Is College For Me?

Planning your future is exciting, but you have to be prepared for things to not go as planned.

Before you start applying to schools, thinking about what program you want to pursue, or even considering a first, second, or third choice school, you need to figure out if college is the right next step for you.

Less than half the students who attend college will finish in six years or less. A third will drop out entirely. Before making the leap, try to figure out where you’ll land.

I was one of the lucky ones who graduated high school four months early.

After I finished school I continued to work part time at Subway, but had zero responsibilities otherwise. I was 18 and tired of my 11 pm curfew at my mom’s, so I packed my stuff and moved into my bio-dad’s house where there were no rules. For the first time in my life, I felt like I could do anything.

I still remember the exact moment that it hit me. I was driving down the highway, windows down, country music playing on the radio. It was April – eight years ago from the time I am writing this – the sky was clear, the sun shining brighter than ever. I looked out at the long stretch of road ahead of me and realized I could just keep driving if I wanted. I could drive until I reached another city, another state. There were endless possibilities on which road I could take and where I could end up.

At the time, I was debating whether or not to stick with my plan to head east to Virginia. While I knew I would love Hollins, the sense of freedom that washed over me that day made me wonder if college was the right choice for me. Should I continue going the direction everyone expects me to go? Or should I turn off onto a back road and blindly follow it and see where it takes me?

I decided to go down the road I was already on.

It was easier to stick with the plan than to veer off from it, so that’s what I did. Of course, there have been days when I question that decision. One choice can shift your entire life in one direction or another. After all the mistakes I have made in life it’s hard to not wish I had taken a different path. But when we make these big life altering decisions, we have to stick with them for better or worse, and follow them until we reach a crossroad or dead end.

Sometimes I wonder what my world would be like if I decided not to go to Virginia. I wonder if I would have gone to another school at another time. If I would have taken this long to finish my degree. Truthfully, I was not ready for college when I was 18. I wish I had waited, simply for the fact that I took out additional loans and wasted so much time and money on classes that I ended up dropping out of halfway through the semester. In retrospect, I wish someone had told me that it was okay to wait.

So this is me giving you permission to wait; you also have permission to go.

Here’s the funny thing: you really don’t need anyone’s permission to do what you want in life. But if you’re really stressing about whether or not it’s okay to defer enrollment, or to attend a school that your family isn’t so keen on, I am giving you permission to do it. I give you permission to do what makes you happy. Because at the end of the day, life is about your happiness. The only thing that really matters is whether or not you are happy with the choices you made in your life, and where those choices led.

Many of us are so terrified of following our dreams, of searching for what else might be out there, because we feel like we aren’t allowed to. But who’s to say we can’t do the things we dream of? Why shouldn’t you be able to make the decision to go to a school halfway across the country? Or yet, not go to college at all?

Parents and guidance counselors often urge us to go to college because it’s the “logical next step” for many high school graduates. But they can’t force you to apply or enroll in college if you don’t want to do it. You are the writer of your own story! You get to choose where your story goes. My story led me through many cities and multiple schools, and maybe yours will too. But the point is, you get to decide that.

Unsure if you’re ready to go to college?

Take this quiz to see if college is the right next step for you!