I have to get this off my chest, I’m a pretty decent student and am currently a junior in HS with a 3.66 GPA, haven’t taken the act or sat yet but my PACT and PSAT scores were 27 and 1290 cumulative. I know that i’m certainly not a great student by any stretch of the imagination but i’m really not that bad ether. I know that there would be a wide selection of colleges I could probably get into but… I don’t really think I want to go, at least not right away. Ya know iv’e thought about where I see my self in 5 years every once in a while and for the past year I can in all honesty say Iv’e almost never seen myself in college. I just don’t think that if I cant say with absolute certainty that I have a want and desire to go that I even should. Iv’e talked to my parents and guidance counselor about this and they both basically told me that its okay to be unsure but I really should go anyway, but what i’m worried about is that I do go and I flunk out because I had no real desire to be there in the first place and then i’m out tens of thousands of dollars! So what to you guys think?
Maybe a good plan would be working part-time and attending community college for the first semester?
you can always choose to take a gap year and see how you like it. i, myself, took a gap year (not for the reason you would be taking yours, but i still did), and it’s been a good experience. it’s helped to really solidify my want to go away to college and be my own person.
What are your interests? What type of career do you envision and how does that get started within 5 yrs? There’s nothing wrong with taking a gap year, going to community college to knock out some gen ed requirements , or not even going to college at all. Are you interested in a trade? There are plenty of trade schools that will teach you a craft and provide a certificate demonstrating a level of expertise. You can make a good living in the trades, although it’s generally physical work that requires you to stay fit and healthy.
At your age, it’s hard to know the answers to these questions. Some others to ponder are:
- What about college is turning you off?
- Is it really a lack of interest or fear of the unknown (very common)?
- What is your favorite subject in school and is there a career associated to that interest?
If over the next six months or so you still feel this way, I recommend getting a job and taking some classes at a CC after you graduate HS. College is expensive and it is NOT for everyone. Just understand that, long term, there are many benefits, regardless of major, to having a college degree. You’ll earn more over your lifetime. There will be way more jobs and careers open to you just by having a degree. There are MANY decent entry level jobs that lead to solid careers that will only have interest in speaking with a college graduate. May not be fair, but it’s reality.
If you decide to forego college in a year, you can always come back to it. Happens all the time. However, from a practical standpoint, it gets harder to complete the longer you stay away. “Life Happens” and you get busy with the now and it becomes harder to change course. I have friends with kids (adults) in your situation that are 25 - 30 and still haven’t finished a degree. They take classes but can’t go at it full time because they have to work to support themselves. These are the realities of their decisions. Just think through it all.
Don’t knock yourself. You sound like a very good student. Your intellectual/academic abilities won’t be any sort of barrier to your future success. So feel good about that.
And you are asking an important question. College does cost a lot of money, especially if it isn’t where you are now, which is okay. There are many paths. Many good jobs don’t require college, if some are good fits for your interests and skills. In general, though, a college degree is essential or important to many, many jobs/careers. Not pursuing a degree can close lots of routes.
Here’s one out-of-the-box idea: go work in a national park–like the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Crater Lake, or Acadia–for a gap year, or part of one (some are only seasonal). There are many jobs (hotels, restaurants, shops) in many of the parks. These are run by concessionaires like Delaware North and Xanterra, who staff these jobs. You can check their websites for openings. At many parks, they provide subsidized housing and food, so it is not completely like jumping into an adult world of rent, utilities, etc. Larger parks have fairly large employee communities with diverse populations, including young people. You might be able to save some money. And being in nature is great. We probably don’t get enough of that. It might help you figure out what you want, and who you are. I definitely understand your parents concerns and know it comes from a place of love and caring. It might help if you and your family considers how fast a year goes by. Maybe you could reassure them that you will attend college the next year or at least consider it very, very seriously. As noted above, it is true that a young adult can very quickly outgrow the younger people with whom they’d be attending school, and it can become a barrier.
Sidenote: Living and working in another state may make you eligible/ineligible for in-state tuition in that state and your home state. You’d have to check the rules for those states and schools. For example, working at the south rim of the Grand Canyon for an extended period might make you eligible for AZ in-state tuition (I love Northern Arizona U. in Flagstaff a cool Rocky Mountain town), if that’s a positive or a negative, but it might also affect your home state eligibility.
If you do do any sort of gap year, it would be good to consult with your family and your gc about the pros and cons of applying while in school v. applying from wherever you are after high school. Good luck!
^^^ the parks is a really good idea and a great way to see the country!
I agree. Great idea from @TTG
If you have major doubts, taking some time before starting college is a good idea. Our older son, despite being a National Merit Semifinalist and having a stellar SAT score, had doubts that he didn’t share with us. The counselors he talked to convinced him to go even though he didn’t think it was a good idea. As a result, he failed most of his classes and doesn’t want to go back. Currently he’s looking for ways to support himself so he can move out and live on his own.
