Do you think College/University is worth it?
So, I'm in my last year of high school and I've been keen to go to Uni after my gap year, however, lately, I've been rethinking everything - I'd be stacking up a student loan, going to an entirely new environment where there will literally be no one I know and transportation over there, when the time comes, may be a bit troublesome. I do plan on having full-time and perhaps even a part-time job, along with some things on the side but even then, I still feel very anxious about going to Uni xD
I think what I'm afraid of most is having spent thousands of dollars to learn the necessities in order to obtain a job I like and can support me and perhaps a future family but I'm worried that it might end up all being for nothing - what if I don't get the job I want or what if I get a job that doesn't require any of the fields I study my ass off for in Uni? I'm thinking that Freelancing may even be a better option x.x
I was wondering, if anyone here has gone to Uni or is currently attending Uni or is living life without going to Uni, do you think it's worth it? Because I think it's at least worth it for the experience and as a middle ground I could just try it out for one year and see if it suits me? But that still doesn't guarantee a job xD
I know that I'll need to think about this and that, in the end, it'll ultimately be up to me to decide, but I'd like to take different perspectives and experiences into account, so that I can at least get an idea of my options 
Thanks, and sorry for bothering you all with this! xD
Comments
Just know what you want to do before you start. Both my parents are physicians, and I thought I wanted to be one also. My parents also thought that was right for me. I spent 2 years in med school before I got bored and just stopped going. I still knew I wanted to do something in the healthcare field, but didn't know what. Until I noticed a website on the side of a local ambulance service truck.
Went to the site, saw they were offering training. Got my EMT-B and went back to get my EMT-P. Becoming a paramedic cost a fraction of what my parents paid for me to go to med school for those 2 years. So really think about what you want to do before jumping in with both feet. Because the cost of college isn't a joke. That's just my 2 cents anyway.
That's great advice, thank you!
It's definitely something I need to ponder on throughout next year, I suppose it might depend on the opportunities I come across next year - I partially want to go to Uni at least once for the experience and to meet new people as well as to do what I love but I know that may cost me in the long run :x
I'd recommend a community college first to just get a taste of the experience. Also look around for grants, and assistance like financial aid. That way getting a loan can be the last on your list when it comes to payment options. Coming out of college in debt, and unable to find work is a problem for a lot of people. Anyway let me stop preaching lol. Good luck and I wish you well in your future
Thanks!
There are scholarships I could apply for - only thing is that they mostly only apply to those going forward into tertiary education next year(and I'm taking a gap year xD) I'm not sure if there's a community college around here but there is the alternative of a University - Poly-Technic, I could try that ^-^
Thanks for your perspective and opinion on this situation! It's helped me think of my future decision much more clearly and you've reminded me that there are more options than just go to Uni or don't
I hope your life goes well
Debt suuuucks. Really sucks. Unfortunately, it is true that many, many decently paying jobs/professions out there won't even consider you without a degree. Definitely pursue scholarships-- if I could do it over, I would be more rigorous about that. I managed to pay my debt off about a year ago (YAY), but it took a better part of a decade-- and my degree wasn't even that expensive, compared to some. However, I know I wouldn't have been able to make payments in the first place if not for that pricey slip of paper. Sadly, that is the dark bargain of education in the US (which I assume you're in, apologizes if I'm incorrect).
I wish it were a lot different, but don't get me started on that tangent.
Moses also has really good advice. I agree you might consider what a community college offers, and particularly if you want to do trades. I've completed a few courses at one just to round out some skills and it was dirt cheap. But again, it depends on your interest.
I probably wouldn't bank on freelancing unless you are really skilled, or are extremely dedicated to building a portfolio of work. Or I guess you could do something like Uber to pay the bills in the meantime. But you still have to consider things like insurance and retirement. And rent is going to be murder wherever the jobs are. Hopefully you've got family and friends to help you out, too.
Best of luck, whatever you decide.
I'm not in college, so I wouldn't know.
I'll give you my advice but I will ask you to take it with a grain of salt: since I'm not american, there are stuffs which aren't the same, like no need to pay for uni/and you can get a college scholarship for whatever you study, so no need of loan. I'm currently studying a master degree of law.
I think it's the same in all developped countries: studying, doing great studies is shown as suceeding in life whereas doing manual jobs (or studies for it) is almost something you should feel ashamed of doing. Well, one shouldn't; simply choose what you would like to do. You didn't talk about what you would like to do and it's very important if you want advice to help you; is there a field in which you would like to study, or a job you would like to do? Do you need to go to uni to do it?
Don't worry about going somewhere where you don't know people: most of them don't know anyone too.
