Why Go to College?
Life is full of choices, and you’ve already made an important one: to attend college and further your education. Now that you’ve made this choice, ask yourself a basic question: Why are you here? All students have their own reasons for going to school, whether it’s training for a specific occupation, pursuing a love of learning, or searching for their life’s purpose. You may not even be sure why you’re here, other than to give yourself a chance for a better life.
No matter what your reasons, it’s crucial to understand one thing: By pursuing your education, you’re making a smart investment in your future. Half a century ago, fewer than 50 percent of adults in the United States had a high school diploma.2 Today, that number has risen to 88 percent, and almost 42 percent of all adults have an associate’s degree or higher.3 What prompted the change? Think of everything that’s happened in the past fifty years: We’ve landed on the moon, sent scientific equipment to Mars, invented the Internet and smartphone, advanced civil rights, and made countless gains in medicine, communications, agriculture, and energy. Improving any society in these ways requires education, and the more sophisticated our society becomes, the higher the demand will be for educated people — people like you.
ACTIVITY: To prompt reflection on these statistics, ask students to anonymously respond yes or no on a piece of paper to the following questions: Do you have a grandparent who attended college? A parent? An older sibling? A friend who is about your age? A younger sibling? Do you expect that your own children will attend college in the future (or have they already)?
Education not only strengthens societies but also pays off for individuals — and in more ways than one. For example, a recent report by the College Board suggests that compared to high school graduates, college graduates
are more engaged in their communities
lead healthier lifestyles
4
participate more actively in their children’s education
earn higher salaries (as much as $20,000 more a year)
are more likely to have jobs4
CONNECT
TO MY EXPERIENCE
Write down three adjectives that describe how you feel about being in college. It’s okay if you have mixed emotions. You may feel excited and hopeful, but also scared or nervous. Has anything about the college experience so far surprised you?
In fact, by the time you graduate, more than 60 percent of all jobs will require some form of college education.5 As you can see, you’re in the right place at the right time.
So now that you’re in college, what should you expect? And what will be expected of you? First and foremost, you’ll encounter challenges. More so than in high school, your instructors will expect you to participate actively in your learning, not just look to them for all the answers. They’ll expect you to figure out how and what to study, to determine how to apply what you’ve learned to new situations, and to think critically about concepts you might have just accepted as fact in high school. They’ll also assume you’ll ask for help when you need it, schedule your own study time, and keep up with your assignments.
If this responsibility feels difficult at times, that’s okay. College is designed to push you out of your comfort zone. It’s about growing intellectually and personally so that when you graduate, you’re ready to launch a career that meets your needs. Fortunately, this book is packed with tips that can help you become an active, successful learner. So as you progress through this class and others, remember that you’re in college for great reasons and that the rewards of completing your education will make all that hard work worthwhile.
FEATURE: Connections exercises appear throughout each chapter. They reinforce the book’s theme by helping students connect important chapter content to four areas: their own experience, their courses, their current or future career, and campus resources. Each exercise includes a brief written assignment to prompt reflection. You may wish to assign these exercises as homework or use them to stimulate classroom or small-group discussion.