Many people in high school work so hard to achieve good grades, the best extracurricular activities and to graduate at the top of their class, but is it worth all the effort? This is a tough question because we are pressured by society, our friends, and our family to do our best in school to get into the best college and graduate with a piece of paper that will help us obtain a high-paying job. But if you think about it, after graduating college, the average student loan debt for Connecticut is $36,481, according to educationdata.org, therefore even after graduating with a diploma and being hired for a job, most of the income for a few years will be going towards your debt.
Receiving a college degree does open a lot more doors for careers and social opportunities. Obtaining a diploma offers opportunities for jobs such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers, which have a very high salary. Since high-paying careers need a college degree, according to the source aplu.org, this allows people to pay off student loan debt a lot faster because they will be making a substantial amount of money straight out of college. However, this does mean they will have to go to college for quite some time, depending on their major and the career they wish to have. Not only the financial aspect of college is important, but people must think about the social connections they make if they go to college. College students can meet potential business partners, best friends, or even the love of their life. These are great examples of why some people think it is beneficial to attend college.
On the other hand, some people see it as useless to go to college because they can simply get a job straight out of high school. While this is true, that does mean the job will usually be a lower salary job, but the upside of this is they gain a lot of work experience at such a young age, as stated in insidehighered.com. Another reason why people don’t want to attend college is because they don’t seek any further education and are satisfied with a high school diploma. Also, they believe that a college degree is not worth the debt. However, people who do not attend college have more freedom because they don’t have to worry about the rigorous courses, and student loan debt that may take years to pay off. Also, their social life is good in different ways, they get to stay close to home and build stronger relationships with their family, friends, and community. Meanwhile, people who have to move away for college can lose some relationships with friends back home, as mentioned in thezillennialzine.com, and end up becoming homesick after a while from not being with their family, according to jedfoundation.org. These are great reasons why some people may choose to not attend college, to avoid major debt, and to stay close to home.
Scholarships and grants are another reason people think it is worth it to attend college. Some students in high school had exceptional qualifications, such as a high GPA, a great SAT score, and outstanding extracurriculars. This leads schools to offer them money to attend their school. Which means they would have to pay off less in student loan debts. Some may still see this as not worth it because even with the scholarship from the school, it is still a huge amount of money they would have to pay off when they graduate. People who do not want to attend college may see the scholarships as insufficient to justify the overall cost and commitment of attending college. Individuals who are against attending college may choose a different path such as trade, to specialize in a certain field, like plumbing, carpentry, electrical, or the military indicated in the source scrippsnews.com.
The choice all comes down to the person, if they think the debt is worth paying off after graduating, then they will go to college, if not, then they will pursue another path. But it all comes down to personal decision, not everyone is going to view the topic the same way. Many people work very hard in high school to go to the best college, earn a degree, and end up in debt, but with a higher salary. Others choose the opposite path and think it is not worth attending college for a degree, then end up with student loan debt and getting a job straight out of high school, satisfied with the lower salary. Whether you choose to attend or not attend college, the choice is yours, don’t let others influence your decision, do what makes you happy.