<p>Let me put it this way: given the subset of people who qualify to attend college and have the means to do so, who should not go to college?</p>
<p>In my case, I'm trying to understand why I thought that going to college was a good idea.</p>
<p>I mean, I know people who went to community colleges (as opposed to 4-year colleges), studied subjects like CAD or graphic design, and now they have it better than I do. I don't mean this in a "woe-is-me" kind of way; I'm simply making an observation. I know a guy who became a firefighter, I know another guy who dropped out of high school and has been working as an used car salesman, I know a girl who became a hairdresser, and they make more money than I make and enjoy a similar standard of living.</p>
<p>I, on the other hand, was one of those guys who thought that nine out of every ten people who didn't go to college failed at life, so I went to college and graduated from college only to find myself stuck in a cubicle in a highly stressful environment where I perform the same tasks day in and day out.</p>
<p>Given the way I ended up, would I have been better off attending a 2-year community college? Would I have been happier making 3D graphics instead of doing what I do? I hate to say it, but yeah, I think so.</p>
<p>If you google value of a college degree, you'll find that a lot of people are disputing the same thing talking about the high costs of college. But still, that value is still discussed only in terms of money and college is about more than that.</p>
<p>Did you have a good time during college? Hopefully you didn't go for the sole purpose of devoting all your time toward getting a nice paying job.</p>
<p>In all seriousness, I would agree that if you don't know why you're going to college, you need to take a closer look at what you're doing. I think this goes for pretty much everything in life.</p>
<p>I disagree with you, oldelecdude. Students should think about what they want and then decide whether they can achieve their goals or get closer to achieving their goals in college. You don't have to go to college for the two reasons you mentioned.</p>
<p>I should clarify, if you don't have a specific goal in mind, then reason 1 applies. If you are coming out of high school, and know you want to be a welder or something, then college might not be a good idea</p>
<p>People who are very driven, focused, self motivated, etc. who know that they can achieve their goals without going to college and don't want to go to college, should not go to college.</p>
<p>I think everyone's being a little narrowminded or sarcastic -</p>
<p>There is a reason why vocational colleges should be promoted more, and that's because it provides good career opportunities for those willing to train in things that apprenticeship usually handles. Not all people are cut out for studying at universities, but they can be really good at handling and being professional at the basic needs that people need. </p>
<p>Seriously, does everyone really live that much in their own bubble? Not everyone goes to universities, and there's a myriad of reasons to do such a thing like that. It's definitely not something to look down on if they are actually contributing to society and doing a skilled job, even if it isn't something that doesn't require a bachelor's or graduates'.</p>