The College Experience by Bella

The College Experience by Bella - October 2024 Scholarship Essay

The major benefits of having a college degree are derived from the process of obtaining one, not just having one. Through the different settings and opportunities offered at a college, a person undergoes personal growth, enhances essential skills, and advances their social skills.
Personal growth can happen anywhere anytime if a person is willing to work for it. The opportunity for a person to experience personal growth is doubled when in the college environment. Through the diverse assignments, discussions, and courses offered in many different majors, experiences are enhanced for each individual. This allows for the development of time management, critical thinking, and communication skills that can be difficult to obtain on an individual's own time. Not only do the classes help to develop individuals when it comes to personal growth, but the extracurriculars can further enhance an individual's creativity, adaptiveness, and resilience. These are all important skills that are essential for personal development, as well as career success and readiness.
Not only does the process of obtaining a college degree allow for personal growth, but it also helps to hone in on the skills needed for each individual's career field of choice. Different careers require different skill sets. By being in college, an area designed for the sole purpose of preparing students for their full-time jobs, the essential skills needed for specific careers can be developed. By working with professionals, students have a better opportunity to learn skills firsthand, which can give them an upper hand when they graduate. This opportunity is something that is only offered to students who decide to attend and obtain a college degree.
An individual's social skills have the best chances at developing in the college environment due to the diverse community the person is involving themselves in. Social development deals with more than simply being able to communicate on a deeper intellectual level, it also deals with understanding others' perspectives and beliefs and being able to make connections despite differences between them. This development is easily obtainable in a college setting rather than an individual's hometown because individuals are forced to learn how to make these connections. In a person's hometown, the majority of the time, the people share some of those same characteristics, and developing social skills would require the person to travel outside of their comfort zone. In the college environment, the individual does not have to travel because they are already immersed in a diverse community.
The benefits of having a college degree outweigh the benefits of not having one based on the opportunities that are offered through college, not only on a physical level but also on a social level. Without going through the process of obtaining a college degree, individuals are missing out on life-changing experiences that can help them in the long run.