What You Should Consider Before Going To College

Oh the things I wish I had considered before going to college. Technical school, opening my own business, figuring out exactly what I wanted major in; the list goes on and on. To be quite honest though, the biggest thing I wish I’d considered in my pre-college decision making was if college was even right for me in the first place.

Most of you out there are probably like I was and have been so inundated with the idea of having to go to college to be successful, that it almost doesn’t seem like a decision at all -- more like a necessity.

Half-way through my college career, however, I began to feel like I might could have done without. But by that time I was so far in that stopping and moving on would not only feel like a failure to me, but to my family as well. It would turn into a wasted investment of both time and money -- and I didn’t want that to happen, so I stayed.

Am I glad now that I continued on and got my degree? Yes! But I feel as though, especially considering the direction I am
going with my life, that I may have been right and been just as well without. I might not have felt that way if I had went to school for what I am now passionate about, however. A degree in those fields would be much more relevant, but my Bachelors of Science in Business feels a little unneeded.

A young Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Kevin Rose, Mark Zuckerberg...and the list goes on of people that have gone on to be some of the most successful on the Internet landscape and yet, they never finished college. With this said, many may look at this and say, “Well, what do I need college for then? I might as well not even go”. But don’t let yourself fall prey to this type of thinking. You have to remember that even though these guys did drop out of college, they all still made the decision to go to college in the first place. We aren’t all going to spark a genius idea on how to make a better computer or revolutionize how people socialize in the modern world. The reason I think these guys didn’t go the collegiate distance is because they were struck with such an idea that it just couldn’t wait for them to finish. If they did not capitalize on their ideas at the exact moment they had them, someone else would create a similar product that would. I feel college, in itself, was a minuet factor in their departures, and that pursuing a relevant, untapped, money-making opportunity was more of the culprit in their decisions.

Now, where does that leave us? Would I want to trade my college memories for something else? Of course not! But I would like to trade my degree for something more relevant in where I believe my life is headed. In other words, don’t let people push you in a direction where they think you ought to go. Make up your own mind and decide for yourself what you want to do with your life. If that requires you to go to college in order to accomplish it -- great! If not, it's not the end of the world.

Lastly, if you’re seriously thinking about going to college, but are having a few second thoughts; my best advice to you is "Go"! If you are somehow struck with an idea for the new Facebook (or just decide to do something different), you can always drop out and pursue it when the moment arrives.

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