The reality that most high school seniors are faced with are life-determining questions: Is college worth it? What kind of job will I have in 10 years if I go to college, or if I don’t? We have to answer these questions for ourselves depending on our own interests and future wants.
For most people, college is the natural progression, but for some, college is the more difficult choice. Only 70 percent of high school graduates go on to college, and only 58 percent receive their diploma. Students in the United States are $1.5 trillion in debt from college tuition. On average, it takes 21 years for an individual to pay back student loans. Most won’t be finished paying for college until after their 40th birthday.
Although it’s easier to stay within support systems and comfort zones, forego the debt, and get on to making money, it is important that every student in America receive the best education and obtain the many values that going to college has to offer.
College is the best way to discover things that we’re truly passionate about and to secure the financial and career benefits that can only be gained through a college experience. There are approximately 20 million college students at 5,300 different schools in the United States. With more than1,800 majors, undergraduates have almost limitless opportunity.
Discover things we’re passionate about. Compared to universities, students in high school have very limited academic opportunities. Most of us can’t even imagine the areas of study that are available as we complete our core competency classes and move on to electives. These discoveries allow us to fulfill who we want to become.
For example, one-third of college students working for their bachelor’s degrees change their major at least once. If you think about it, that’s not a negative statistic — it’s evidence that students are encountering new fields of study, learning about their strengths and acting on the opportunities discovered.
Many financial and career benefits. On average, college graduates make $1 million more than non-graduates over their lifetime. That’s 56 percent more in your yearly paycheck. Keeping it simple: If you can make $40,000 without a degree, that seems pretty good to an 18-year-old. When you get out of college, assuming the 56 percent average puts you over $62,000, that’s a difference of $1,000/month.
Students can research majors by anticipated starting salaries and improve their chances of starting salaries of well over $62,000. In 2016, Business Insider listed 25 majors with starting salaries over $62,000. The most profitable were petroleum engineering, physician assistant, computer science and mining engineering, with top starting salaries all over $70,000 and median mid-career pay at over $103,000.
Student loan repayment may be heavy, but the amount you’d earn in the long run has proven to be significantly greater. The future of Hawaii depends on our financial success, and going to college is the best way to achieve that.
There are resources designed to help us succeed. Programs like the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders have classes and conferences to help students develop and become part of the solution, to keep changing the paradigm.
Although the upfront costs of college are daunting, if we apply ourselves and study a major that has the potential for a top starting salary, then all students can have some assurance that the investment is worth it.
Jett Kaler is a student at McKinley High School, class of 2019.