That's the main problem. It's even more a problem for you since there are the loans; it's kinda like you can't change your mind once you're in. Personally, it's a question which mattered to me a lot. I almost gave up, wanted to do a gap year but I kept studying and since I study something more specialised, I appreciate the studies more.
Now will I get a job? I'm not sure. Magistrate (prosecutor and judge) and police are very selective and lawyer is kinda ok, but there are already plenty of them. That's basically the choices I've got seeing what I like. The two jobs I would like to do the more is superintendant in police or lawyer.
In the end, it's of course up to you, since it's very subjective as a question. Use your gap year to find what you would like to do, but do not overthink it.
EDIT: don't know how to remove spoilers ;_;
Unless you are sure and committed to what you are going to college for, then no its not worth your time.
It really depends on what you want to do with your life. If you're going for STEM, business, law, finance, academia, psychology, or higher-skilled medical, then you absolutely need a degree.
Don't think, though, that you have to choose the most prestigious (a.k.a. expensive) school in your field, though. The prestige helps in business schools, but not so much in most other fields. Once you get your first job in a real career, that matters more than all of your previous education. With a good track record in real life, no one will care that you went to the University of Cheapness.
There are several good fields that require some technical training but not the whole college thing, if you like them. You can make quite a bit as an auto mechanic, for example, and self-driving cars aren't going to eliminate that field.
There's one other thing about college if you go to live in that environment apart from your parents. That is an experience on its own, and it's helpful in learning how to live and have fun as an adult with potentially fewer consequences than if you're out there already in the workforce. It's up to you if you think that's worth the cost.
Good luck!
It depends what you want to do and what field you're in. Unfortunately in the US at least, college ain't what it used to be. Though most are superficially public institutions, colleges used to receive a ton of money from private corporations. Now, most of those companies have stopped investing in American workers and taken their money elsewhere. There's some big negatives to this.
Tenured professors being increasingly replaced by horribly overworked and underpaid adjuncts.
Larger class sizes.
Huge, ballooning inflation of tuition costs.
Great pressure to get through college ASAP or face huge debt.
Personally, I greatly enjoyed that actual learning and social parts of college, but I didn't come in with a concrete plan and got screwed by that. Now I'm paying my way through and am quite tempted to take a lower-paying job and get out if I can find one. Maybe if I can, I'll still take courses one or two at a time.
I'd advise you to be pretty certain of what you want to do and develop a plan for getting through college while minimizing debt.
I think higher education in general is a sinking ship that will eventually go down thanks to open-source and fast-track alternatives.
Whether you decide to go to college or not, don't let your folks control how it goes. It'll seriously screw you over, especially if you're mentally disabled.
On the flip side though, don't close yourself off to advice. That goes for parents, professors and academic advisors. Pride screwed me over big time, when I had a prolonged medical emergency and didn't seek help or advice on how I should proceed with academics. Instead, I tanked a semester and set myself on a path that's still causing me problems.
I just graduated last spring and my advice is that college works best when you are motivated and know pretty much exactly what career you want to go into. If you're only going to college because that's what everyone expects of you, but you have no real desire or plan, then hold off. The more successful people I know were dropouts, just expecting that the degree alone pays the bills is a dangerous assumption to make. If you're going to be bored and fuck around in college then those 4 or 5 years could probably be put to better use.
Not if you are trying to actually learn something. It's full of useless shit.
At least go to a community college if you don't want to go to a university.
YES, I am a freshman in HS and I already have plans to go off to a university because I know it will benefit me in the future. Going to college opens up a lot of opportunities and I heard it is a lot of fun!
It depends on what you want to do. I have a feeling you're still in school because it doesn't seem like you understand it.
If you want a career that requires some form of a degree, you HAVE to go to a form of University to get the job.
I mean, if you want to be a doctor, you must go to Uni. It seems obvious but a lot of people can't grasp that.
On the other side, don't bother going to Uni for a job you don't need to, later on you can use Uni to potentially further your career.
It honestly just depends what career path you want to take.
My advice is to choose one you are passionate about and if a course is required, you are willing to spend the 2-3+ years it takes to get your qualifications. It might take a while but if you set long term goals it can be very rewarding.
I don't make a habit of throwing money into a hole.
You should just be able to un-check the "This comment contains spoilers" box above the Cancel/Preview buttons.
I met this older lady who works as a checker at the grocery store. She has a doctorate.
As someone who is currently taking college courses, yes, they're extremely important.
For me it's actually quite the opposite. I've learned more useful information in a couple college courses than I have in two years of high school.
If the shit you learn is as pointless as the shit you learn in school, no, not at all.
Yeah, debt is my primary concern about going to University xD I'm hoping I'll get lucky and win the Lottery but I know that won't happen with my luck x.x I'll just work hard and take every opportunity to get more money for studies - IF I decided to do so, I still do want to experience Uni at least one time xD sounds stupid I bet.
