What's The Big Deal About College

        

          College is expensive these days and is the education you’re getting really worth the time or the money? We’re talking 20,000 dollars a semester. College is good for many reasons. An individual and their society benefit from them attending college. Many people can find reasons not to attend college. I believe there are more pros to college than cons.

College really helps students socially. You meet all kinds of people and some can help you later on in life. For instance, I’m a nursing major and maybe I’ll meet friends or professors who can help me get a job at a hospital. It gives students the opportunity to get involved. I was one of those kids that didn’t do a lot in high school. I want to get involved in college and I feel comfortable doing it because everyone gets involved. College also helps with your people skills. Most kids when they first come here don’t know anyone, so when they start school they have to make new friends. College isn’t all about cliques like high school. It is easy to find someone like you, but its also easy to find someone totally different from you. People of all cultures and background come to college for an education. You finally learn about the outside world at college. You can learn a lot about other countries and cultures through college. I know some JSU organizations travel to other countries. JSU has an international house filled with different cultures. College is a great way to meet people and help students accept those who differ from them.

So we want to make college a fun experience right? Well studying the same stuff over and over isn’t fun! Colleges offer many different classes. Why not minor in something like a foreign language? It’ll raise your chances for a job and it’ll add spice to all those boring required classes. Mike Rose stated, “not just learning things to make a living, but also learning things to enable you to do things with your life, to enable you to find interests and pursuits that may in some way or another expand the way we see things." College will teach you little things that really matter. I’ve learned the importance of voting since I came here. One vote can determine the future of a country. Unlike high school, students can disagree in college. That’s important for knowing how to approach issues and how to disagree. A nurse could save a life in a medical situation by speaking up and voicing his/her opinion. It teaches students the importance of working together. The boss isn’t going to care who likes who. He expects you to do your job and learn to get along. If someone causes trouble and refuses to get along, they get fired. It is a great transition to prepare students for the work world.


In the article, A Critic At Large: Live and learn (Why we have college) many different aspects are pointed out .For example, College will categorize people. It will break students and show their talent. College will separate people and show what they can do. If they don’t do their work and get bad grades, jobs will see that. Jobs use college references to see if students showed up and if they put forth effort. For instance, nursing school only has so many spaces available and those with the highest GPA get in. Nursing majors have a great chance for getting in if they tried hard, studied hard, and attended class. If they don’t get into nursing school, they don’t get a degree. They won’t be able to get a job and will have to try again.

The downfall of college is that it is very expensive. I don’t believe you can put a price on and education. It’s important to know the field you’re going in and what to expect. Mark Kantrowitz talks about how students need to know the expectations for the growth of their field. Almost all college students have some sort of college debt. It is very important to decide on a job that has a high enough salary to pay back the loans taken out. You’ll eventually make the money back with the great job you’ll be able to get with a college degree so why put a price on it. Students who constantly change their mind about their majors are just wasting thousands of dollars. The quicker students stick with a major the closer they are to a job to pay back their loans. If they love their job then it’s all worth it.

It is also important for students to save. All the money spent on partying, clothes, and useless stuff could be spent towards the loans while in college. College teaches you the importance of a budget. Students shouldn’t spend more than they have. They will not just be in debt to a college but also a credit card company.

Saving is an important trait to have for life. Our economy isn’t the best and money isn’t as easy to get. College is also good because it raises your chances for getting a job. In this economy, jobs are also harder to come by.  A bachelor degree is getting to the point where it’s like a high school diploma. College is necessary for many jobs.    

College has some negative things but the positive outweighs them. College helps you in more ways than just a career. The important thing is to get the full college experience and have fun learning. College gives you people to help you cope with the good and the bad so just make the best of it!