College, what's the point?
 

In 2018 I'll be graduating from high school if I get my community service hours in. But the closer that happens, and the more college becomes a pressing issue, I can't help feeling it's sort of a useless sort of thing.

I don't have anything I'm interested in. I don't have anything I'm good at, save for being able to muck through a hard high school that takes up much more of my time than I'd like.

There isn't one thing in college I think I'll be happy to do. It'd kind of suck if I lived through college not liking college work, and graduated doing a job I'd hate--which would probably take a bunch of time too.


tldr: What's a good reason to go to college? Advice for what to do if I don't have anything I like doing?

My thoughts...

1. College is expensive and stressful. If you don't want to do it yet (or at all), don't waste the money.

2. Unless you have some special scholarship or entry thing that depends on time (I had a scholarship trust that required I complete my degree in the five years after high school graduation to get the money) then don't worry about going right away. You CAN go later in life if you want to, and mature students are not uncommon.


I don't think it would hurt to not go if you don't know what you want to do. One sentiment that I agree with is that you don't go to college for a job, you go for an education. I enjoyed my time, and would do it again, but it hasn't made me any better off, financially. It has given me a jump start in additional schooling because I'm pre-qualified for some things, but that doesn't happen all the time.

I agree with Quiets points.

Also, while working at the local Mission, I've come to learn that many collage students who have gotten degree's and masters, still can't find any work because they are either 'under qualified' or 'over qualified'.

College is not a bad thing.

If you don't know what you want to do with yourself, well, you should probably stick with a state school of some kind, so that you're not paying absurd amounts of money for it all.

But where ever you go, college has a few important benefits:

Having a degree, any degree, does in fact help a bit with acquiring jobs places. Might be irrelevant overall, but...

College itself is an experience. Something you won't really have much of an opportunity to do later in life. If you can manage going now, do it. What major? I think you can be undeclared for a year or two... I was doing engineering stuff, so I wasn't. But it is a thing.

Why go? Well, for fun. And learning. A lot of degrees will, admittedly, get you fuck all, but you'll still learn from actually going to class and doing things, and you'll likely have lots of experiences you wouldn't otherwise get.

Once it's all done with, perhaps you'll have figured out what you want to do as a job, perhaps you haven't...but really. A degree does not pidgeon hole you into something. You can still do whatever, but perhaps there will be more opportunities than with just a high school diploma.

(Unless you got a philosophy degree, then lol, good luck.)

Thanks for the responses! Usually I think too little about college so that when it becomes more pressing I get extremely worried.

Mmm, to sum up what I think I'm hearing:
I shouldn't go into debt going to college
Going to college is for education and experience and not for a job though it does help, depending on various things.
It's possible to be undeclared.

While I would like to go to college, I'm worried that I'll find myself stuck doing work for classes I grow to dislike. I guess the opposite's probably possible, though. The fact that I can't think of one college thing I'll be interested in doesn't help.


...Philosophy? I don't think I could stand writing philosophical things or thinking about it all the time :P. As thought provoking as it might be, thought provoking things related to life often end up making me feel melancholic at the end of the day.

Didn't I make a post about this just recently? >.> I remember going into detail about votech schools and boot camps and such.

If you don't have a very specific goal in mind, then there's no reason to spend a ton of money on education. If you want to go to college, you'll get just as good of general education benefits no matter which school you attend, so shop on price instead of quality (like Toho said, state or community colleges), because you don't want to be like me and still be paying for it over a decade later.

And even an associate's degree (2-year) in something is better than no formal education at all; it's a good jumping-off point for getting in the fundamentals before you specialize.

Yep, there was a thread about college recently. Unlike the other person though, I don't really have something I want to do.

Since college provides a benefit then, I suppose that's the point of going. Although, if I go to a community college I'd move out of state anyway due to some issues.

Well. Do keep in mind that tuition prices in state schools and community colleges are different depending on whether or not you are a resident of the state.

Hm, that's unfortunate. Granted, I am a Canadian citizen and not a US citizen and it seems that Canadian colleges are cheaper?

Oh, you're Canadian?

Yeah, you're fine.

Born in Canada but never lived there x'D.

It's nice to know I can go there instead of another state.

lol, well. I don't really know how that works, honestly. I'm not Canadian. But my understanding is that it'd probably be the less ridiculously expensive option...for Canadians.

Depends where you go and what you want out of it. I got all my education in BC here, and I started with a community college in Fort St. John (college maybe 250 students big) and then transferred to UBC in Vancouver (student population of some 50 000. Big difference, and a price difference to go with it.

Tuition for me at UBC was easily more than double what it was at my community college. The extra cost is brought on in part by what enrollment covers. My rinky dink college only had a library and a small atrium for 'features' while my provincial university had it's own farms, multiple libraries, multiple sports facilities, performance center, transit, themed gardens, etc., and the the costs for much of that go into tuition. Students use, student pay. So, if you don't care about how big your college swimming pool is, then consider how much fancy amenities might be affecting education cost.