You have to want to go, or you will not succeed. Presumably, your parents will expect you to get a job if you aren’t in college. A year of manual labor usually ends with the young person being quite ready to move on with his or her education, or at least get serious about learning a skilled trade.
Let me start by saying that our colleges are filled with students that don’t want to be there. Our generation was told that we have to send our kids to college. Look at the statistics of college grads that can’t find a job in their field of study. I work with a 25 year old with two Masters Degrees and six figures in debt, making $36,000/year.
My youngest son was a National Merit Semifinalist, had a 34 on his ACT and accepted a four year scholarship at large State University. He did not do well his Freshman year despite his older brother as his suite mate. He realized he did not want to sit at a desk nor be a Mechanical Engineer. He came home after his Freshman year. He attended Trade School for CNC Machining. There is such a high demand for this skill set! Five years after finishing his One year CNC program, he makes more money than many of his peers and has NO DEBT! He works three 12 hour days (first shift) and gets paid for 40 hours.
If you are not certain you want to go to college after HS, consider the Trades.
Our motto with our three sons was: “Find something you loved to do. Then figure out how to make a living doing that thing you love.”
If you decide you are going to take time off, I would still think about applying to college and deferring the acceptances. Its easier to apply when still in high school. At a minimum, I would ask your teachers to write recommendations to be kept on file. 2 or three years after you have taken a course with them it will be difficult for them to remember you well enough to write a good recommendation.
As others have pointed out, the biggest question is, “What do you want to do?” (career/job)
From that you can figure out if you need college or if it’s worth it or not.
There’s nothing wrong with going to college straight from high school as a default IF it’s affordable and at least somewhat desirable. Many, many students figure out what the want to do there, not before. If those don’t fit your situation (and it seems they don’t), then figure out what you do want to be doing in 5 or 10 years and work backward to see when/if college fits in.
I’d suggest shadowing some jobs if possible to see how much they appeal to you. This is a requirement for kids at the school I work at and has been awesome at giving kids more of a feel for what they might want - or not want - to do. Those they shadow are usually quite honest with what it takes to reach their position.
The college application process is a long one – spring and summer of junior year making a list, fall of senior year doing applications, spring of senior year making a choice.
Since you don’t have any alternative plans yet, I would recommend that you go through the process to keep your options open –
(1) Over the course of the next year you could change your mind, and it’s good to keep options besides community college open until the last minute. Have you visited any campuses? It’s good to ask colleges how they handle advising for undecided students. Some are better at helping uncertain kids explore their interests and figure out what they want, some take the attitude that there’s no handholding here and leave it up to you to figure out what you want and go for it.
(2) It’s easier to collect the things you need for college applications while in high school – if you ask for your letters of recommendation now, you’ll have contacts that you can use for the next couple of years. If you write a college essay while you have teachers to show it to, you’ll learn how to do it when you’re on your own applying after a gap year.
(3) Many colleges (but not as many big state universities) will be happy to hold your acceptance for a gap year, so you may not have to reapply if you only take one year off.
I’m also curious about the reasons you have for not wanting to apply to college. A lot of times kids are afraid of change. Things are going to change whether you want them to or not. Your high school is probably a huge part of your life. Any activities and teams you participate in are going to end after senior year. Your school friends are going to scatter off to colleges, jobs, maybe the military. It’s important to realize that you need a plan of some sort for the next stage of your life even if it isn’t college. Just keeping everything the same will not usually be an option.
If you still don’t feel uninterested in college in February of senior year, that’s one thing. But as a junior, it’s really too soon to decide not to go to college.
^^ Absolutely.
Hedge your bets. Apply, find schools that might suit you.
You certainly don’t have to accept their acceptances. But don’t make any rash choices now that would limit your options later.
How can people advise you when you don’t bother listing what your alternatives are?
Not enough information to enable one to make reasonable suggestions.
What do you like to do ?
You’ve spoken about how you don’ t think you want to go to college. Let me reassure you: that’s fine. Not everyone can, or should, go to college.
But let us know a bit more. For example: your 5 year vision doesn’t include college. What about your 10 year vision… where do you see yourself in 10 years? What do you see yourself doing? I’m not asking for a commitment-- neither are your parents or your guidance counselor. But if you had to pick 2 or 3 scenarios, what would you see yourself doing at age 26 or so?
That answer needs to be a part of any discussion on whether or not to attend college. If you want a job, say in retail, that you come and go from each day and then begin to do what you want when you get home, then college may be optional. If you see yourself in a trade, say as a mechanic, then additional education will be necessary, though it may or may not take place in a college (as opposed to a trade school)
I think that may be where you want to focus your attention between now and the fall. Sure, hedge your bets: take the May SAT, get the teacher recommendations and so on, just in case college is the path you eventually choose. But start to find a focus, a direction, that will make you happy.