Why College Is Overhyped + The 3 Best Things You Can Do About It
College is overhyped. There I said it.
Don’t get me wrong – I graduated from school 6 years ago and now work a job in the music industry that I love. I met so many amazing people in my 4 years on a college campus. I had some great experiences there, and grew personally by leaps and bounds.
But like most of my classmates, I was tickled pink by the idea of landing my dream job (or even just a job in general) right out of school. And like so many others, it didn’t happen the way I expected, and no one prepared us for what to do when it didn’t. 
University brochures and course catalogs often read like self-help picture books: Look at all these happy, culturally diverse students! They want to be friends with you! We will give you direction! We will show you where to go, what to be and how to make it happen!
My friends and I all absorbed the message. We took out thousands of dollars in loans to support the American dream, and then stepped away with a diploma and a major sense of disillusionment. Your college professors may not have told you that it might be 4 years before you find a job in your field. And once you land that job, you may just be updating spreadsheets and doing coffee runs for the first year or two.
No one mentioned you might have to move into your parents basement because you can’t afford to live on your own. And maybe no one reminded you that unless you went to a state school or got a full scholarship, you will carry college debt into new cities and jobs, not to mention your marriage and the lives of your future children. The brochures don’t always give you the full story.
I say these things NOT to depress you! (Believe it or not.) I am here to offer comfort if this was your experience, and to give everyone else the heads up I wish someone had give me. You’re not alone!
I think college is still a great idea for a lot of people, not to mention it’s a necessity in many career fields. What I am saying is it’s important for us to appropriately set our expectations for what a college degree is and what it is not.
THE 3 BEST THINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN IT COMES TO COLLEGE:
1. Don’t worry about taking every class there is. Worry about getting (and staying) involved.
I do feel I was lucky in that I went into college without absolutely no idea of what I actually wanted to do. Being major-less is scary, but it also provides time to explore and try out a lot of things to find out what you’re most drawn to. Although I eventually landed on Communications, every job interview I’ve had since college has not asked me what classes I took or what my gpa was. But they have asked me about my cross cultural studies in China, the fundraisers I was a part of, and the traveling choir I joined. Yes, get good grades. But as equally important, GET INVOLVED. It’s truly your extracurriculars that translate in everyday life.
2. Be honest with yourself about what you can really afford.
This is the big Kahuna that I really wish someone would have gone over with me. I went to a small private college and got a great education, but I am now severely in debt in my adult life. My husband unfortunately, is in the same spot. If you can find a way to further your education without loans, HEAD IN THAT DIRECTION. If you take out loans, be honest with yourself. Are you an art major with no real plans on what you want to do post graduation? Okay, probably don’t take out $35,000 in debt. Yes you will get a job eventually, yes you can make payments. But a 15 year payment plan is not something you want to take into your future.
3. Don’t let your education stop post degree.
Probably the most important point of them all. You spend a couple years at college learning specific trades and skills. Awesome. But how you will actually grow in your career long term is through continued education. I don’t necessarily mean your Masters degree (although that may be a necessary step in certain fields.) Continue to stretch yourself, learn new technologies as they come out. Occasionally take free online courses and tutorials, and add what you’re learning to your resume as you go. Meet up and talk with people that have jobs that you’re interested in. Dont let your brain get stale. Don’t stop learning just because you got a piece of paper saying you’re done.
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What about you? If you’ve been through college, do you have any other tips for those who are in the midst of it? Do you totally disagree with me and wanna argue about it? 🙂 Lemme know in the comments!
The one quote all my friends hear me repeat over and over is, “Not all education revolves around a building.”
That being said, college can do you wonders, but it’s not as important as people make it out to be. As long as you continually apply yourself to learning and never quit growing, it’s amazing what you can accomplish (with or without that degree).
Your point #2 is HUGE! As an 18 year old kid, you typically have no idea what that hefty bill means for the next 10 or 20 years of your adult life (sometimes even longer). Based on college alone, at least half of the people I know in their 20s either moved back home or never moved out. And yet, we’re told we need it, so many people blindly follow.
To each their own. College can be an amazing time to discover who you are and who you want to be. However, whether it’s a community college or a 7 year plan, make sure you can afford it to some degree.
Enjoyed the post!
Mark
Mark, thank you so much for sharing and I completely agree with you. College is a gateway to a lot of knowledge and opportunity, but by no means is it the ONLY way. And to be honest, if someone had told me that back in high school, and really explained what it all meant for me financially, I might have made a different choice. Just want to make other people aware that there are always options!
Thanks so much for reading.
The best workers and mainstays we have had at my family’s company have been people little or no college education. We have let go so many managers with MBA’s and what have you, college education is not always necessary. Our highest up in the office only has a GED. Some people just have it, and some don’t. We shove college down people’s throats and it doesn’t even separate people as much as you’d think. College is quite literally a way to make the filter in a lot of jobs. Unless your job requires a license, you probably don’t need as much higher education as you think.
Dang, yes. That’s what I’m talking about! A degree doesn’t necessarily make a person any smarter or more talented than anyone else. If there’s anything I’ve learned in music, it’s that you legitimately just have to know the right people. No one cares what school you went to or what you majored in. But I guess if we hadn’t gone to college we would never know each other Charles!
I LOVE YOUR NEW TAGLINE. It’s amazing. Also, I seriously loved this post! As someone currently in college, I completely agree with you. The experience has been amazing but I’m already seeing the real world as a little more challenging than I’d originally anticipated.
acupoftay.com
Thank you so much Taylor! I’ve known I needed a tag line for a long time but it’s been hard to kick my lazy butt into gear. And YES, but definitely enjoy and take in everything about college before it’s gone it really is one of the funniest times of your life. And life after college is fun too.. just takes a little more work for opportunity to come your way. 😉