College: An Option Amongst Many by Lindsay

College: An Option Amongst Many by Lindsay - April 2020 Scholarship Essay

I believe attending college is an individual choice that takes many factors into consideration, and should not be a requirement or expectation of everyone. Any job or career requires training and knowledge, it’s just a matter of how much and how long it takes to complete that. Some job training can be done on-the-job, some need an education from a technical school, others require a 4-year degree, and other specialties require 10+ years. For those more specialized or advanced careers, yes, college is important. But the dream that we’ve been sold for years is that obtaining any college degree equals better job prospects, and there is a large amount of data and personal experience to the contrary. I know plenty of folks who make more money than me and are more satisfied in their careers, and didn’t go to college.
Our brains are still developing their functions until around age 25, but there are so many career tracks that mark 25 as too late in the game to start anything. I believe that 16-18 is usually too early to decide with any certainty what future career a person wants, and therefore if they need college. And yet, in my experience in a middle class family, college attendance was set up for my peers and I as an unwavering expectation: attend college, no matter what (a process that can start to control your choices as early as age 13).
Lastly, I don’t believe that money should be one of the factors affecting this decision, and if that barrier was removed or lessened, we would see more people attending college. But in the U.S., there is a stark socioeconomic divide that puts college out of reach for many children of low-income families. I believe that education should be an accessible option for all.
I don’t regret attending college, it was an important time of social growth and mind expansion for me, even if I am now moving on to a new path from the one I chose 16 years ago. I do believe I could have achieved those life lessons outside of the school environment. Now, as I prepare to change careers into social work and therapy, I am grateful for the opportunity to attend graduate school, and I feel that it is important and necessary for the type of specialized work that I want to do.