The Vent Thread

[lloyd9988]

dunno if i should go to college or not, something's telling me that that probably means i shouldn't, but still.

i dont wanna grow up....

College is one of the best social, mind-expanding experiences you will ever have in your life. I won't say anything about the formal education, what kind of work you'll have to do to get through it, or the value of the job you get afterward. I also won't discuss how you will be in debt up to your eyeballs for the rest of your life.

What I will say is that if anybody had asked me whether or not I wanted to repeat my six years of college, I would have said, "Yes. Absolutely."

Perpetual debt isn't something you have to worry too much about if you choose to major in something that'll give you a real, marketable, skill-set though.

This assumes, of course, you are capable of getting a degree or two in a STEM field. As a great man once said, "if it doesn't make sense, that's because it makes dollars."

I was having the same argument a little while ago. . . Guess I'll major in math since its something that I want to try and understand:P

[Castor Troy]

dunno if i should go to college or not, something's telling me that that probably means i shouldn't, but still.

i dont wanna grow up....

College is one of the best social, mind-expanding experiences you will ever have in your life. I won't say anything about the formal education, what kind of work you'll have to do to get through it, or the value of the job you get afterward. I also won't discuss how you will be in debt up to your eyeballs for the rest of your life.

What I will say is that if anybody had asked me whether or not I wanted to repeat my six years of college, I would have said, "Yes. Absolutely."

x2. I got far more out of the social interactions from college rather than the classes themselves.

Now that I make a living from home, I plan on going back to school for theater and acting. I don't care about getting a degree from it, but I want the experience and to meet new people.

[Flint the Dwarf]

I'm perpetually disappointed with education in America, but college is certainly a great social opportunity. I don't think that makes it worth the money, though. There are lots of other ways to be involved socially at that age.

What I would recommend is community college to get you started, and maybe even get you working in a field that can make money, because community college doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Or just get a job working anywhere and keep your expenses low. It's actually pretty easy to save a decent amount of money making minimum wage if you're frugal and don't live somewhere with crazy real estate costs. Develop interests, find out what you might actually be interested in doing for the rest of your life (because it will change), and then rethink college once you're 25 and can get a decent amount of assistance.

[dj_ultima_the_great]

tl;dr - College is fantastic and worth the money. Go now before you lose the opportunity.

I'm going to have to disagree with waiting several years to go to college. What usually happens in scenarios where people say they're just going to take "a few years off" is that they get caught up in having a job that they don't want to leave, a relationship that they don't want to jeopardize, children, life obligations, and it's just one excuse after another until they're in their thirties or forties and wondering why they never went to college. Fresh out of high school is the best way to do it, because you're at a part of your life where big changes are going to be happening anyway, making for an easier transition.

It's not like someone has to go in knowing what they want to do, either. The first year or two of college is meant for developing interests and figuring out who you are - better there, surrounded by supportive friends, than some dead end, minimum wage job where you're a number instead of a name and don't have the time to think about who you are. The majority of people who enter college have no idea what they're going for, or they know exactly what they want, but end up changing their minds anyway. In my personal experience (in a traditional college), most of these people still got out in four years, and many of them still maintained both a job and good social lives.

For myself, I decided what I wanted to do in the most logical way I could think of. I made two lists: the first had everything I enjoyed doing, and the second had everything in which I was talented. I removed everything in which I was talented but did not enjoy, because nobody wants to spend the rest of their lives doing something they hate. I removed some of the things I enjoyed but in which I had no talent, because I didn't see myself feasibly gaining skill in them. The final list looked something like this:

Biology, psychology, music, creative writing, English, foreign language

Biology was removed because I can't do math. Psychology was removed because I hate "grey areas." Music was removed (reluctantly) because I'll never be good enough to make a living off of it. Creative writing was removed because I could always do it alongside another job in my spare time and success in this field is defined largely by pop culture and NOT talent. That left English or a foreign language. I decided to axe English finally because I would rather study something unknown to me than something I already knew quite well.

I actually did stick with my original idea for my major, but there were many things that I was introduced to in college that almost made me change my mind - fields that I didn't even know about until I had gotten there, and fields that I would have never heard of working in some crap job while waiting to decide my future.

I can say this with perspective, too - the boring, close-minded small town that I left after high school was the same boring, close-minded small town that I came back to after I graduated and got a job there, and I'm finding it to be the same story even in a large city, where I live now. It's something unique to college that makes it a self-expanding experience. Although one can get similarly good social experiences from other outlets, there's nothing that quite duplicates that one.

Anyway, the point is, you can find yourself in a lot of places and in a lot of ways, but this is a damn good one and requires serious thought if you're at a point in your life where you can do it.

[Chained(E)Studio]

dunno if i should go to college or not, something's telling me that that probably means i shouldn't, but still.

i dont wanna grow up....

I would take a year or more off. I went straight into College right after High School and hated it.Everyone was older than me, already had clicks somehow and so it was terrible hard to even meet or be friends with anyone. I also took something I ended up hating, wasted lots of money for a few years trying to figure out what I wanted. I regret it. I wasted so much money and time.

