1. Your life will get better after high school, regardless of whether or not you go to college.
I rushed my way into a four year university because I was so eager to leave high school life and living at home behind. Little did I know, I probably would have been just as happy to rent an apartment and find a job for a while.
2. Community college is an incredible option for education. No, really. I mean it.
Besides the fact that it offers a cheap way of getting your general education courses out of the way, community college would have been an amazing way for me to try out different fields of study without commitment. Last, the teachers at community colleges are hired based on their knowledge skill at teaching, not for prestige or to further the university's status. The worst class I've ever taken was taught by a tenured, well-respected professor, and one of my favorite classes was taught by a graduate student.
3. There is NOTHING wrong with taking a gap year. Or three.
So many of my friends ran straight from high school to college, just as I did, and ended up switching majors or having a difficult time even deciding what they were interested in in the first place. Take some time to be an independent adult, on your own, figuring out who you are and what makes you happy. THEN consider pursuing a degree.
4. Four year universities are often not there to help you in the way you want them to be.
The most valuable advice I have received did not come from advisors, faculty members, or professors, but industry professionals who took the time to mentor me about their industry. Everyone involved at a university is busy. It is rare to find someone who is willing–dare I say excited– to take an hour out of their day to discuss your future career interests.
5. If you're taking out significant student loans in order to complete a degree in something you may or may not be passionate about, think twice.
Loans seem like a distant and insignificant liability when you're sixteen years old and have videos of wild frat parties popping up all over your Instagram. (Fun fact: you can go to frat parties even if you're not a student. In general, this is not something I would advise, but to each their own.) But let me tell you this: when you're a semester away from graduating and realize your monthly loan payments are about to start piling up and you have no technical experience and nothing but a liberal arts degree and to get you a job, loans are a slightly larger issue.
In Conclusion...
So parents, please don't pressure your kids into following the traditional four-year path. It's never a cookie-cutter solution and it often doesn't encourage your child to grow or be uncomfortable or learn about themselves. And to all the high school juniors out there, go your own way. Do what's right for you. You'll thank yourself later.
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
