This website has already discussed how student loan borrowers can face a number of issues after debt-financing their college educations. As a result, prospective college students need to make careful decisions about whether to go to college and what they should study once they are in college. However, going to college just for the college experience is sometimes appropriate, and college may be worth the cost even if you do not explicitly train for your future career as an undergraduate.
I did not understand the social and practical benefits of going to college just for the college experience as a student. While in college, I believed that attending school was all about learning information that might be useful in my future career. Since I was pretty sure I was headed to law school, I decided to take classes in history, politics, psychology, and other subjects that I thought would be useful (and in which I could get good grades). I also minored in economics, so that I could have a practical concentration that might come in handy in the future.
Looking back on my college experience, I now know that going to college just for the college experience might be worth it as well. For instance, college is a great way to learn how to interact with others who may have different viewpoints from your own. As an undergraduate, students typically meet people from a variety of different backgrounds, and this experience can give students valuable perspective and skills they need when meeting different people throughout their lives. My father did not graduate from college, and I think his lack of a college experience may have made it difficult for him to contend with people with different viewpoints or backgrounds. College can make you a more well-rounded person socially, and this is valuable to graduates in their careers.
Furthermore, college also serves as an important transition into adulthood. Before college, many people do not know how to live independently and take care of themselves. I might have had a leg up on my classmates on this front simply because I had been to summer camp for a number of years in my youth and this taught me how to be more self reliant. However, many of my classmates did not even know the basics of living on their own prior to attending college.
I remember hearing a story one time of a college student who arrived at his dorm unable to wash his own clothes! Apparently, this student put detergent and his dirty clothes in the dryer, and expected that this would clean his clothes. This example shows how going to college for the college experience can be important so that young adults learn how to take care of themselves before they enter the “real world.”
Moreover, attending college can be important because of the social connections that you make. In order to succeed in your personal and vocational life, you need to know the right people. Indeed, as the proprietor of my own business, I have seen firsthand how important it can be to rely on connections that were forged in college to generate business and solve problems.
In addition, the social connections people make in college can enrich them for the rest of their lives. People you meet in college may be guests at your wedding or social acquaintances for years to come. There is nothing like the crucible of college to create friendships, and this can be an important reason for going to college just for the college experience.
Furthermore, college is a great time to experiment and discover yourself. In college, people are encouraged to digest ideas that they have not previously encountered. This way, they can gauge which ideas they really believe and understand different perspectives. I remember in college, I had a hallmate my first year that insisted we all call him “chaos.” Everyone kind of thought this was weird, but we went along with it. By senior year, this person felt silly about the request regarding his name, but going to college just for the college experience helped him work out whatever caused him to go by this nickname in the first place.
Also, going to college just for the college experience can be important simply because college is a really fun time! College is the point in your life when you can cut loose in the prime of your youth with people who are of a similar age and in a similar environment. I am sure that everyone who attended college has fond memories of their experiences, even though this probably included late nights and days without much sleep.
Of course, young people who attend trade schools or do not pursue higher education at all likely have a good time in their young adult years. Yet, there is something about the college experience that makes attending a university as an undergraduate an especially enjoyable experience. People shouldn’t discount the fact that skipping college for practical reasons might still mean you have to sacrifice a lot of fun in your young adult years.
All told, college is expensive, and there may be a number of reasons to skip college or pursue higher education in a nontraditional way. However, going to college just for the college experience is critical for a number reasons, since college is important far beyond merely the knowledge you gain through academic pursuits as an undergraduate.