For me I don’t think there was ever a time when I considered not going to college. My parents and my stepfather all had gone to college. I was good at school and enjoyed it. I never thought about whether to go or not, though where to go caused some consideration. Once I was there, I changed my mind more than once about what to study, but I never questioned going to college and then grad school.
Once I started working in higher education, though, I realized that college is not always the right choice for everyone, or at least, the timing must be right. Over the years I talked to many students who both graduated and those who dropped out.
The more time I spent in higher education, the more I began to see that college is not one singular experience. Different colleges offer different experiences for students. Students are not all fresh out of high school like I was. Most students today are over 25 years old often with full-time jobs and families. Even for students coming out of high school, increasingly they are the first in their families to go to college.
Only about 60% of students who start college finish within 6 years. That rate varies by institution, but I think part of the problem are students who start college when they shouldn’t or without a clear understanding of the purpose of college. No one plans to fail.
In the last few years, there has been an explosion of books about why people should not go to college. Mostly written by people who did go to college, these writers claim that college is no longer worth the cost and that today anyone can learn anything worth learning online for free. Respectfully, I don’t think that these writers have a full understanding of what college is and what it is not. I agree that for some people, learning online or through other non-college programs is the better path, but how do you know? A blanket statement that college is not good is not any better than a blanket statement that everyone should go to college.
College is expensive in terms of money but even more in terms of time and energy. My goal in writing this book is to help people make a more informed decision about whether they should go to college, and if so, how to decide where to go and what to study. I even talk about some of the alternatives to college.
Once I started working in higher education, though, I realized that college is not always the right choice for everyone, or at least, the timing must be right. Over the years I talked to many students who both graduated and those who dropped out.
The more time I spent in higher education, the more I began to see that college is not one singular experience. Different colleges offer different experiences for students. Students are not all fresh out of high school like I was. Most students today are over 25 years old often with full-time jobs and families. Even for students coming out of high school, increasingly they are the first in their families to go to college.
Only about 60% of students who start college finish within 6 years. That rate varies by institution, but I think part of the problem are students who start college when they shouldn’t or without a clear understanding of the purpose of college. No one plans to fail.
In the last few years, there has been an explosion of books about why people should not go to college. Mostly written by people who did go to college, these writers claim that college is no longer worth the cost and that today anyone can learn anything worth learning online for free. Respectfully, I don’t think that these writers have a full understanding of what college is and what it is not. I agree that for some people, learning online or through other non-college programs is the better path, but how do you know? A blanket statement that college is not good is not any better than a blanket statement that everyone should go to college.
College is expensive in terms of money but even more in terms of time and energy. My goal in writing this book is to help people make a more informed decision about whether they should go to college, and if so, how to decide where to go and what to study. I even talk about some of the alternatives to college.
This book is broken into seven chapters:
My hope is to help others make good decisions leading to good outcomes for their life and career.
You can purchase the book in Kindle or paperback at Amazon. These versions have the same content as the free online version you find here.
All opinions shared are my own and not affiliated with any employer past, present, or future.