I advocate starting with a small college first, no matter what you are doing. Even though my college was little and the course choices limited, the very small class sizes made it very easy to learn and discuss material, teachers were readily available for help, and it was a much calmer setting. I was able to maintain a very good GPA and got a very good understanding of the material.

When I transferred to the large university it was serious culture shock. Class sizes were huge, teacher's aren't always easy to get time with if there are 300+ students in the odd class, and it can be more of a struggle to get at what you need. I crashed and burned my first year of transfer. It was great, but it wasn't easy. The solid academic start in the college gave me a decent save.

Honestly, I'm in the same boat but I have more crappy views towards high school.
I'm dropping out to get my GED after failing 2 years due to some of my disorders.
I personally am sitting here like, "What the hell was the point of high school.." other than to get in some social skills, when you go to college they reteach material anyways because there are students who haven't been to high school in 20 years..
But I digress.

I'm personally eager to get into art school. :< I just want a good job. I think the rest of it sucks. High school can go eat a pile of crap though.

Not being able to get help from teachers would suck. Much of my learning comes from asking teachers questions..

What do I want to get out of college... A direction I guess? Education and a direction?

High school. Hmm, for me high school is a nice way to escape my parents and learn math-related things. I dislike having to take time to learn other subjects though, since they're sort of time-wasting for me personally (though admittedly, English is helpful and I wouldn't improve it if not for high school).

As for disorders, I don't know much about that :/

Come to think of it, should I expect to gain from college the same things I should expect out of high school..?

If you are not motivated into any field, and are exhausted from high school, if you can take a year off, get a job, try that first.

Colleges let you test out of gen-ed classes that are covering the material you've already studied. I strongly recommend taking them up on that because otherwise it's a painful waste of time and money.

As for high school... High school is a much different scenario.

One, it's publicly-funded, so you're not sinking money into it. It's a FREE way to improve your life.

Two, at least in the US, if you're under 18 you're not going to be able to enter into contracts on your own ANYWAY, so you're out of luck on getting a meaningful job.

Three, with the exception of high-end honors classes, the stuff taught in high school actually DOES make a difference in day-to-day life in the real world. (Honors classes are more useful for college prep, or to keep people who are naturally inquisitive from getting too painfully bored with high school.) And even those exceptions can prove useful sometimes.

Four, the teenage years are especially important in social development. Going through high school USUALLY results in people who are more capable of dealing with social situations, more capable of handling pressure, and in general more mature. Yes, there are exceptions, but if your worst problem is feeling like it's a waste of time you probably aren't one of those.

The irony of the situation is that teenagers don't yet have the life experience to put the high school experience into perspective. I've heard plenty of people regret college, but it's rare that I hear someone over 25 wish that they had dropped out of high school.

In response to the post above, a job is actually pretty nice when you don't have to worry about school imo.
My first job was phenomenal. Granted, I was getting paid 3 dollars above min. wage (so I was ecstatic.) it was still a wonderful experience. Definitely give that a go.

EDIT: Was looking at the wrong page. @ the post that mentioned getting a job.

Unfortunately I was one of those who should have been plopped into honors from the get-go. High school was just ridiculously boring to me and always has been. I started taking online classes and started to excel but then I got distracted and sunk pretty deep. Off-topic, but that's my personal opinion on high school. It obviously varies for many, and can be a wonderful experience for some.

Admittedly, high school helped somewhat with social development, but I think that area is a big problem for me.

I don't really have a problem with high school--only that some classes I don't fully appreciate the point of them.

The value of English and math classes are self-evident; it's important to be able to communicate well and to be able to reason about values and abstract concepts.

Science classes are useful to understand why things are the way they are, but even more valuable is the experience in relating academic things to real-world things -- learning how to apply critical thinking, statistics, methodology, etc. in a controlled environment.

Literature classes may seem pointless on the surface. The goal there is learning how to understand meanings beyond just the superficial. Taught properly, it's basically applied philosophy. Even taught improperly, it teaches how to synthesize information.

History is a difficult subject to teach well. A poor history teacher or a poor history curriculum will end up missing the point. Memorizing trivia about the past is pointless. Understanding the driving forces behind past events and how they led to the present state of the world, on the other hand, is extremely valuable. I will say that I would have a much worse understanding of modern politics if I hadn't taken history classes.

Oh! That makes sense. I'll try to remember to think about those things when I feel down about taking a class. It's not a very nice feeling thinking what I'm doing isn't useful.

Ohh, I see. Community colleges are really helpful then!

I don't suppose there's a way to enroll in a community college outside of New York or in Canada..? I'm not sure about my emotional health remaining close to my family ^^;;.

