I think college is just another social trend. Most teenagers--notice how I said most--go to college for the hell of it. I have friends in school who are going to college without thinking about their future. Rather, they're stuck in the present worrying about how sentimental their personal statements are and raising their SAT scores. They're tunnel vision is only focused on what brand-name university they're going to attend and how fancy and prestigious it is. I know this is true because they don't even know what they're going to study; they don't know what they really want to do in life; they don't know which college major is lucrative; they don't know how much debt they will accumulate; they don't even know what college is. As I said before, college is an investment. Most arguments for not knowing what they're going to study, is that they can remain undeclared about a major until their sophomore or junior year. Now you might think this is a fair argument. "Why take the responsibility and declare a major before entering college? I can just explore the different majors in the first two years." That argument, itself, proves my assertion that college is a social trend. I don't even have to refute that argument because you just agreed with me. The only reason someone should go to college is to acquire a skill that can position themselves better in the job market. Of course, this is only if you will love to do that profession. You see, if someone really cared about their future, they wouldn't go to college just because they can. They would have an already set goal before entering college. They're thinking about their future. Unfortunately, people enter undeclared. Also, people do know they will acquire copious amounts of college debt, but they brush this off when applying to schools. They see debt as a word (like how most students throw around the word love)--not a physical occurrence. If they were doing college right, they would have ample amounts of college credit or any other gains towards their major--academically or financially--because they're trying to get rid of general education requirements and save some money and graduate sooner. They're thinking about their future. Think about it. College debt can seriously hinder someone's life. Instead they decide to go to a prestigious, expensive college that accepts little or no college credit. Understandably, some of these prestigious schools have connections to elite industries, but this mostly concerns STEM majors. Then again, people who go into STEM understand that their career is more then likely going to be lucrative when they graduate. However, for those liberal arts degree majors--I'm sorry for those liberal arts degree majors--they go to these elite schools for worthless degrees. Majoring in a liberal arts degree even shows their ignorance about what college is truly about. I think the main causes for this global, social trend are families and friends. Most children are brought up thinking that college education is the only way to make it big in life. You know, "go to college and you'll be great!" Then these children get this idea of college drilled into their heads like some hypnopaedic procedure. This faulty phrase is then bolted down for good when their friends have the same idea. You know, if someone else has the same opinion, then it justifies everything. Now it's senior year, and all this talk about college is brewing about. The only conversations about college is about how nice this school's library is or how good the football team is. College, to them, is like another social media site. "Oh you don't have a facebook? You have to get one. Everyone and their mothers have one. " Students who have complete uncertainty about their future are pressured into going to college because they feel left out. They feel as if they will not accomplish something unless they acquire some degree. Then this becomes a reality when a friend posts a selfie with a NYU shirt on with a picture caption saying "I can't believe I got accepted for an undeclared major." Please think about your future before entering college. Be honest with yourself. Do you really know why you're going to college? Is it because your friends are going? Do you even need a college education? Maybe take a year or two after your high school graduation and think about what you really want to do. Just don't follow the bandwagon because it's cool.
With that being said, I'll see you next Thursday!
