“Why are you even bothering to go to college? Seriously.” “There’s a party tonight. You have to be there.” One of the obstacles to academic achievement that I face on a regular basis is a lack of support in some areas of my life. Actually, sometimes it isn’t a lack of support that is the problem, but more a pervasive attitude that education isn’t that important or is a waste of time. My coworkers are happy working in retail forever, and good for them, yet seem resentful that I have made my education a priority. At times they seem bound and determined to lure me off track with invitations to parties during exam week or offers of promotions if I cut my course load. At school, many of the students in my community college courses don’t seem to
The financial aspect of going to college can weigh on someone very much. Sometimes, to the point that some choose not to go to college for fear of cost alone. Not to mention the cost of books and other class required material.
Throughout high school, students are told over and over how they need to go to college. Some students decide to go to college and some don’t. I will be honest, I didn’t want to attend college at all after high school. Mostly because I didn’t like school, and I was tired of hearing everyone tell me I needed to go, so I rebelled and didn’t enroll in any college. I didn’t understand the importance of a college degree at that time. After getting married in 2013, I began to realize what a mistake I made. We struggle from day-to-day, because I don’t make enough at my job. I can’t move higher up in the “career ladder”, because I didn’t take the opportunity to earn a degree.
In a May 2003 persuasive article published by USA Today titled “College isn’t for Everyone”, the author W.J. Reeves states “about 15 million people in America are enrolled in college.” This is a staggering amount considering the fact that many people are in college for all the wrong reasons. About half of the Americans enrolled in college are there because they feel they owe it to their families. Only a small number of Americans in college actually feel it is necessary for successful lives. In this article, Reeves recollects on his experiences as a college English professor at an institution in New York. He speaks of how he believes that many students truly do not want to be in college. You can tell this by his stories of tardiness,
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, of the students seeking a bachelor's degree at a four-year university, on average, only 59% of them graduate within six years. It is unfortunate to note that even with the extra two years, students still struggle to persist through graduation, due to numerous hindering factors. Hence, the issue of college success now lies within the central realm of scholarly research, with numerous scholars applying previously known psychological theories to education, including Kurt Lewin’s force-field analysis model, Abraham Maslow’s need reduction theory for motivation, and the self-efficacy and attribution theories. Together, these theories have provided a framework to discover
From a very early age, I always assumed it was a part of my future to pursue an education. The American educational system engraves the importance of school at a very young age. Elementary school children are motivated through rewards when they try their hardest to reach their goals. Students are exposed to statistics and facts outlining the consequences of not getting a college degree as soon as they reach middle school. High school counselors and staff make it their priority to ensure that students apply to college. Students are conditioned to believe that education is the building block to a successful future. My cultural upbringing did not support my choice to pursue an education, however, I refused to conform to my family’s behavioral expectations because certain norms must be challenged due to progressive time periods and conflicting values.
Some people may argue that the main reason people go to college is not because they want to but because they “have” to. Could this be parents forcing their children out the door every day to college? Although many people dropout before graduating high school, there are a lot of high school seniors that persuaded or otherwise “peer pressured” by guidance counselors and parental guardians to attend college because it’s merely rightful. In “College Isn’t for Everyone,” W.J. Reeves argues that the concept of student and educator apathy is central to the issue of a four-year education not being a viable option for students, and open admissions
I have been extremely fortunate to avoid many hardships. However I have faced a financially barrier, especially as I have set the goal to finance college without loans. My family is not poor, but we do not have enough money to put two women through university. I have taken the initiative to surpass this barrier by working and applying for scholarships. I started by attending community college first as it is less expensive. I quickly realized that the lower tuition was not enough and took a job at a grocery store deli. Most of my income has been placed into my savings. I have saved up a decent sum of money, but will still need help to pay for college. Now I am applying for as many scholarships as humanly possible. I have received scholarships
Where does one go to college, to further their academic education, while also having qualifications, time, and money restricting them? The simple answer to this question is Community College. Individuals regularly struggle to attend college, either after high school or later in life, because of the difficulties of attending major universities. Therefore, community college is crucial, to people of all ages, wanting to further their education.
It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.
Students from all over the United States are told all through their life that they need to attend college if they ever want to be successful, however, this is far from the truth. Often schools are culprits for driving students to attend money driven colleges, in other cases it is family. While schools all too often make the push on students to continue their schooling, parents can cause the same situation, as they may not have a degree and be working a low-paying factory job. Now kids already don’t want to be like their parents when they get older, so seeing them suffer in poverty or barely above the poverty line can cause some dissatisfaction, further seeking a degree to live a life that they never got. What many
There are many obstacles in life but in college there is specific things that can prevent you from reaching your goal. Time is the biggest issue with a lot of people that go to college. Money is another issue that makes college a difficult obstacle to reach. Last but not least decision making is a huge obstacle to face in college. Obstacles may be difficult but it’s not impossible to achieve.
I am a senior in high school and I am learning what I want to do with my life and what college I want to go to and how I apply for it. The major that I want to go into is Registered Nursing which is a good thing to know going into college and if that college has it which mine does offer. I am about to explain the steps to get in the college of Stephen F. Austin (SFA). The steps are the application process, housing, and then the financial Aid package. It is very important to do all of the steps as early as possible because if you do not, there might not be a spot open for you when you are ready to apply for college.
Commuting to college is rough. Not only do I have to wake up extra early so I have time to drive up to college and walk across campus to my class. But a lot of the time I get stuck behind slow people to where I barely get to class on time. Four times I have got there just in time, so close to where I rode the elevator with my professor. One more second and I would have been late. I also can’t go to clubs easily; I either have to stay up at college all day or waste money driving back home for a few hours then drive back. If I do decide to go to a meeting a have to drive home in the dark being blinded my lights. If there is an event on the weekend I would have to spend even more money I don’t have to spend on gas. However, living at home is still
Yet still take the initiative every day to get up and work on school work and for some of the millions of students go into a campus! But what truly drives a college student to want to learn? Is it the need for a batter paying job? Is it to benefit your family? Or to maybe just tell yourself “ Hey I did this!” I think it could be all three but when it comes to most high school students getting overwhelmed with the things that are going on in their home lives and bring it to school when they should be paying attention. “High schoolers dropping out can be attributable to the social climate, particularly those elements dealing with student participation and the severity of the problem environment.” (Pittman, Haughwout, December 1987) As we age we realize that college is going to be required of us at some point so why not do it now. We as college students psych ourselves up for this awesome experience, to find that it is stressful and way harder than we thought college was going to be, we learned in high school. So, we go into everything blind thinking one way to find that it is another. But no matter what gets in some of our way we keep going knocking out one class at a
Working college students can also suffer outside of classes and the workplace. For example my schedule illustrates the conflicts of trying to take on too many duties. Since I work nights during the week, the weekends are a more convenient time that I can study. Because I have to use my weekends to do school work, I can’t do other things. My apartment is a mess since I have no time to clean it. Worse, my girlfriend is threatening to leave me because I have no social life. We never even go out like we once used to now when she comes over, I am too busy studying. However the rewards of earning a college degree in this economy can be the difference between having