Would it surprise you that it would take the average physician 35 years to catch up to a UPS driver’s total income after high school?

   Yes, that’s correct.

   In an analytic study done by Kevin Pezzi, if the average UPS driver worked as long hours as physicians do throughout medical school, residency, and their regular hours, and started investing getting a 7% ROI, (stock market average), they would be better off financially than the average physician until 53!

   The obvious reason? The ridiculous, mind blowing, cost of college for present day high school kids. The total student loan debt in the US is greater than Spain’s GPD, roughly $1.45 trillion and has grown over 600% since 1980. With the rapid increase in college price, many high schoolers should take a step back and truly consider if college is right for them. College, for most, is a key foundation for their success in the workforce, but it is not a necessary path for students to succeed, learn, and enjoy their life.

   College seems to be the “end all be all,” for many high schoolers today; a magical place that grants you a piece of paper, that will lead you on your craved out road to success and money. Because of the increase demand of higher education, more people are enrolling, pricing the cost, and now making job markets more competitive. Is this a bad thing? Well no, the higher education of America is one its greatest values.

   College, for most, is a great investment and gives students the knowledge to pursue passions, while making them marketable with their shiny diploma. The average ROI for a college degree is about 15%, but this is based many factors. Yes, college graduates are better off than those who don’t attend college, but college is not the only option.

   Today, the idea college is rammed down children’s throats at ages they still have to walk hand in hand in the hallway. I remember sitting in Ms. Leland’s 4th grade class, asking why I had to read about Lewis and Clarke if I want to be a news reporter.

   She explained I had to first graduate high school and then college, and to do that, I had to read about Lewis and Clarke. You probably heard it thousands of times: “Get good grades, get into a good college, get a good job.”

   This seems to be a common conception to today’s society, and there are many reasons why we shouldn’t teach our children this. First, as stated before, why is college the only option?

   A family friend of mine, had a horrible time in school, hated it, barely passed high school, and decided college wasn’t for him. He ended up learning a trade, for free, and started his own roofing company and has $0 in student debt. Good for you, Dave!

   Secondly, why must you go to a “good” school for $60K a year, when you can go to community college for free and then transfer? I see this a lot within my own school, kids being stunned for not going to “Big name schools.”

    Community college is seen as stupid and idiotic. It is an opportunity and financial the smart decision. Kids think that a well paying job is waiting for them on a silver platter just because of their piece of paper. As stated before, the job market is extremely competitive because of so many enrolling in college. Many students will soon find out the hard truth while their chain of student debt continues to collect interest. Too many students are throwing away thousands of dollars to rich college admissions and leaving with massive debt and no job. At the end of the day, Mr. Rich Owner of your college doesn’t care if you graduate or do well; they want your money.

   In 2015, our Federal Government spent around sixty nine billion to subsidize the cost of college and over one hundred billion in student loans. Yet in public schools, tuition costs the students of America 62.6 Billion.

  Our Federal Government could make public education better and almost free, yet they issues of piles on piles of money to colleges and kids; making the government and college admissions richer. Tuition cost will continue to rise if our government keeps handing colleges money; colleges inefficiently use the money government gives them because it isn’t on their budget.

   Colleges continue to raise their price because they understand their good is a relatively inelastic, on top of government paying their cost.

   Simply, colleges’ cost will go up when they have more disposable money to spend. So not only is the government spending your money to subsidize college, the price is now unbelievable high leaving many slaves to debt for the rest of their lives.

    So is college worth the cost? It depends. What you plan to do? What you make of it? If you can afford a great school, know your goals as a student, and put in your best effort, yes college should work out. It should give you an advantage.

   College can be a great place to learn, find your passion, develop as a person, and yes, have fun. Yet, it is not your only choice. And never should be thought of as that.