College as an Option by Gretchen

College as an Option by Gretchen - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

College seems like a prestigious institution that is enshrined within American culture. As a high-schooler comes of age and their long-awaited graduation approaches, the widely-accepted assumption is that that student will continue on to go to college in the fall. That does not always need to be the case. I believe college is an unnecessary event in many people’s lives depending on their motivations and personality.
Throughout high school, many teenagers are improperly educated on their options for their life post-high school. Many of these students are left on their own to research, ruminate upon, and decide if they want to go to college and if they do, what they will study and why. As a result, many students enter college either with specific goals and motivations set in stone as to what they wish to major in, or they unfortunately enter college clueless as to what they wish to study and are hence saddled with debt and undue stress. In fact, there are many students who would excel if they decide to enter the military, begin a job immediately after graduating, or carefully research gap year opportunities to give themselves more time to decide what they wish to pursue. Some students’ personalities are such that they would blossom in entrepreneurship or apprenticeship versus a college career. It is my opinion that college is thus an unnecessary step in all people’s paths of maturity in life.
At the same time, if students are introduced in a healthy way to exactly what their options after high school are and then decide that college is the right place for them, they have a much higher chance of being prepared for what is ahead of them. I had the privilege of attending a college-preparatory school throughout my years in high school where I was properly educated on life after high school. I was given the opportunity to take tests that would match me with a career that would best suit my personality, and I had the resources to ask questions and gain more information on my options. Even then, I decided that I would take a gap year. Through that gap year I grew personally and interpersonally, and I am thus better prepared to attend college--confident of who I am and wish to study. Unfortunately, many students do not have the same opportunity to grow and discover as I did and are thrust into college life perhaps not knowing what to study, perhaps being unable to pay for college, or perhaps realizing that college isn’t the right place for them.
To conclude, in response to the question ‘do you believe that attending college is important? Why or why not?’, I would respectfully make the argument that college is important; however, it is not important to all people and all walks of life. If students are given the opportunity to explore their options and their own strengths and abilities, they may discover that college is or is not suited for them. Hopefully each student would then be able to experience a variety of different options after high school to guide them to success for the rest of their life.