Congratulations on paying off your debt!
I don't live in the US xD I live in New Zealand where the prices might be steeper - it's around 10,000 dollars for a year in order to stay somewhere near the University - the actual classes are almost 1,000 dollars but off by a couple of hundred for some, at least for the classes I want to take which is good
although that doesn't include additional costs ;-;
I will definitely check if there's a community college around - I could take it during my 'gap year' too xD
Yeah, I'm lucky enough that my family doesn't mind me staying here and in terms of freelancing, my dream job is to become an Author and I'm in the process of writing several books - only problem is that there aren't really many good publishers who are open to any genre of writing so self-publishing might be my only option - which is also expensive :x Welp, no one said life was going to be easy
but might as well do everything I can 
I'm trying to learn other skills that could provide a job for me, out of passion and not for the primary reason of hoping to make money out of it though.
Thanks
Best of luck to you and the rest of your life as well! 
Wow, no need to pay for Uni would be nice xD but here only a handful of students get that opportunity and they often still have to pay off extra costs - although my teacher told me of one student who was so determined to get to Uni but just couldn't afford it that she applied for literally every scholarship available to her and paid her tuition fees entirely off of scholarships, gives me motivation xD
I'm more so open about my future career - I'd like to at least do something in the following categories:
In the end, I think I'd like a job that gives me the ability to help other individuals who are less fortunate than me - if I become successful, I can help make the world a better place even if just a little bit and if I fall into a field like Writing or Performing and I can put a smile on peoples' face, I think I'd love the job even more. I pretty much want to be able to get into a field of work that allows me to do good for others, if that happens, then to me, I'd have succeeded in life
The fields I want to study in University are: English, History, Psychology and Philosophy - probably not the best choices in terms of making the most money but they're the subjects I do best at and they're the subjects I'm most passionate about. Edit: I should clarify that the first year requires me to take 4 subjects xD
Thank you so much for in-depth opinion and thanks for asking me about the important things I've left out xD I will definitely think allot about what I'll do in 2018 and I'll do as much as I can do ensure I'll be prepared for whatever decision I make
I wish you the best of luck at getting your dream job! I'm sure you can get it one day, dreams just take allot of effort to come true - especially if they're big ones
I'm going for Psychology so I guess I'll need to do that xD
Yeah, I have tried to find cheaper places to study but all of them have tuition fees at around the same price and the University I want to go to is the best in the entire country and it's really the only one for tertiary education as the others focus primarily on agriculture or practical and social work. It's one of the downsides of living in a smaller country I suppose xD
Thanks for your comment! I will definitely think deeply about my decision
Thanks for the luck, I hope life goes well for you too
You make good points and I'll make sure that I have a good plan if I do decide that University is for me!
I could try practicing living on a budget as well, there are affordable dorms and houses(that are shared with other students) that don't have compulsory meal plans(which cost 5,000!) and have free wifi, so those could be good in the long run - I'll just need to make sure I manage what I spend my money on wisely - only problem would be that there are only so many spots available and there are often a swarm of applicants, my friend just got told he didn't make it into the dorm he wanted to go to, I hope his second option succeeds.
Thank you for your insightful comment!
I hope life goes well for you 
Luckily for me, my parents weren't strict about letting me choose my subjects all throughout high school and they're 'loose' to the point where I've become more independent even under their care xD I get to make sure I do all my work, make my own food and clean up after myself, so the consequences I face are entirely on me
so that may help me a bit when living on my own xD
I'll definitely try to listen to advice, I'm not the kind of person who doesn't constantly ask questions until I know everything they know xD I might try and ask my teachers about their experiences in University, especially my English and History teachers since those are the fields I want to proceed to.
You make valid points - I always hear about people who end up wasting their time in University only to have regretted attending, however, I definitely think I'll be motivated - the subjects I want to study are the ones I'm passionate about and I could always do early research on the topics I'll be doing if I go to Uni, since they do release that information early on - so that may also aid me in studying, so then I won't have to overwork myself too much
Thank you for your advice
I hope life is good to you 
Looking back, I've learned more from video games, television shows, the internet and books than I have in school(well mostly in terms of life skills rather than subject-specific knowledge).
I'm trying to see if there actually is a community college here xD if there isn't there's always poly-technic
As a recent graduate, I can tell you that high school is about as useless as it gets in terms of education.
You'll still learn a few things, sure. But those thing come in very...VERY minuscule amounts.
High school teaches you how to memorize information and take standardized tests so that more money can be made.
My junior year, I got sent to my Vice Principal's office (I'm a dumbass) and he was the type of VP that wanted to have a deep discussion with you before you were sent off. He straight up told me to my face that, "Usually we try to destroy creativity by the 2nd grade".