So I would do what you feel is most best. You can always go back at any time. Open yourself to many schools, maybe even abroad. Last thing you want is to choose a school because its close to the parents or even the first your accepted into. You'll just limit yourself. Really think about what you want to do, maybe take some courses here and there to help figure that out. Don't jump into something you might not want or are ready for.

Its taken me about 6 years and many errors to finally find what I want to do. Now I run a business, have a diploma, have some debt and it makes it a lot harder for me to just go after my dreams.

So take time to really explore all your options/wants. Maybe even travel to really get a look at what the rest of the world is like.

[Dr. Derpface, J.D.]

Stupid oppressive heat, and the AC is apparently on the fritz. Thermostat is set at 68. What's the temp reading? EIGHTY FIVE......INDOORS

[lloyd9988]

dunno if i should go to college or not, something's telling me that that probably means i shouldn't, but still.

i dont wanna grow up....

I would take a year or more off. I went straight into College right after High School and hated it.Everyone was older than me, already had clicks somehow and so it was terrible hard to even meet or be friends with anyone. I also took something I ended up hating, wasted lots of money for a few years trying to figure out what I wanted. I regret it. I wasted so much money and time.

So I would do what you feel is most best. You can always go back at any time. Open yourself to many schools, maybe even abroad. Last thing you want is to choose a school because its close to the parents or even the first your accepted into. You'll just limit yourself. Really think about what you want to do, maybe take some courses here and there to help figure that out. Don't jump into something you might not want or are ready for.

Its taken me about 6 years and many errors to finally find what I want to do. Now I run a business, have a diploma, have some debt and it makes it a lot harder for me to just go after my dreams.

So take time to really explore all your options/wants. Maybe even travel to really get a look at what the rest of the world is like.

Now I'm stuck in the same crossroads as Gotegenks was. . . Only thing is that I got two years of college under my belt. . . My brother's friends are saying that I should go into university right now so I don't stay in one place but I always worry about the money situation that I'd end up putting myself in. . . Really. . . I just wanna move out of this house, and cut my ties with them temporarily and live somewhere else so I can get a feel for what its like living on my own and being by myself.

[Flint the Dwarf]

tl;dr - College is fantastic and worth the money. Go now before you lose the opportunity.

[. . .] What usually happens in scenarios where people say they're just going to take "a few years off" is that they get caught up in having a job that they don't want to leave, a relationship that they don't want to jeopardize, children, life obligations, and it's just one excuse after another until they're in their thirties or forties and wondering why they never went to college.

Well, I have to disagree with this. Those people weren't thinking about college to begin with. They just did whatever felt natural after leaving high school, and were probably worried about the cost of school. There are lots of good reasons to wait for college, and it just has to be part of a plan that you work toward. You have to establish goals and milestones. If you aren't capable of that, then whatever, go to school.

But those same issues apply to people who go to school. They (sometimes) end up in relationships they don't want to jeopardize, maybe even children, and don't want to leave college. I feel like college leaves a lot of people unprepared to deal with life on their own, expecting more than they're offered, and leaving them generally discontent. Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone, but neither does your description of people who decide to wait. And I don't get the bolded part above. Later you describe the same job as a "dead end, minimum wage job where you're a number instead of a name." That's precisely the motivation that will keep people on track for school once they're better prepared to utilize the education. Who wouldn't want to leave that job? I guess I understand people being afraid of trying to move on, but I'm not attempting to advise those people.

All I'm trying to instill is a sense of realistic purpose. It's perspective that I definitely lacked after graduating high school. I felt like college was the only real option (and all my family reinforced this), so I went. After a year of floundering and mostly enjoying myself, I left because I didn't feel like I was achieving anything except massive debt that I had no idea how to manage. So I got one of those dead-end jobs and paid off my debt, while realizing that what I was going to school for was not only impractical, but something I didn't really want to do. I may have sacrificed some social development and connections, but that didn't stop me from building more outside of school.

Now I can go back to school with far more financial assistance (and I graduated high school with honors and a 3.8 GPA that got me a bunch of scholarships, but it wasn't nearly enough) and a clearer sense of purpose. I live with my brother and his wife and daughter (or they live with me, since I pay most of the bills) while he goes to school. It took him years to figure out what he cared about and was interested in doing, and he's going to a pretty good college without having to pay that much. Once he's graduated and settled into a job, it's my turn.

[Emong]

^ I can agree with the thought of having realistic goals. Generic ideals like finding out who you are, establishing social connections, exploring your interests and so on are great but there's no guarantee something will come out of it. I feel priviledged to live in a country with free higher education so I don't have to worry about massive debts piling up for me. But nonetheless I had to make certain choices regarding my degree and minors because I don't want to end up graduating without any chance of finding a suitable job.

Bottom line: feel free to explore but don't do it aimlessly.

[MycathatesyouAMV]

Welp, there goes my good source of transportation and my good mood. Car accident last night, a truck hit me at 30 mph:

Spoiler :