I’m in college and I, personally, love it. However, it would be better for me, as a dedicated student, if more of my so called peers had your self knowledge and testicular fortitude to stand up to Daddy and say, “No, I don’t want to go to college.” So good on you.
But if you have some free time, want to help me beat up the girl in my class who has whined for the last three years that she hates school, she hates math and science, and she hates all the work we do? Mind you, I’m in engineering. I have no clue what posessed her to think that engineering would be a good major for her, knowing her proclivities.
Anywa, bless you and your decision. If you want to start a conversion campaign of the sheep around you who are similarly unprepared for higher education, you are welcome to come to PA and start right here.
On the other hand, if you know that you are eventually college bound, you might want to take a class or two at a community college just to keep your academic edge. It doesn’t have to be anything huge, just enough to keep you in the habit of studying and writing papers once in a while. This will also give a college something to look at when you decide you want to go, they won’t just be left with your 5 year old high school records.
Someone mentioned people rushing to college, then dropping out. That seems to happen a lot to kids from my school, because they’re not really ready.
And just so you know, I’m not closing the door. I’m still considering going even in the next year or so, probably part time, I’m just not sure yet.
And I think a lot does have to do with stats of how many kids went to college from our school. And also I should mention that I had VERY good grades in school. I learned that when you get as good of grades and test scores as I did, college is like church. People make it sound like if you don’t go full time, you’re going to go to hell.
And, Medea’s Child, thanks for complimenting my testicular fortitude. I’ve worked hard to build it up. And I was considering just taking one or two community college classes soon, like you said.
Also, I’d like to comment, that in my original post, the thing that pissed me off most was that was all they cared about. They didn’t even really say hi, or ask how I was. I mean, for all they know I could have gotten a terminal disease over the summer, but they acted like it wouldn’t matter as long as I was in college. THAT was what pissed me off.
So, thanks everyone. I knew I could count on a little support from the SDMB.
I know what you mean. I’m a sophomore in college now and I see no point in being here. I mean, I’m a creative writer, and I’m good at what I do. I’m just here because I’m a submissive idiot, and my parents made it seem like college was the ONLY option for me after high school. Hell, they even bribed me to go to the school THEY wanted me to go to! Sad, isn’t it? Why can’t I be assertive?
College sucks. When I was in high school, adults always asked what colleges I was looking at. After I graduated, they constantly asked where I was going. Now that I’m in college, all they ask is how it is. I’m so fed up with it, the next time one of my mom’s friends asks about college, I’m going to say:
“Oh, it’s great! Yeah, last weekend there was this awesome lesbian orgy over at the pride house, and that was after we stole some freshman’s underwear and hung it up in the campus center! Hey, wanna see my nipple ring?”
Maybe that would shut them up. My parents would fume and probably say all kinds of mean things to me, but I told them I’m sick of people asking!
On the other hand, my friends in college seem to be doing all right, and they’re more likely to get better-paying jobs in life. Meanwhile the friends that didn’t go to college are stuck in minimum-wage jobs, and they’re going nowhere.
W-ell, I guess I can see both sides. I went right from high school to college and right from college to law school. I went to college because that was just expected of me, and I went to law school because I couldn’t think of anything better to do with my ever-so-marketable English Lit. degree.
The result was that my brain was fried and I was heartily sick of school (after 18 straight years of it) after my second year of law school, and I took a year off to go back East and be a nanny and think about whether I really wanted to be a lawyer.
As it turns out, I did, and I love what I do. But six years into a seven-year degree is a little late for such introspection. I wish I had taken a year off after high school to – I don’t know: go to Europe or spend a year as a ski bum or just work at Pizza Hut. I felt at the time and given my family situation that that wasn’t an option – but of course it was.
ON THE OTHER HAND – My brother decided to defer college and then got side-tracked by life in general – a girl who then turned into his wife, followed by two small children and a divorce, and now he has obligations that mean he can’t go to college, and I know he regrets not going when he had the opportunity. (But then, I do not say and do not think that he would trade his beautiful kids for my educated but childless life; that’s just how life works out sometimes.)
I think the importance of education cannot be overestimated. I think that in modern U.S. society, it is increasingly difficult to “make it” without a college education – sure, some people do, but they’re the exceptions.