I've heard mixed stories regarding whether or not jumping straight from high school into college is good or not. The counterpoint is momentum. High school students are already used to going to classes and learning, and taking a break knocks you out of that groove -- summer vacation is already too long for optimum learning, and a whole year is just going to develop a lifestyle and habits that are just going to get screwed with again when you do go back to school.

Furthermore, high school students' brains are still in prime state for acquiring new skills. The older you are, the harder it is to incorporate new skills -- this isn't to say it's impossible, but it's much FASTER when you're younger, and you really want to have the fundamentals of your chosen career under your belt before you hit 25.

Something that doesn't help: The industry is set up around getting high school seniors into college, and most of the offers are set up around recruiting 17- and 18-year-old kids. Good luck getting a scholarship if you're not a high school student.

Of course, taking a break and being older when you go to school does HAVE some advantages. It may take more effort to actually accomplish it, but the additional maturity helps with maintaining the discipline to stick with the classes and homework, and not being so young also means you're not being targeted by a lot of the same traps that distract college students.

Enrolling in a community college generally involves living in that community. All you've gotta do is... move. It's generally NOT a good idea to go to a community college out-of-state because of the tuition -- it can go up as high as 4x more expensive compared to being local.

Hmm, that's not good. I'm not really sure what I'll do :/. For now I'll focus on getting those SATs studied for then taken, I suppose. Unless taking the ACT is a better idea.

In defense of University, I did enjoy my time there very much. The teachers weren't unwilling to help, but logistics just made it difficult sometimes. This gets easier as you progress. Sure, the major courses that everyone has to take will have enrollments in the hundreds and be in massive lecture halls, but the further into your education you get, the more things become like they were in back in college. I took a number of classes in Nordic Studies, often with no more than 10 other people, and got to know the faculty quite well. My Swedish teacher would host a Christmas party each year that the whole class would go to, and most people knew about the Nordic Lit teachers fondness for Scandinavian metal.

Some schools want the SAT, some schools want the ACT. The prep generally applies to both anyway. Given that the tests aren't THAT expensive I usually recommend doing both of them unless you already know that the schools you intend to apply to want one or the other.


Seconded. Professors hold office hours for a reason, and even though they might be there to research, most of them are still basically good people with an honest desire to help people learn.

I haven't really had time to read through the responses, but I thought I'd throw in my two cents.

Graduation for you is a long way off so just give it some more time and don't jump to conclusions. I have screwed up so much so quickly because I jumped to conclusions on what I was going to do after high school. College has more benefits then cons after you graduate. The first one being that literally every livable job you're going to want is going to ask how far you went with your education. Very rarely will you find and employer that won't ask that and take it into consideration when making their decision.

Second I know college seems dumb right now, but there are so many choices and opportunities to think about as well. College has many options and I suggest starting at a CC if you don't want to jump straight into a university. University will save you time though trust me on that one. Wasted 4 years at a CC just trying to transfer. I made so many valuable connections though at my CC that has lead to further successes in my life so it wasn't all bad.

No matter what you choose to do in college it will pay off in the future. The important thing to remember is that no matter where you end up in life just keep working hard. That is one thing my professor said to me once when I was ready to drop out. He told me "where ever you are in life is where you are supposed to be, you just have to keep working hard." So no matter what your choice is always keep pushing and worker hard and strive for more every day. Never get comfortable I think is what I've taken away from my college experience.

So yeah I know that's super convoluted, but I just want to say no matter you choose just work very hard.

I'll try my best to keep this all in mind, thanks everyone!

Sometimes, I don't know what working hard means. Right now, working hard would probably mean juggling to starting studying for SATs/ACT, doing schoolwork, and community service.

Extracurricular things and others...I don't really understand how to work myself into those.

Speaking as someone who HAS a degree and graduated from college over a decade ago and who has experience interviewing candidates: This statement isn't necessarily true anymore.

The job market has become saturated by people who got a degree BECAUSE people said employers do this. It's no longer the surefire competitive advantage that it used to be. Four years of practical job experience means more than a degree. Once you've got job experience, your degree stops mattering. It certainly didn't get me my last three jobs.

The price of tuition has been going up faster than salaries have been going up. Between the money you would save by not going to college, the money you would earn by working a full-time job during that time, and the career advancement you gain from having four more years of job experience, the "better" job you get from having a degree might not pay enough more over your lifetime to make up the difference.

THIS is true. This IS part of the most important thing. Even more important, though, is that you should be working hard on something that you want to do.

Working hard doesn't have to mean working hard in college. You should explore your interests, learn what you like to do, and then find out what you need to pursue in order to make that dream come true. If you need to learn the things that a university education will teach you to do that, then by all means, go to college! If a vocational school will give you the job skills you need, do that! If a boot camp will give you the skills you need, do that! If a certification in a field will set you apart from other applicants, go pursue one!

