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In today’s society, many young adults are struggling with obtaining what they consider an important goal to achieve-finishing college and obtaining a degree. Whether it be for a brighter future, to satisfy pressing parents, or to reach one’s goals, college is a part of life that has become increasingly necessary. But is it really necessary to go through a four year struggle just to have years worth of debt and no guarantee of a job? In today’s tight job market and competitive society, attending a traditional four-year college is no longer a required next step for students looking for success.

A serious problem that many people experience after they finish their college education is that they often times end up in tens of thousands of dollars worth of student debt that plague them throughout their adult life. As research has shown, within a five year span, the amount of student debt owed has surpassed the amount of credit card debt Americans owe.

As the numbers from 2009 to 2014 has gone up, many americans are now living in a high stress environment where they have to worry about both their jobs and they amount of debt they have to pay off. These debts aren’t small amounts either, and these large amounts or debts are staggering with “more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding student loan debt, 40 million borrowers, an average balance of $29,000”(Holland). Due to recent research these debts that current millennials have to deal with will oftentimes push young adults to live at home with their parents for a longer period of time.

According to the Pew Research center

As of 2016, 15% of 25- to 35-year-old Millennials were living in their parents’ home. This is 5 percentage points higher than the share of Generation Xers who lived in their parents’ home in 2000 when they were the same age (10%), and n early double the share of the Silent Generation who lived at home in 1964 (8%).

Not only do students stay at home for a longer period of times. These jobs and debts are also pressuring these adults to push back an important life decision in life, marriage. What does student debt have to do with marriage? “For young adults with bachelor’s degrees (and in many cases, student debt) that can mean delaying marriage and childbearing” (Berman).

Marriage often times gets pushed back when individuals have debts on them because they don’t want the significant other to take over and help pay the debt when you get married you want to provide a good life and also have to be financially stable to support the other half living with you. Going to college is also a high risk gamble. For instance students pay all the tuition needed for the textbooks and classes but can anyone really guarantee that the student will actually graduate from college and end up with the degree they’ve worked for ? Research has shown that throughout the years, “Less than 60 percent of full-time students who are enrolled in college for the first time graduate within six years”(Paquette). There are multiple factors as to why students aren’t graduating on time as according to a report done by Complete College America

There are mainly 5 factors on why students take so long to graduate and come out with their degree. One being that students are taking and spending too much money on useless courses, because unlike high school where students have counselors to guide them and let them know what courses to select. College lacks academic advisors, and with no one to tell the students what courses are truly required oftentimes “The average grad with a bachelor’s degree ends up earning 134 credits, when 120 credits is sufficient”(O’Shaughnessy). As the report also shows that these reasons also affect why students aren’t graduating

Courses aren’t available- Thirty-three percent of students said they had not gotten into classes they wanted to take.

Students don’t take full loads- Most full-time students do not take 15 hours of classes a semester, which automatically puts them on a five or six-year track.

Switching schools. Sixty percent of bachelor’s degree recipients change colleges, and nearly half of them lose some or all of their credits because of poor transfer policies.

Remedial-course delay- Each year, 1.7 million students start their freshman year of college by taking remedial classes for no credit, including more than half of two-year students.

Furthermore, Graduating with a degree is not going to guarantee you a job. What many employers in today’s society is looking for is hand on experience, and this is exactly what college graduates lack the most. Having an hands on experience and working is just as equally important as a degree to an employer. As according to a Northwestern’s University study that was part of California states review “By 1993, 93 percent of interns in work-study programs were offered jobs by their employers”(Life). The reason why work experience is so important is that working in your field of interest can teach students many valuable lessons. For example it gives students the ability to have a feel in what it’s like to work in the environment of their field of interest, while at the same time allows students to evaluate themselves in their strengths and weaknesses. As said by Oklahoma City plastic surgeon Dr. Tim Love “Whether it is a paid or volunteer status, this involvement [in your desired field] will increase [your] confidence and savvy while exhibiting dedication and responsibility”.(Life).

With the society now changing not everyone can afford the costs of going to a regular college or university. With that being said, there are alternatives other than going to a traditional college. Going to a trade school will offer these young adults a better future by learning required skills that people will always need,therefore there is no worries about having a hard time finding a job after graduating Trade school. Due to the rapid increase cost of tuition “The cost of college increased by 260% from 1980 to 2014”(Jackson). Attending a trade school would also be financially cheaper than going to a traditional four year university. The enrollment rate for trade schools “has jumped dramatically during the recession, to nearly 1.8 million students from about 365,000 ‘in the last several years, according to the Government Accountability Office” (Smith). Unlike traditional colleges with trades school teaching students essential skills in their desired field, and skills that will also never go away it will prevent students from spending unnecessary money for other courses that they aren’t required to take.

As the times has changed in the 21st century, in today’s society a traditional four year college is not needed for future success. There are plenty of other options that are available and most of the times provide a better future for some people in life. In conclusion college is a high risk factor that is students don’t finish college they will incur in debt that will stick with you for more than 20 years after you leave school. Universities and colleges often times will hinder students opportunity to earn income, there are plenty of examples of successful people who made a legacy and change in society without obtaining a college degree.

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