College: A Launching Pad for Adulthood by Hannah

College: A Launching Pad for Adulthood by Hannah - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

I believe attending college is a very important step in life. College is an opportunity to grow and become a better person, both through your academic education and through the things you learn while living away from home for the first time. A college degree is a requirement for many jobs in today’s society and proves that you have experience working hard to achieve your goal. College is also where many kids find themselves living away from their families for the first time and provides many resources and experiences that help students adjust to living away from home. While in college, you can make friendships that will last for the rest of your life and form memories you will treasure and tell your kids about someday. College is more than just an education; it’s an experience and it’s one that everyone should have at some point in their life because of the growth and learning that comes with it.
Education is the most important part of college. The whole reason one goes to college is to take classes and get a degree. At a university one finds professors who genuinely care about their students and love their work. Students get the chance to learn from the best in the business and are encouraged to test out their own new ideas. You have to learn how to manage your own schedule in college to make sure every assignment is turned in on time. Ideas you had never known existed are taught and tested in your classes, taking your education another step past the high school level and equipping you with the knowledge and experience necessary to work in your field of choice after graduation. A degree requires a lot of work, but the education you receive and the experience you gain make it well worth the effort and equip you well for whatever job you take after college.
Not only does your knowledge about your major grow, but your knowledge about yourself and how to take care of yourself also grows. In college you not only have to keep a schedule to make sure your work is turned in on time, but you also have to make sure you eat, sleep, bathe and do your laundry all without your mom there reminding you to do it. You learn how to balance your social life with work and how to maturely handle your emotions and problems. In college you can really shape your opinions and discover who you are and what you believe. While most of these things look like things someone would learn without going to college there is a difference between learning how to be an adult in college and doing it outside of college. In college there are still teachers you can go to for help, rules of the school you have to follow and a community of students with whom you can share life. Everyone is still learning and there is less competition and less pressure than there is for someone who didn’t go to college. Colleges can help you find internships and maybe even a job and have a ton of resources available to their students that other people can’t access easily. It’s like there is more of a safety net in college where it’s ok if you realize what you’re doing isn’t for you and decide to change majors or if being away from home is hard and you need a community on which you can count. College builds confidence and ability until you graduate and are able to launch into the world, leaving your “safety net” behind as you go and work to achieve your dreams. You don’t get the same gradual process or the same job opportunities without college, making it a worthwhile investment in your future.