Why 18-Year-Olds Should Not Go to College
Some people go into their 20s thinking they will have their life together. They're well on their way to a bachelors degree in whatever area they have decided they'd like to spend the rest of their life slaving over, they're in a serious relationship or have that planned for later on, they have a steady job, etc. etc. etc.
Other people go into their 20s with a sense of adventure. That's not to say that the former type of people don't have that same sense. But these are the people with stories of sleeping on park benches, and adopting cats, and spending a week driving across the country.
Neither of these people are wrong. The world would be a boring place, or an inefficient place with just one kind of person.
Frankly, I've come to conclude that 18 year olds are not ready to make the major life decisions they are required to. Adam Kotsko, an American writer, tweeted last November "We ask 18-year-olds to make huge decisions about their career and financial future, when a month ago they had to ask to go to the bathroom."
That's not to say that there aren't kids who have known exactly what they want to do since they started Kindergarten. In fact, I still plan to do what I chose as my career path when I was 18. But that doesn't mean I'm ready to do it.
I've heard the argument that if you go straight to school then you can get a higher paying job that will help you pay off school and then if you want to you can go back to school and get a different degree, but if you work straight out of high school you're not going to make as much money without a degree.
It's true, people are more willing to hire and pay a college graduate, but the fact of the matter is that there aren't enough jobs to go around. The majority of college graduates I know aren't working in a field related to their degree, and many are working jobs similar to the one I have with no degree.
Frankly, there's a lot of gambling with college education.
That's not to say I don't think it's a good thing. I do. I think education is extremely important. But I also think that college is important. The college experience. The chance to meet people from different backgrounds, to stay up late at night having deep discussions with friends, to live off $20 a week. And while college is a good place to get those experiences, you can get them without college.
18 year olds have just come out of the horrifying experience known as high school. While my high school experience was great compared to those of many others, it was still a rough and complicated part of my life. Despite the fact that our own angst and hormones are probably making the experience worse than it actually is, most 18 year olds are not ready to be serious about their learning experience. They're just glad to be out of "that hell hole". They aren't ready to go to classes and spend the time it takes to be a good student.
Note that I am speaking in generalities, I do not, by any means, think that all 18 year olds should not go to college, I am simply stating that I believe the majority of them aren't ready.
Whether a student has gone to a public or private school, there is going to be a culture shock going into their real world. Most of my friends have an insatiable sense of wanderlust, and the need to experience things outside of their own world.
This post is already way too long, so I'm going to stop here and continue with how I am relating this to my life in my next post.
Other people go into their 20s with a sense of adventure. That's not to say that the former type of people don't have that same sense. But these are the people with stories of sleeping on park benches, and adopting cats, and spending a week driving across the country.
Neither of these people are wrong. The world would be a boring place, or an inefficient place with just one kind of person.
Frankly, I've come to conclude that 18 year olds are not ready to make the major life decisions they are required to. Adam Kotsko, an American writer, tweeted last November "We ask 18-year-olds to make huge decisions about their career and financial future, when a month ago they had to ask to go to the bathroom."
That's not to say that there aren't kids who have known exactly what they want to do since they started Kindergarten. In fact, I still plan to do what I chose as my career path when I was 18. But that doesn't mean I'm ready to do it.
I've heard the argument that if you go straight to school then you can get a higher paying job that will help you pay off school and then if you want to you can go back to school and get a different degree, but if you work straight out of high school you're not going to make as much money without a degree.
It's true, people are more willing to hire and pay a college graduate, but the fact of the matter is that there aren't enough jobs to go around. The majority of college graduates I know aren't working in a field related to their degree, and many are working jobs similar to the one I have with no degree.
Frankly, there's a lot of gambling with college education.
That's not to say I don't think it's a good thing. I do. I think education is extremely important. But I also think that college is important. The college experience. The chance to meet people from different backgrounds, to stay up late at night having deep discussions with friends, to live off $20 a week. And while college is a good place to get those experiences, you can get them without college.
18 year olds have just come out of the horrifying experience known as high school. While my high school experience was great compared to those of many others, it was still a rough and complicated part of my life. Despite the fact that our own angst and hormones are probably making the experience worse than it actually is, most 18 year olds are not ready to be serious about their learning experience. They're just glad to be out of "that hell hole". They aren't ready to go to classes and spend the time it takes to be a good student.
Note that I am speaking in generalities, I do not, by any means, think that all 18 year olds should not go to college, I am simply stating that I believe the majority of them aren't ready.
Whether a student has gone to a public or private school, there is going to be a culture shock going into their real world. Most of my friends have an insatiable sense of wanderlust, and the need to experience things outside of their own world.
This post is already way too long, so I'm going to stop here and continue with how I am relating this to my life in my next post.
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