You need to go to a four year university to be successful. That is the only option. High School students hear this everyday, over and over again. But why is this the only option? Each student is so unique. We all have different ideas, values and things we would like to accomplish. How can someone say that college is the only path to be successful? There are so many other options for students like community college, trade school, working right away or the military. I believe that not educating highschool students on other paths for success is wrong.

The United States is at $1.3 trillion in student loan debt right now, and obviously, it’s just going to continue rising in the coming years. The majority of students can not afford a four year school and on top of that many students don’t know what they want study in college. According to PBS, “there are an estimated 30 million jobs that pay at least $55,000 per year and don’t require a bachelor’s degree”(1). Also for many students, college is their first experience away from home and, without an adequate plan, it’s easy to stray off course. “In fact, the Institute of Education Statistics Estimates that 40% of attendees at a four-year college drop out before completing their degree. If you find yourself as a part of that 40%, not only have you incurred some of the expense of college, you left without receiving a degree.” (2)

Hailey Soares, a previous graduate from GHS, was pushed to go to a four year school. She wanted to take a gap year to work full time and save some money but her idea was called “lazy and silly”. She ended up meeting in the middle and going to NHTI, “A community college is a great choice to save money” Hailey says “But it still wasn’t right for me”. Hailey’s first year at NHTI did not go well. She had no idea what she wanted to do, she was being pressured to decide on a major and started taking classes she was not even interested in. After her first year Hailey finally decided to take matters into her own hands and take a semester off to go full time at Market Basket. “All I was doing was doing was throwing my money down the drain, I just need some time to figure things out. Taking a semester off has been the best choice yet”. Hailey explains “I wish I did that from the start but I felt it was not the choice.”

For a lot of people, going to a four-year college seems like an automatic choice when they graduate from high school. But there are so many other options. We can help students save money, do somthing that fits thier lives, and have a career they are truly happy about if we educate them on other options for sucess. Society needs to prevent students from wasting thei money and getting a career that they are not passionate about. Lets come toegther to educate students on thier options for success!

Works Cited

https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/03/college-isnt-for-everyone-lets-stop-pretending-it-is.html (1)

https://www.thesimpledollar.com/why-you-should-consider-trade-school-instead-of-college/ (2)