Answering the College Question: To Go, Or Not To Go

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

This seems to be an important topic on here. "Should I go to college?" "Should i drop out of high school?" for example.

Well I believe that basic school education is important, and I know college isn't for everyone.

I don't think I'll even be able to afford college without a scholarship or two, but I'm certainly gonna go. I plan on majoring in Creative Writing (Or whatever writing classes the school has) and minoring in philosophy or photography or psychology. (or a combo if possible).

I believe college to be important if you wish to have a career. Of course it isn't necessary, but I believe it'll certainly help. I wish to become an author and I believe I have a talent for writing. That doesn't mean I'll get published as I plan to.

But, if I go to college, I might have a better chance at getting my shit published.

(Here's a few examples ->

https://www.wattpad.com/258921655-my-collection-of-short-stories-and-poetry-the

https://www.wattpad.com/185028293-my-collection-of-short-stories-and-poetry-queen )

I know not everyone wants to go to college, and not everyone feels the need to.

But think of this. Do you want to become an architect? A professional dancer? Wanna work at google? Wanna be an author or artist or a philosopher? Then college is the place you need to go.

I know you may feel as if school is bullshit. You might agree with the guy below (his video is funny, you should watch it) But usually college classes ( and even some high schools) have programs/classes simply for everything he complains about. Generally people don't even learn the stuff taught to them in middle/high school because they don't pay attention. The basics are needed, but his complaints are usually taken care of in classes in high school or some colleges. Although I do agree with him on quite a few of his complaints (such as the teaching kids to parent, and the helping the depressed friend) I do not think that some of his complaints are 100% true, since these schools DO offer to teach some of them.

(Some people are naturally stupid so I'm not gonna continue on this)

You can't become what you want without college (unless you want to strip, strippers make a lot of money *hint hint* ;) )

Sure you may not "feel" like going to high school right now or feel as if it's useless. But graduate. Get your GED, get a started job and work towards what you want.

(Wanna be a writer? Here's a list of 10 in the USA to look at

https://college.usatoday.com/the-10-best-american-colleges-for-writers )

Now I'm not usually one that has a strong opinion on something for/against the norm (sarcasm by the way I ALWAYS have strong opinions on a lot of stuff), but I believe college is super important if you feel you want a career in life. But even if you can't afford it, scholarships help A LOT. Apply to 02394875 of them! I have so far applied to 20 and haven't won 1 (some haven't finished yet) but really though, the more you apply to, the more chance you have of winning one or more.

I know we may differentiate, but this is my personal opinion. If you enjoy doing x, y, z whatever, then fucking do it. If you need to go to college then go and make your dream become a reality. I have a higher chance of becoming an author if I go to college. Maybe not BECAUSE of college itself, but because college may help me improve my writing. College itself may not have an impact on you DOING x, y, z, but it may help you to improve upon x,y,z. Everyone is different, I know this, but at the same time a lot of humans are similar in many ways.

So if you don't wanna go to college then don't. At the very least, I suggest finishing high school. But hey, I'm a random person on the internet, there's no need to listen to me. Do what you want.

(*Hint* Strippers make a lot of money, stripping may help pay off x,y,z.)

Don't go to college, go to college, whatever floats ya boat.

Now, I'm gonna keep looking for colleges with good writing programs. Good luck in your endeavors for success people!

[coachTanthony]

Love your stuff but I have to disagree strongly. I know you point out the pros and cons of each but i wanted to give you my opinion. College is like Time Warner Cable. If you just want ESPN, HBO, and USA you cannot get it. You must buy a package much like College. How many classes do you need to be a criminal justice major? Not many but they make you take so many classes that have nothing to do with your major just so they can call it a degree and charge you an insane amount of money.. Same as taking your vehicle in for an oil change. You can get an oil change and rotate tires for a total of 42.00. Or you can purchase the Total vehicle service special that costs 69.99 and includes an oil change, rotate tires, and some other stupid stuff you don't really need. I just finished my first book... no college degree... just a couple of courses from UDEMY and a friendly editor from fiver. com. Don't waste your money unless you want to become a doctor. Nobody cares about degrees anymore.. can you provide value? and that value can be learned most of the time in a weekend through youtube, UDEMY, or other online courses. College is a scam... most degrees are worthless and put you in debt. Don't do it.

[SovereignessofVamps]

I think you should look into Troy university. They offer full ride and full tuition scholarships to out of state students, and all you need is a high GPA and ACT score to get them. I think it's also the univ in Alabama that has the most international students. Good luck!

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

Ok, thanks!

[chc0009]

College was a hard decision for me when I was in high school.

At first, I elected to attend Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, due to the close proximity. But after two years (2008-2010), I got fed up with the uptight vibes I got from that place and wanted out immediately. Plus, my sister was going out-of-state, so I wanted to too.

I then selected Auburn University, since it had a strong pre-pharmacy program (my major back then), it had a college town environment, Southern hospitality, and connections (my mom's friend's husband lives there). Most importantly, I wanted a lucky break away from South Florida. I then left after a year (2010-2011), since I got bullied a lot due to my ethnic heritage and poor disability services.

I then made one final school switch to the University of South Florida and that was the one for me, since Tampa, Florida is much more vibrant than Boca Raton, it's the urban area which is more accepting, and the disability services are fantastic. Furthermore, it was there that I discovered my true self and that I was better of working in technology than in science or medicine. I stayed there until graduation (2011-2013) and liked USF so much that I'm going there for grad school.