And no matter what you do, teach yourself -- above and beyond whatever education you choose to pursue.

Teach yourself..things that I want to do. I think at the heart of it, I struggle immensely with that.

How do I explore interests when it feels like I have no interests yet interests in nearly everything at the same time?

That's normal! That's nothing to feel shame about. Being interested in a broad spectrum of things is a sign of a well-rounded individual.

So... try it! Imagine yourself doing one of those things. If you can't imagine it, go find out more about what the career itself is like. Try doing some amateur stuff in the field.

I started computer programming when I was a kid, so I kinda had it easy, but programming is a really broad field, so I still had the same issue in choosing what I wanted to focus on and specialize in. I thought I wanted to do video games for a long time, but then I learned more about what it's like to work in the industry, and I'm a lot happier with that as just a hobby instead of a career. I didn't think I wanted to get stuck doing web development, but I'm really good at it; I ended up finding a job that takes those skills in a completely different direction than what I usually think of when I think "web development." Maybe I'll move on from this someday, but right now it's satisfying.

It seems that somehow I've become well-rounded after all X'D. Considering how much I dabble then drop things, I suppose it makes sense.

So, seize on one thing then try it? I think I'll need to sift through some things, and ignore some fear of failing before I've even begun ^^

Or try a few things at once. You're young. You can get away with it.

EDIT: This was in reply to Coda. Not sure how formatting on here works x.x;;

At least where I live in Southern California I can tell you I've seen it many times where someone with any college degree has gotten hired over another person without one. In my experience it's always been the deciding factor in whether or not someone gets a job. No one really cares anymore what you went to college for as long as you have it. Again this might just be in Southern California, but it's very prevalent everywhere I've looked.

As for saving money I really don't know about that. Again this one is most likely restricted to my area but here where I live you'll never be able to make a living without a degree. Simply no one hires around here for a well paying job without one. Cosmetology is another route to go down though as that allows you to work in many fields here in LA. I would just advise against a vocational or trade school because they tend to cost a lot of money and offer little to no opportunity for a job afterward.

Again this is just from the Southern California area and things are much different here then when I lived in Washington. I agree with you though that teaching yourself is very important. Lots of introspective work when you're in the work force is a good thing, and of course lots of extra studying outside of work is even better. Finding personal drive is probably one of the most valuable skills in life and something I've been constantly working on lately.

I live in Los Angeles too. >.> So... not sure what to tell you there?

Degree beats non-degree if the two candidates have no past experience, because the degree is proof of effort. But have you ever seen someone with a degree but no work experience get compared to someone without a degree but with four years of work in the field?

First jobs are a completely different contest than serious career jobs. Yeah, it's important to get a first job, but you're only ever going to do it ONCE. If you don't have a degree, then find a journeyman-level job that WILL take you so you can GET experience, even if it doesn't pay well. After you've got on-the-job training, your qualifications will be just as good as someone who got a degree. And instead of PAYING money, you've been EARNING it -- even if it's a low salary, it's still positive cash flow.

I don't know where you're getting that information about vocational schools. You bring up cosmetology; what do you think a cosmetology certification IS? It's a vocational school! And in the tech industry, the short-term boot camps even have a GUARANTEE -- you get a job within a certain amount of time of graduating, or you don't pay for the tuition.

I was just trying to say maybe that our experiences were different because things aren't necessarily the same here in California as opposed to other places like where I used to live in Washington.

Yes, more times then not I've seen people with degrees get jobs over people with years of work experience. It's one of the problems right now in the work force. I mean back in 08/09 when older baby boomers were being laid off they couldn't get another job because even though they have 10 to 20+ years of experience there were younger people with masters getting those jobs instead. I've had employers tell me that they would rather pick someone with a degree over work experience because, and I'm not making this up, "people with degrees show a higher work ethic and better critical thinking and problem solving skills." Not only that, but I've heard people say that they prefer new blood as opposed to older people who are going to keep doing things the same way. The job market boils down to what new things you'll bring to a developing or already well established company because that translates to more money potentially. Companies want to see growth not stagnation.

I really do have to disagree with the first job statement though. You can have a first job and be in college. It's down right the worst thing ever because you're working 30+ hours/week and going to school 20+ hours/week and doing homework and projects for another 20+ hours/week but you're making money and going to school. If tuition is something that is a road block there are multiple ways to go about getting money for that. Many people offer grants and then there are the federal routes which again are the worst thing ever but they work. Really though I have seen people giving out grants because their kids would have inherited the money died and the parents just want to give it away.

I have found the myth of entry level to be a joke these days. Barely anyone promotes from within anymore to begin with. I don't even remember the last time I've heard or seen myself someone being promoted from withing without a degree or some kind of exponential achievement.

I wasn't saying that cosmetology wasn't a trade school I was just saying it's more times then not the one trade school that ends up paying out in the end :/