From the moment you graduated preschool to the final year of high school, everything happened in an instant. We’re all grown up and ready to create a career for ourselves. We’re ready to experience the college life.
Everyone hears about the dreadful and nerve-racking experiences of college. However, is it all true though? Right when you enter those double doors, you get a taste of adulthood. A life of independence filled with worries.
College is a huge stepping stone for everyone. It’s something completely out of your comfort zone. Getting a job, studying on a constant basis, trying to pass all your classes, those are huge factors always to consider. Especially, since college is an investment
College Life: A Teacher’s Perspective
Mr. Brian Long, an English teacher at Colonia High School, explains his perspective on college. One of the best experiences he had in college was getting the opportunity to be part of his college’s theater fraternity. In addition, he said, “I had the opportunity to work on some great shows and it helped me prepare for teaching by making me feel more comfortable in front of an audience.”
On the downside, college made him realize he needed to be more self-reliant. He became more organized and diligent about his work.
“Does college change you?” It definitely does. Mr. Long believes it gives people an opportunity to learn who you are, and “discover things you maybe didn’t know you enjoyed.” From his freshman year to his senior year, he gained more appreciation for education and better understood how to best teach in his future classes. “Do you think college is necessary?” Depends on the career you plan to pursue. Mr. Long said, “we all believe college is the end all, be all,” but sometimes it just boils down to hard work. College isn’t for everyone, but after you get that diploma, you need to know what you’ll do to make a better you.
If college is for you, first ask yourself, why you want to go there, and what you like about the school. Following basic life norms shouldn’t be a reason as to why you want to go to college. YOU should be the reason you go.
College Life: A Student’s Perspective
I recently had an interview with Malcolm Akinseye, a sophomore college student at Middlesex County College (MCC). He said college is stressful, and for many people who are considering of going there should “get ready to study.” While being a college student, Mr. Akinseye has considered the option of dropping out but hasn’t done so. He says, “everyone does, but I’m too far in, and I want to get a job in the field I am currently studying.”
Mr. Akinseye is a Computer Science major and with the variety of fields out there, he feels that majors that focus on the technical side, are much more important to any field out there. He also believes that college is important because, without a degree, no one will hire you.
In addition, once you enter college you will get an abundance of work. The only way to tackle them is to create time management. Mr. Akinseye says the way he does it is by creating a list on his phone. After he has done that, he completes one assignment at a time.
Is it really worth it?
Just hearing the word “college” is often horrifying. With the amount of student debt that accumulates after you graduate, no one even wants to consider the option of going to college. In the end, is it really worth it?
It all depends on the career you plan to pursue. Some degrees have a higher value in the job market than others. For example, a degree in Computer Science is more valuable than one who has an art degree. Majors that require more studying and more time in achieving are much more respected.
Moreover, Patrick Coveny, a senior at Colonia High School, mentioned that he will be planning to pursue a career in Journalism. One downside is that his parents are concerned about the fact that he won’t gain a good enough salary to thrive on, since being a journalist isn’t exactly a well paying job.
According to The Economist, harder subjects pay well in salary than others. Such as, a graduate who has a degree in engineering will probably earn 1.1 million dollars after 20 years. On the contrary, people who chose the arts and humanities field, will get a great salary depending on the the school you graduate from. “An arts degree from a rigorous school such as Columbia or the University of California, San Diego pays off handsomely.”
In the end it all really depends. The harder you work at being the best, the better it is for you.
