Students have the option of choosing whether or not to go to college. Some students believe that they don’t have to go to college because it isn’t a decision that always has to be followed. Usually people just decide to go to college because of their parents, to make them proud. When it comes to college, it brings a lot of thought into a student’s mind because that’s when responsibility takes over and choosing a career goal. In the end, college really isn’t for everyone because it really depends on what a person wants to do for the majority of their life.
Many students go to a four-year college because they believe that it’s a normal thing to do after graduating from high school. According to research from Entrepreneur, 30 percent of students worldwide only go to a four-year college because they think it’s a natural progress to get into after high school and 23 percent just choose to go because they think it’s what’s expected from them. Going to a four-year college is a perfect goal for a student that has already chosen a career path they want to major in, which requires a bachelor’s degree, master’s or even more. There are many options for students such as trade school, community colleges, or just working right after high school. Community College can be a good place to start if a student wants to avoid a student debt. Trade school is mainly for profit businesses and it costs less than colleges so it helps students graduate with less debt.
“Not everyone has to go to college especially if college doesn’t help better their passion and some people can’t learn as well as others in a classroom and they also might not be able to afford it,” said Gabrielle Francis who is a senior at Thomas A. Edison CTE high school. She believes that college isn’t for everyone and it depends on what you want to study which people can do in a year instead of four. Trade School is what she’s been aiming for since it depends on what career path people have to take and not everyone’s major is in college.
Credit: Suhana Shelley
On the other hand, many students get motivated to go to college for specific reasons. “School, parents and my own future motivates and influences me to go to college,”said Cynthia Theodore. She does agree however, that not everyone has to go to college and they have other options according to their interest, they may choose to go to trade school or join a quick program to get a degree in a certain field.
In the end, choosing a college isn’t mandatory for many students but some families expect their children to make that decision to go right after high school ends. It helps students figure out where they want to go in life and how much money they want to earn depending on the subject they want to study in. Majoring in pharmacy, dentistry, or other medical fields usually helps many people earn more money once they get a job into the medical field so it’s common for students to major in those subjects since they’ll earn a lot of money for that kind of career. Some people have various passions so they make sure to get into a specific college or any school that will help them focus on that career path. The tuition would also matter for many families to spend so considering community colleges and trade school is helpful when it comes to thinking about how costly the tuition can be for regular colleges and especially private colleges. Not everyone can afford to go to college for a full time, but what matters is what career goal they want to major.