College is preached to students to be almost necessary if you want to be successful in life. But even though this happens, they make the process and the ability to go SO HARD. For starters, the stress it puts on students during the application process is insane. Between SATs, college essays, finding the right school, having the right GPA for your selected school, etc. Most colleges are very selective and are very specific with the grades and type of student they want and many high school kids work themselves sleepless to become suitable. This makes for a very unhealthy habit and carries on throughout your attendance at college. Secondly, the price. Getting into college is one thing, but after that, you need to pay for it all. Tuition throughout the years has just been going up and the financial aid system is not as generous as some need. Many families, like mine, struggle to pay for these schools but need to do the most and break their bank to give their kid the world. Even after college, you are left drowning in student debt.
I decided to do some research about college students’ thoughts on the system. Caitlyn Pellerin (Danvers, Mass) admitted, “I fear for the stress of scholarship applications, taking student loans, and being left thousands of dollars in debt as a twenty-something-year-old, due to furthering my education.” It amazes me because I do not think you should have to deal with fear when you are just trying to better your education and success in the future. Likewise, Jack Murray (Danvers, Mass) said, “If your family can’t provide enough money, that shouldn’t be the factor that decides your future for you.” I agree completely with this statement because no matter the amount of money your family has I still believe you should have the chance to further yourself but because of the financial system, some don’t.
Not at all does this make me question going to college but instead it just frustrates me how much some families will struggle to just allow their kids to succeed.
All valid points. However, one thing I think would help is if students (and families) realized that "where you go is not who you'll be." Someone who is engaged in their learning can get just as good of an education at ESU (or NCC!) that they could at Lehigh, minus all the worry about getting in and the high price tag.
ReplyDeleteThis is honestly so true, college is so expensive! But I agree with Mrs. Jameson in that IV league is not always the best option, because it depends on what you want to do. Going to Cornell to become a baker is probably not the smartest decision (ironically) because you could get just as good of a degree at a less expensive but just as credible school for that field.
ReplyDeleteGoing to college is one of the most important steps in someone's life, but it usually is one of the most expensive. Most people want to go to prestigious colleges to show how educated they are, but in the end they get drowned in student debt. One of the most important parts of choosing a college shouldn't be how prestigious it is, but how useful the programs at the school are for what career you want to go into. Then, cost and scholarship/financial aid should be factored into the decision. For example, if you want to go into electrical engineering you might look at NCC, Penn State, and MIT. After research you would notice that NCC does not have an electrical engineering program, but MIT and Penn State do. Then you would look at the costs; Penn State would cost about $20,000 a year for instate students and MIT would cost about $48,500 a year. If you can get sufficient financial aid and tons of scholarships MIT would be the clear choice, but if you don't Penn State would be the choice. At both schools you would be getting the same type of education even though MIT seems more prestigious than Penn State.
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