The mysterious four-year university
“What should I do after high-school?” a question asked by seniors all over the world each year. “should I work? Should I go to school? What school should I go to?” The unanswered questions that follow high school are numerous for many people. I graduated from high school just six months ago and underwent this big choice of what direction to take my life. I saw people all around me stressing for months, making check lists, pro/con lists, the whole nine yards trying to figure what they were going to do with their lives after they graduated.
Growing up I always thought that after high school you go to a big four-year university and get a degree. That’s what all the movies showed me, that’s what my elementary teachers told me, and that’s how I thought life was supposed to go. It wasn’t until my senior and junior year of high school until I realized there were many more options then just a four-year university. One could go into the military, go straight into the working force, go to a technical school, go to a community college, do online school, travel, do mission trips, continue an athletic career, start a business; the paths one could choose are unlimited. This made me wonder about four-year universities though, what was the hype? Why did I hear about them so much? What drove people to attend them? What made people choose four-year universities over other educational options? Could finding answers to questions like these help the next
For some students, the question of what to do after high school may be a burden to even contemplate as it approaches quicker and quicker. The pressure to continue another four (or more) years of education after high school can be overwhelming considering twelve years of schooling has already been completed; why go right back to school again? When’s break time? Some people are simply just not ready for college and they know it, or at least until after they have had a long break or have had some time to recollect themselves. Technically speaking college isn’t for everyone, nor is it necessarily needed for a career. Luckily today, there are many other options that potential career seeking beings can get a head start on such as community colleges and trade/vocational schools. These alternatives to a four year college are considered to be a good start on a job (and maybe even a career). The best benefits of these alternatives involve the cost of attending, the student environment, and the degrees offered.
While auditing courses for her own education and interest a professor realized that the students were relating to her as if she was a student. She was behaving as a student, asking questions, going regularly to class and doing the required readings and in turn the other students began sharing insights, gossip and opinions she would never hear as a professor. Rebekah Nathan (pseudonym assumed by the author, Cathy Small, for purposes of the book) recognized that “even after my fiftieth birthday, I could still be a student, and treated by other students as, more or less, a peer”(Nathan, 2005, para. 71). She decided use her sabbatical to study campus life through a student’s viewpoint, instead of the professor-student perspective.
Many have experienced an encounter as a young child where they are asked what they want to be when they grow up. Answering that question may be easy as a kid because your mind is filled with thoughts of being the unimaginable. As you grow much older, those ideas begin to depart from the mind and you are suddenly more aware of what is and what is not possible in this world. When beginning the most important years of high school, you stop and rethink your career choice numerous times, stressing on who and what you want to be. Many adults such as teachers, counselors, and parents will emphasize the importance of knowing where you want to be in the future during high school, sometimes even middle school. It became imperative that one chose their
When I graduated high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, all I knew is I was done with public school and could live my life as what I thought an adult was. My father and most of my family believed it was important for me to go to college, and get a kick start with my life. Though they weren’t wrong, I had no idea what I wanted to do and no discipline to do my studies to the full extent of my abilities.
One of the most important decisions in any teenager’s life is what they decide to do after high school, the choice is usually between college and deciding to get a job and start making money. Although the cost of education in America continues to rise, the benefits of a higher education are substantial and can be seen in the success of anyone who has a college degree.
Congratulations! You have finally finished high school, so what do you do now? Do you go off into the real world, or go to college? College is a huge investment, but is it really worth it? Well if you don’t have the proper education your life will most likely be more difficult than a college graduate. College is valuable and you should attend it.
Luckily, there are now many technical careers that do not require four years of schooling. Technical schools offer studies like nursing, dental hygienist, electrician, computer programmer, and many more. For this reason, it is not necessary for everyone to attend a four year university. There will always be a need for people to be plumbers, electricians, ect and people who already have the knowledge to do so would not benefit from going to college, and would more than likely enjoy doing something that they know rather than a job they are unhappy with. One article discusses the comparison in the financial situation of choosing a career. The author says that an art major earns lower than that of even a high school graduate, and the art major has more than likely also accumulated a significant amount of debt through schooling(Owen). So, why would you want to go to a four year university when you could have a higher income doing something that requires at half of that? Overall, there will always be jobs that do not require a college degree and we will always need people to do
As we begin to grow up and come to the end of our high school career we must start to begin to start thinking about what type of career we want to be in. It is very important that a person picks the right type of career for them. Otherwise you will be unhappy with what you are doing and will not enjoy it at all. I am not entirely sure what I want my career to be but I have a pretty good idea as to what type of job it will be. I would like to go into the field of a physical therapist and sports medicine, I fell I will enjoy this more than any other type of career just because I already have a lot of interest in it.
When students graduate from high school. They feel that they don 't need to pursue a four year college degree. High school graduates may feel happy with just a diploma. When students graduate also feel that it may be wasteful, and not expand their career choices and their financial outlook. High school graduates feel they have enough social skills to interact into today 's society. They may just settle for less.
One question that comes to mind when graduating high school is, “should I attend college?” For many graduates this question have a very obvious answer. A high school graduate may state that, “college is the best option if one is trying to get a higher level of education, and will help one compete for a higher paying job.” However, in my opinion most graduates do not consider the fact that going to college is a very big decision to make and that the schoolwork will not be easy. Going to college is not the best choice for every high school graduate because many students cannot handle college, colleges’ lower standards, and not all jobs require a college degree.
All high schoolers face the same daunting problem. What they are going to do with their lives. A choice made as an 18 year old, determines future paths for the rest of their lives. Recently the subject of going to college and getting a four year degree has become very controversial. HIgh school students are choosing other alternatives, such as trade school, community college, or even not getting any further education at all. However even with many other options, going to college and getting a bachelor's degree is valuable for everyone.
I just can’t believe there is only few more days of high school left. As the days are getting closer and closer, it's getting sad. I still remember the day I stepped into Maine East High School as a Freshman, at that time, all I wished for was to graduate from this school with good grades. High school was not the way I imagined, it is way different from what I thought and definitely different from Middle School. Freshman year was the “exploring/adventure” year, finding where each classes were, what activities/clubs were offered at this school and many more. Freshman year went quickly and then Sophomore year came up. Sophomore year was probably the least stressful year in high school but from Sophomore year my family and friends started asking me the scariest question “What are you doing after high school, which career?
Students who want a well-rounded education with a flexible degree. While four-year students are required to take a much broader range of courses than two-year vocational students, four-year students graduate with degrees that can be used for a wide spectrum of jobs in the real world.
To many high school students, college seems like a far away land, a mysterious place where everyone wants to be yet not many know how to get there. As children, our parents tell us how much time we have to think about college, and that it is too far down the line to think about. The truth is it is never too early to think about your future. I, like many people, put little thought into my future career and now am lost in an unfortunate mix of indecision and anxiety. Not knowing where you want to be in the future is a hard burden to bear. Many of us tend to find out that we only know what we do not want, not what we actually do want. Do we want to be poor? Absolutely not. Do we want a boring job? Of course we don’t. We all want our
All throughout school, students are ask what we want to be when we grow up. Many of us know or have a pretty good idea, but others have no clue what they want to pursue as a career in life, whether it be furthering their education at a university or attending a technical school. There are other students that plan to start work right out of high school. Either way we all have a plan, and the purpose of this paper is to inform you of mine. I personally struggle in making big decisions like deciding what to do with my life, but then I realized I have been asking myself the wrong questions. Instead of asking what I want to be when I grow up, I asked myself what do I want out of life? what are some of my goals that I wish to achieve? This led