Why College is Worth it (Or Not)

Some people know early on as to whether college is a definite priority, whereas others never even give it a second thought. The fact of the matter is that our experiences and pasts shape who we are in the present, so you've probably gone to college and learned something new. Whether it's useful or not is up to you to decide. So the million dollar question: Is college really worth it? How well will it help us succeed (or fail) in life?

College is a money eater.

Many people will tell you that college was a waste of time, and the money spent on tuition and expenses was not worth the education. Others will tell you that college was one of the greatest experiences of their lives, and that all the money spent on it was well worth it.

Either way you see it, college requires lots of money. The people who loathed their higher education were probably forced to take out loans in order to finish school, and with interest rates as high as 7%, you'll spend at least 5+ years after graduation paying off your loans. The forgone income might just be enough to dig into your better years, and by the time you're in the clear you might be getting old. This is something to definitely think before considering college, and if you have kids or a family to take care of, you might want to but college on the back burner. Money is a limited resource.

College is stressful.

Many people will tell you that college was stressful, and that they never want to hear the word "exam" or "lecture" ever again in their life. Others will tell you that it was, although stressful, extremely educational.

It's no secret that college students lack sleep, whether it was because last night's gaming raid went on until 3 A.M. or because of an upcoming Calculus test. Having to juggle between loads of classes and information and trying to make time to have a social life is no easy task, as evidenced by the complaining and whining you probably hear from your kids or peers. Although challenging, if you have the ability to get through the grueling curriculum and gratuitous amounts of assignments and exams, most likely college will provide you with a greater enjoyment for the simpler things in life, and it will provide you with a tougher sense of self along with a feeling of accomplishment.

College teaches you how to be an employee.

Plenty of people want to start their own businesses, but they find that they lack the creativity to come up with a unique idea or the organizational and managerial skills that some others seem to be innately born with.

College teaches you how to become an employee. There really isn't much flexibility in the curriculum, as students write papers on assigned topics, rarely work in groups, and take exams that force them to regurgitate information learned within the course of 3 weeks. Notice a trend? Almost everything done in college is expected to be dry and dull, hardly different than the daily humdrum schedule of a high school student. In order to inspire creativity, people need to be placed in a situation that is not routine, a situation that stimulates the brain to come up with an innovative solution. This is how business owners come up with an idea and run with it.

On the other hand, being told whatever you do day in and day out doesn't really promote thinking, moreso than it does brute force memorizing and reproducing.

College doesn't really teach you life lessons.

It really doesn't. Besides academia, college really doesn't have much to offer besides people and a social life, but you already knew how to make friends and meet people. And even if you didn't, no one in college is going to force you to, solidifying your reclusiveness once and for all. Some people enjoy being in an academic setting - it provides them more time to learn more about themselves before they take on the challenge that is the real world. Others know exactly who they are, and they prefer to jump right into things and learn by doing.

The people you meet in college are very much like yourself, sheltered from the harsh weathers of city life. If you really want the school of hard knocks, go out into society and get a real job.

So in the end, there will always be mixed feelings about college. Depending on what type of person you are, you should do your own research and make your own decision as to whether you want to pursue a higher education. More often than not, people choose the route that is college education, but one thing is certain - college or no college, you'll still be who you are. Your ambitions, dreams, and experiences make you up as a person. I seriously doubt that if we pulled a successful and driven person out of college and replaced him with a lazy alcoholic that things would be different. The alcoholic would still drink and the student would still work hard at his job. Even without good schooling and lots of money, people who are willing to work hard and work smart still achieve success later in life.