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Do I Have To Go To College?

Is it needed to succeed?

By Kirstyn KramlichPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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I am only a sophomore in college and I have been going back-and-forth in my mind about whether I should be in college or not. Is the debt worth it? Is the stress worth it? There are many options when it comes to getting your degree; university, online, community college, etc...; but none of them seem to fit. At a university, you usually have to live in a dorm and have a meal plan for your first two years. Taking online classes are much more expensive, even though you're not actually going to a classroom which makes no sense, but that's how it works. Community college would require me, personally, to move back home and that was the whole purpose of me going to a university four hours away from my hometown was.

Is It Worth It?

Now that I am at a university, I have to struggle with financial aid which requires my mother, who is not interested in doing anything for me, to get her stuff together because no one has $10,000 just to throw in for college. The debt that is accumulated throughout four years of college, assuming you will not get your masters or doctorate degree, is almost not worth it to me. The income I would be getting with a Masters in Social Work is about the same I could get working for other businesses without going to college. So is it really worth it for all the debt you will have to pay off after the fact?

Success Without A Degree

People all over the country are successful without a college degree. Time.com did an article on 15 Super Successful People Who Never Graduated College. Granted some of these people, like Kim Kardashian, were born in to fame, many were not. This list goes all the way back to the mid-1900's and John D. Rockefeller with his oil company up to today and David Geffen with DreamWorks. People are constantly making careers for themselves and earning a livable income without finishing college.

Nowadays, there are options to make money online, like Vocal itself, and businesses like Le-vel who pay people to use and promote their products to build a name for themselves. Apart from having a job that allows you to work at home and make a decent income, there are plenty of well paying jobs that only require a high school diploma or even just taking a class or two. My girlfriend works for a company that pays $12 an hour working with developmentally disabled people and that alone could provide enough money for her to live a stable life.

The Pressure of Going to College

Society puts this pressure on young adults that makes us feel like we have to go to college to be successful, but is that really the only way? Most people that go to college have to take out loans that they will have to pay back once they have finished getting their degree, so is that debt really worth it? According to CollegeAtlas.org, 30% of college freshman drop out after their first year of college. College isn't always right for everyone and it shouldn't be looked down upon to not get a college degree right after you graduate high school.

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