Deciding if College is the Right Choice for You - To Go or Not to Go

As we're counseling families, decisions that impact someone's life over the long-term have some of the most pressure and weight behind them. As we talk with parents and children, one of the first and largest decisions many of them make are whether or not to pursue a college education.

About this time of year, colleges and universities are furiously sending out financial aid award letters and recruiting graduating high school seniors who have yet to decide about their futures for the next academic year. Students are bombarded with information about college, sometimes with the barrage beginning as early as middle school.

College is not for everyone. Yep, that’s right. Even in this day and age when it seems like many people are pushing students to get a college degree, it may not be necessary or the right choice for everyone. The current forecast shows many of the jobs that will be available in the next year (sales, information technology, customer service) may require only a two-year degree or possibly no degree at all.

If you’re trying to decide whether or not to attend college, here are some things to think about:

What is it you really want to do?

Do you need a four-year college degree or would a technical college or associates degree do the trick? Research different careers by reading up on them or talking to someone already working in the field and get their best advice.

Do you have the money to pay for a degree?

What type of money can you expect to invest in your education right now? College loans are relatively easy to get, but paying them off is quite a different story. Think about how much you can contribute to the cost of tuition, room, and board now and also during the time you’re in school and saving over the summer. Talk with the university about the grants and scholarships that are available (both are free money you don’t have to pay back). Whatever is left over is what you would most likely have to borrow from a loan in order to enroll. Take that number and compare that to what you can reasonably expect to make after you graduate. Can you afford rent, food, utilities, insurance, and a student loan payment with what you can reasonably expect to make? If not, you might want to reconsider until you can save up some more money.

How motivated are you?

College academic work is harder than high school—WAY harder. Are you prepared to work at college like you’d be working at a job? Professors tell their students that for every credit hour (many classes are 3 credit hours), a student should spend 2 hours outside class studying every week. So, if you’re taking a 3 hour class, you can expect to spend 6 hours outside of class studying and working for that class. Multiply that by 4 (most college and university students carry an average of a 12 hour class load per semester), and you can expect to spend 12 hours a week in class and 24 hours a week studying outside the class room. That’s 36 hours, which is the equivalent of a full-time job. (This is also something to keep in mind when trying to figure out if you can work and go to school at the same time) If you’re tired of school or were unmotivated in high school, you may struggle even more when there is no one to supervise whether or not you’re studying and remind you of deadlines. Most professors pass out their assignments and due dates the first day of class and then expect you to have the work done with few reminders and very little prodding to get it done.

College is not the right choice for everyone and that is perfectly okay. Not everyone needs a college degree to utilize their gifts and talents and make a living. The most important thing is to make an informed decision about what you’re getting into financially and educationally before showing up to move in! Do your research and ask detailed questions to decide if college is the right choice for you.