Do what you feel is right. I wish that I didn't have to switch schools twice, but I stayed at the third school and finished my degree there and now I want my master's degree there.

[Prof_Don]

in my opinion, doing college JUST to do college, is a bad move.

in my opinion it is all about what career path said person wants to pursue. Originally I wanted to get into video games and computer software, so I went to college to study computer science, because to work in those fields one has to have a college degree.

Once I fell out of love with the grind of computer coding and wanted to be a teacher, the path for that career is to get a Bachelor's degree in ANY subject, then pass a proficiency test for any subject said person wants to teach before entering the Master's program for a teacher's credential. Knowing that, I stayed in college and got my degree in a subject I enjoyed, and am currently working in education. I will start my credential in a year.

-----

So for me, going to college was relevant for my career path, so I went and continued.

Going to college without a degree being relevant to your career goals is a recipe for disaster and dissapointment.

[sedrftvgyhujik]

Depends what you want to do and if it's something easier to define that you can just start doing then I think college is probably less important and being able to do the job much more so. If you need to be certified learn and get certified. If it's harder to just start like being a good lawyer or doctor then you probably need to take the academic route.
Just don't forget to keep learning work hard and don't get full of yourself better to be humble and learn.

[Mustachekitteh]

What I have learned, unless you know 100% what you want to do. Along with having a lot of extra money to pay for it and will. Then you should but it also depends on the kind of degree you are going for. Since for some college is a must. So any engineering, physics, being a doctor, etc. A degree would be very useful for them.

Though I know college isn't for me, I can never understand what the teachers are ever saying. :(

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

well there is scholarships and some colleges offer to pay for free depending on x reason. and yea i know.

[orphan]

community colleges offer 4 year degrees.. at least the ones by me.

$50/unit. use previous edition textbooks. ($10-15)

college is as expensive as you want it to be.

[0112358]

I think that unless one is quite wealthy, one should make a real assessment of the job prospects and income and boost in prospects in income based on the program.

Just because the program exists and they'll take your money doesn't mean it's worth it. It's fine to try to follow your heart, but sometimes college isn't the most effective way. Or sometimes you're better off pursuing your dream directly and if it doesn't work out, THEN go to college in a program that has a better economic payoff.

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

Hey I was just saying, these are my views. Yea college isn't always necessary, I just believe it'd be helpful to most people.

[0112358]

Yeah, i awkwardly tried to use 'one' not 'you' because i wasn't trying to give advice specific to you, but rather in general. Just on that checklist of 'pick a major' etc, one item on your checklist should be 'is this degree worth the money?'

A friend of mine is a photographer, and one of his friends teaches photography at some private college that basically charges like 30-40k/year for kids to take a photography degree. This is a colossal waste of money. I am not saying nobody can make it as a photographer. Some can. I'm not saying improving your skills as a photographer isn't important. It is. I'm saying that the degree is worthless, your value as a photographer is your portfolio. If you want to be a professional photographer and have access to 150-200k, great, use it to live on for 8 years while working with photographers, learning, and trying to get established. You -won't- make it throwing huge amounts of money.

I went to university, and my career is based on it.

[0112358]

... but people should remember that student loans are loans. Treat it like your money, you're the one paying it back. Ask yourself -really- if the payoff is there, or if there are other options.

If you're looking at any professional school with good employment (nursing, law school, architecture, engineering, medicine, etc) it's pretty much a slam dunk obvious choice. You might rack up 250-300k getting a medicine degree. Is it worth it? Easily. But if you want a career where a degree isn't a prerequisite, there may be much better uses of your money.

[AssJacket]

One could claim that going to an expensive private college for a photography degree is a huge waste of money, whereas a relatively inexpensive public school would be a better value.

[babyfunny]

i think go to the university or college ( i dont know how americans call it) is just for people that have dreams and have sure what they want to do in their lives.

[maurkay]

I want to go to college but I'm not sure what I'll end up doing. I've always wanted to rescue animals.

[Waffles731]

Actually having a writing major isn't nearly necessary to be an author.
I've done the research myself

[Waffles731]

But the best bet it to major in your backup career

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

I know so have I, but I wish to go into other feilds too (such as philosophy) and I just feel as if ill improve is all

[Waffles731]

I want to write for a living and I'm damn good but I NEED a bacjup career and that what I'm studying for, well just the general education requirements right now

[sedrftvgyhujik]

I can't see much demand for philosophy or that it would have ever been in particularly high demand especially with just an undergrad.
Copywriting could be I'd have though certainly more so than philosophy also as a different fall back maybe notetaking and proofreading documents which may very well pay better than pub work.
I think there are quite a few things going on in IP law at the moment and patent applications are on the rise. I think that may continue for a while it might be a good very writing related area for you and could be very interesting and potentially quite lucrative.

[fran200]

if you have good grades yes if you join and the classes you get all a or b - its ok if you had as at high school but get b in college then you will be ok

[Maxemeister]

Here's the option: Go to college, gives you the best opportunities. Easiest take I've ever written

[zagor]

Good to get the GE stuff out of the way, anyway. That makes it easier if you quit and want to go back later.

[Dred1614]

Just go to college, kid. You'll be thankful in the future.

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

If you read the take at all you'd know i was basically saying to go to college

[Dred1614]

I know. I'm very pleased to see that you agree.

[dudeman]

i wouldn't do it for most majors.

[Polocrew]

Already fau bound, 3 star prospect. Mad?

[AssJacket]

What's a 3 star prospect?