Straight up. No bullshit. I cannot make this up. To my face, that is what he said. I don't know what horrified me more. The sincerity of his words, or the fact that my whiny, hormonal teenage rants of being forced into school were actually justified by a principal. I apologize for the mini rant, just wanted to show you through personal testimony that it has no use and that its great you're taking college courses, because those are going to help you.
I've heard that as well! One of the reasons I'm keen on going is because I have allot of hopes for it - I'll try not to let my hopes blind my decision though xD I enjoy learning and I'm afraid of moving off somewhere new and so far, doing things that scare me have only helped me grow as a person
I have to admit that I am leaning on the side of University but I'm still having second thoughts and making sure to re-evaluate all of my options!
I hope you enjoy the rest of your Uni years
Yeah, last year of high school and I am leaning towards going to Uni - although that could be largely due to the pressure people put on me - my parents, friends and teachers expect me to further my education and my school promotes tertiary study - the year level I'm in is actually meant to be optional for those going to Uni, although now some careers require this extra year.
I'm definitely going to be looking at all my career options - although I must admit that there aren't actually that many where I live - which is why further education is often recommended but I do also have other countries and online to consider, I suppose? Plus there's also Freelancing - becoming an Author doesn't have any requirements, essentially but it's more of something I'd like to do on the side xD
I do have long term goals, I just need to fill the journey from now to then/here to there.
Thanks for your advice! It is much appreciated
I wish you the best in life 
Money Holes are pretty flashy though.
If there's one thing I was hoping for in high school, it was to learn about life skills, everything I need to know once I become an adult. They tell us that school gears us up to get jobs but I see people who flunked out of school making millions of dollars and I see people in debt who aren't employed despite their amazing CVs. Life is unpredictable but I do wish that high school would've geared me up better for it - I wanted to know about buying a house when I'm ready to, I wanted to learn how to cook on a budget, I wanted to learn how to fix my clothes or do basic repairs around the house so that I don't have to spend money to get someone else to fix it - so if school isn't gearing up for this, I at least, thankfully, have the internet xD
I hate the Exams if I'm honest! I have to sit through 3 hours for my English and English Scholarship Exams and I have to do 3 papers for each - there are all these studies about how doing works in increments is more efficient for the mind and doing multiple types of things in one sitting can lead to a higher chance at making mistakes but they still keep the same system as 50 or so years ago![:\](https://community.telltalegames.com/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
I feel like everyone would be more prepared for Examinations if the papers were spread out so that people would have more time relieve themselves of stress and get into the right focus for the next paper but I have a feeling that won't change for a while.
No need to apologize for your rant, I agree with you to an extent
and sorry for my rant xD I do think that high school isn't very efficient at teaching us what we need to and they don't prepare us for the reality of life and instead set us up to all believe in getting our dream jobs just by going to University and then if we do so and we're in debt and don't have our dream job, they'll blame us for going to University expecting to achieve our dream 
I don't know, it seems a bit contradictory sometimes :x despite that, high school definitely has taught me allot about myself as a person and about the world we live in, allot of the things I've learned might not be essential for what I'd like to do but at least it opens up more possible fields of work xD
Good job on graduating! I hope you've at least had some great times going to school ^-^ and best of luck with your life
Despite my rant, high school DID house a lot of good memories that I'll cherish for the rest of my life. The things you do learn are typically things about yourself, which helps tremendously. I just meant directly learning things that are useful, which they can't do. The typical high school curriculum just...isn't helpful at all.
But thanks! Same to you! You're almost there!
Gotcha, sorry for assuming! Your dilemma sounded similar to the (justifiable) concerns surrounding higher education in the US as well. And thanks! So glad to be rid of that boat anchor.
Hmm, so you love writing. That is a toughie. I enjoy the hell out of it, too, and would love to do it for a living. The difficulty is real, unfortunately-- but what do I know? If you've got the dedication and a roof over your head, you could make it happen, including all the marketing you'd have to do if you choose to self-publish. You can learn a lot by doing that, and by freelancing. But again, it's going to take some dedication.
That's not to say Uni doesn't take dedication as well. It's largely up to you whether it will be a rewarding experience. And not just in the classroom, but in the people you meet as well. And as you said, it may not be a bad idea to pick up some other skills while you're working on the best seller
If nothing else, the experience can inform your craft 
You sound like you've got a good head on your shoulders, so I think it will work out for you no matter what.
Good luck, feel free to pursue your passion but at the same time know what kind of job you will go into and take steps during college to help you get there. Try to meet lots of people because networking is crucial. Also try to find an internship or student teaching opportunity in the job field you want to go into.