When I asked my parents why I should go to college, they gave me nebulous reasons that I still cannot understand: “You need to find yourself.”, “Roundout your knowledge.”, and “Because it’s what you’re supposed to do after high school, like everybody else.”
Many years ago, I attended a private college. I already knew what I wanted to study, Spanish. The philosophy of this college was “old school” hard, designed to “weed out” the weaker students. I managed to fail all my first semester classes, which included: Biology, Calculus, Humanities, except for beginning Spanish, the only class I liked and studied diligently. I wished I could have taken more Spanish classes that semester, but, since I failed the other three, I had to retake them in a year for a lower grade. In addition, to graduate from this college, enrolling in a ton of mandatory classes in more rigorous subjects covering: Science, Mathematics, Economics, Religion, Literature, History, Western Civilization, and a foreign language, of course, Spanish, was necessary in order to graduate.
Instead, I left that school before my grueling and boring second year, second semester. So, I attended a more appealing college, where I discovered more avenues to study the Spanish language, including taking more classes in basic Spanish and Latin American literature and going abroad. After graduating, I wanted to keep taking Spanish and was accepted to a public university where I studied to earn my Master’s degree in Spanish literature and I taught elementary Spanish to college students. I earned enough to support my rent for my apartment, food and tuition.
But according to the website thoughtcatalog.com, college is considered a “scam” because most students are blind when they go through a four-year college and still have no idea what they want to do as a career. They major in some subject area that they only half-heartedly care about. To make matters worse, school tuition alone for one year at the average out-of-state public universities runs roughly $26,000 or more. The tab for books, meals and room and board can be as much as $6,000. That’s $32,000. Private institutions, such as Ivy League schools, Vanderbilt, Duke, or MIT, cost far more – at least twice as much as most public universities.
But going to a four-year school would more likely be a winning deal if you are 100% sure you want to pursue learning a profession, especially one that will pay you a higher salary. Lucrative professions like medicine (MDs, nurses, psychologists), many areas of science, and law should attend a four-year school in order to go to learn more in graduate school.
This current system of attending a college is outdated. The idea that college used to offer classes that students needed for life and career has not really worked in, at least the past three decades. Now, with the Internet, there seems to be no limit as to what you can study. Many online degrees that are popular or in high demand helps you the learn the skills to make quite a bit of money. Online degrees are very appealing because they strive to accommodate a student’s busy schedule, especially if they are working. Plus, a student can study wherever he or she want to that has internet connection: at home, a coffee shop, or at a friend’s house.
Maybe you will have to attend a four-year college or university if you know you want to pursue an interesting career and could help you earn a lot of money. Perhaps you need to take a few classes in a classroom, or online to see if a certain subject captures your attention, or maybe brush up on your skills.
Ultimately, your decision will be up to you.
