).

Please listen to the Black and Yellow podcast episode, Do We Really Need To Go To College?, for more information and rants from me about this topic. You can find the Black and Yellow podcast on Apple podcast and Spotify.

Please let me know your thoughts! I’m always looking for feedback. Did you like the episode? Did anything surprise you?