There’s been many times in my life that I’ve regretted not finishing college. Although I’ve gone on to have a good job and would be considered successful by almost anybody’s standards I still have some regrets. For me my choices were my own. I didn’t leave college for financial reasons or for bad grades. It wasn’t for a lack of social life or anything like that. For me college just didn’t work. I never felt like I was working towards something. I felt the path I was on had already been laid out for me, by my parents, my teachers my friends. Growing up in a white upper middle class neighborhood its pretty much standard that everyone goes to college. I don’t really even remember it being a choice. Maybe that’s why it never really felt like it fight for me but either way that’s what it was.
My brother had left college early before I did. He had his own reasons. In high school he was a top of the class student. He was presented with many academic scholarships and had his pick of schools. Funny enough once he got to college he just didn’t want to do the work anymore. He joined a fraternity, started partying and well that was the end of that. He spent about 2 years until his financial aid had worn out due to his poor grades then he left. I on the other hand was a mediocre student. I had choose my college by basically following my girlfriend at the time. I didn’t really care what school I went to. I basically waited for her to decide and then that was that. Needless to say we broke up before the school year even started so that also wasn’t one of the brightest decisions of my life. Come to think of it, that was probably another factor you can pile on to my reasons why college just never felt right for me. Now that I’ve gotten older I think how lucky I was to even have the opportunity to go to school. These days with schools being so expensive and with the economic downturn most kids can’t afford school. Unless their parents are well off or they’re willing to take on a boat load of student loans the only option is scholarships and financial aid. Usually those are only given out to the students with the best grades or to the best athletes. Most kids these days would kill to have been given the opportunity I was.
When it comes to scholarships I’ve done my reading around for my own kids. One of my sons is looking into government grants along with applying for scholarships. There seems to be a lot more available then there used to be. Also a lot of corporations seem to be giving out scholarships not just based on academic merit but also on the basis of financial need. I think this is great. Just because a student wasn’t amazing in high school doesn’t mean they won’t be an excellent college student. The opportunity to go to school shouldn’t be a privilege it should be an opportunity available to everyone.