But I think taking some time of to think and work and just live before you go is a very good idea – and don’t let anyone tell you any different.
W-ell, I guess I can see both sides. I went right from high school to college and right from college to law school. I went to college because that was just expected of me, and I went to law school because I couldn’t think of anything better to do with my ever-so-marketable English Lit. degree.
The result was that my brain was fried and I was heartily sick of school (after 18 straight years of it) after my second year of law school, and I took a year off to go back East and be a nanny and think about whether I really wanted to be a lawyer.
As it turns out, I did, and I love what I do. But six years into a seven-year degree is a little late for such introspection. I wish I had taken a year off after high school to – I don’t know: go to Europe or spend a year as a ski bum or just work at Pizza Hut. I felt at the time and given my family situation that that wasn’t an option – but of course it was.
ON THE OTHER HAND – My brother decided to defer college and then got side-tracked by life in general – a girl who then turned into his wife, followed by two small children and a divorce, and now he has obligations that mean he can’t go to college, and I know he regrets not going when he had the opportunity. (But then, I do not say and do not think that he would trade his beautiful kids for my educated but childless life; that’s just how life works out sometimes.)
I think the importance of education cannot be overestimated. I think that in modern U.S. society, it is increasingly difficult to “make it” without a college education – sure, some people do, but they’re the exceptions.
But I think taking some time of to think and work and just live before you go is a very good idea – and don’t let anyone tell you any different.
You are facing one of the most difficult and important decisions of your life with very few decision-making skills (those come as you get more experience - that is a fact of life, IMO). Don’t let anyone push you into making a decision, but also, find all the resources you can to help you make these decisions. Look into career centres where you live - there are a ton of resources for career decision-making, most of them free (around here, anyway). There are so many options for careers and education in North America - college straight out of high school is only one of them. My only concern with delaying college if it turns out you do need to get a degree is that it only gets more expensive the longer you wait.
You may find you only need a diploma or certificate to enter a field of work; you may find that you need some combination of schooling and apprenticeship; doing some job-shadowing or information interviews with people working in fields that interest you can really open up options for you. And if you just want to take a breather before wading back in again, do that too. None of my schooling has been wasted, but I’ve gone down a couple of poorly-researched career paths, and basically started from scratch again with each new one. Do the research, baby. That will be your absolute best friend in your career search.
I’d just like to say to all of the people saying that someone aged 24 or 25 is the “creepy older guy” in class, are you nuts?!
I’m starting my 7th year in college (took a year off due to an auto accident and have to go part time b/c i’m paying my own tuiton, rent ect. ect. without any financial aid) which makes me 24. I’m graduating in May, when I will be 25.
I fall right in the middle of the age spectrum in all of my classes. This is college people, not high school. A 24 year old is hardly considered the “creepy older guy/girl.” Now quit giving me a complex.
I guess I must be the creepy older person in your classes, at 38.
I didn’t go to college out of high school for a myriad of reasons, but that didn’t stop my actively learning everything I could about whatever I was interested in. When I did start college, I was ready for it. I knew what I wanted to major in, and have pursued that with intensity.
It’s been a blast; some of the required courses I’ve taken have tempted me to think about changing my major because they’ve been so fun and so interesting. But then when I get in the classes for my major, I feel so alive. It’s an amazingly exhilarating feeling.
Some of the advantages I’ve found by waiting include being able to pay for it myself with a combination of working full-time and through scholarships. I have a 3.8 gpa (thanks to two B’s last semester in intensive French) that’s going back up now that I’ve finished most of my core courses. I’ve watched some of the younger people who have been in my classes, and because they aren’t paying for it themselves, they don’t take it as seriously as we older students tend to.
I think you’re wise to explore different fields you’re interested in. I think you’re wise to wait until you’re ready to go. And I think you’re wise to keep your options open.
Consider the ages of these two posters–another good reason to postpone, but not cancel, college plans. I loved the 8 years I spent at university. They were not easy, mostly because of money, but they were a heck of a lot easier than the previous 8 years, which I had spent in factories, constructions sites, and burning buildings.
No offense, agentfroot, honest–but other than paying for my education, the hardest part was enduring the whining of all the teenagers who weren’t paying for theirs. Nothing like a few years of coming home 6 days a week exhausted and sore from 10 or 12 hours of labor to make you appreciate the life of a student.