Decisions

In my eyes, college has always been an option in my family and it has been in my mind since middle school. But this is not the same for everyone and I respect that, some people are not going to college at all or they have just started to think about it senior year. But does waiting to decide affect the admissions of students? In this argumentative essay, I will be talking about the pros and cons of starting to think about college early and how it can affect your future.

First, we will talk about the facts, grades in high school matter. In middle school, not so much you can fail a class or get suspended but in high school colleges see that. If kids are introduced to the idea of college at a young age they can understand the impact different things have on it. “College” also does not mean you have to go to a university either, college can mean a trade school or a culinary school, etc and I think If some students are new, this would increase the number of people attending in the years to come. Some students who want to pursue something in the trades don’t know or think there is an option for them out there, and by bringing up everything early they will know they are not alone. Grades also matter a lot, they can get you scholarships and they affect your overall GPA. If someone has a dream to go to a big college for sports, they still need the grades to follow their skills. There is a high demand for most jobs out there and many options for financial aid or free college. By people knowing their options sooner they can go through them and make the right and best decision for them when the time comes. Learning about college early on doesn’t just make it easier in the future it also creates lifelong skills. Students learn time management and financial skills and just how to build relationships and connections in life. Even though these are good things does this affect the teen’s childhood?

College is a stressful topic, the thought of having to do four years of school and having to pay for it is a big decision. Could this cause added stress to pre-teens and teens? The simple answer is yes it could. Being a 12 or 13-year-old our last thought is on what we are going to be doing after we end school because school is all we know. If someone came in and demanded I decide my major and start learning about the final age offers of colleges in sixth grade I would be stressed. But that is not my idea of how to do things. I 100% agree that kids should not be bombarded by any of this information at such a young age but I do think kids should have that book opened for them. I believe if in middle school they start taking kids even on tours for lunch it would greatly impact the amount of college applicants in the years to come. Even if schools set up tours with businesses that teach especially trades kids would be able to see and visualize themselves doing that. It is also extremely important that when a teen comes up to high school they know their grades do matter, if middle schools brought in current seniors or even current teachers to speak on this I believe kids would really take it seriously and start having pride in their work. But kids should still be kids, so we as educators need to make sure what we are saying makes sense and is not stressing anyone else out.

I’m, sure there are many different viewpoints on when kids should start to learn the pros and cons of college. And I am sure some of these viewpoints solely depend on if the person themselves went to college and had the opportunity to learn about it early on in life. But I believe every kid should have as many opportunities as their heart could desire. That is why younger kids should be taught earlier on and I believe if we do this the future will be filled with new college graduates and even if you can get a good paying job without college, who would mind making a little more if they had the chance?

“Drawing competition for school kids” by seeveeaar is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.