10 Recent High School Grads on Why They Decided Not to Go to College
Despite the current student loan debt crisis, it has been ingrained in this generation that college is the clearest path to a successful career. Last fall, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 69.2 percent of 2015 high school graduates were enrolled in a college or university. But there are still a lot of people who can't answer the ever-popular question: "Where are you going to school in the fall?" That doesn't mean their post-graduation decisions are any less valid, or that they'll be any worse off. Cosmopolitan.com spoke to ten 18-year-old women about why they won't be headed to college this fall.
1. "I would love to open my own flea market stand. I'm not really concerned about getting a degree in order to do what I want to do."
I never had a bad experience in school, but I felt very out of place in the classroom. It's not that I'm not smart, but I didn't like how structured the learning and assignments were. I'm definitely more of a hands-on learner, and I always enjoyed art and classes like that. I helped my grandparents with their flea market stand, and I got really into vintage markets and antiques, and realized that's what I wanted to do. I thought about going to college, and I applied last minute to a local community college and the Art Institute of Philadelphia, but the Art Institute didn't have exactly the program I was looking for - you can't get a degree to work at flea markets.
I live with my parents, and I work as a waitress to earn money until I can support myself by working and selling antiques at markets. I would love to open my own flea market stand and then eventually travel with it, and then maybe one day, open my own vintage marketplace. I'm not really concerned about getting a degree in order to do what I want to do. It's a concern if that doesn't work out, because I don't want to be waitressing forever. But I've thought about it a lot, and I really can't see myself going back to school. -Hannah Stewart from Glen Rock, Pennsylvania
2. "[Joining a ballet company] is an opportunity I wouldn't get if I was going to college."
I started ballet at age 4, and I started training to become a professional ballet dancer at age 9. I never even thought about college or applied. I started off at a smaller studio in Maryland, and then after middle school, I went to the Rock School for Dance Education, a boarding school in Philadelphia, where I completed high school in three years. After that, I moved to Amsterdam to train with the Dutch National Ballet. My main goal was to join the company there, but I wasn't initially accepted into their junior company, so I accepted an apprentice position at the National Ballet of Canada.
It's important for me to be in a company because ballet means a lot to me, and you learn so much from being able to dance on the stage with other professional dancers, performing for people, and doing all of these different ballets. It's an opportunity I wouldn't get if I was going to college. I've taken a few online college classes to build up credits in case I decide to go to college for something like physical therapy after my ballet career. But I could teach ballet classes without a college degree, and that's what I would prefer to do when I eventually retire. -Taylor Ciampi from Toronto, Ontario
3. "I didn't want to go and waste my money if I wasn't sure what my goal was."
I looked into college, but I didn't really find anything I was really interested in studying. I didn't want to go and waste my money if I wasn't sure what my goal was. I had a friend going into the Marines, and that led me to look into joining the Navy. It seemed like a better fit for me because I wasn't going to have to pay to figure out what I wanted to do. But I'm not just doing it for the money - I like the idea of being on a ship and getting to travel, and I'll be learning navigation and oceanography.
Sometimes I do question if it's what I really want to do. I think I'm scared to be away from my home and family and friends, but I'm excited to see the world and see what I can do on my own. -Tatiyana from Kenosha, Wisconsin
4. "I chose to go into the Marines because I wanted to know that I was making a difference."
I chose to go into the Marines because I wanted to know that I was making a difference from the moment I get up in the morning. I looked into college because my family wanted me to, but nothing really caught my attention. For me, college felt like I wouldn't get any real experience, but in the Marines, I would get direct training in whatever job I choose, and immediately start working and traveling to different places and meeting a lot of different people.
I'm not American - I was born in Jamaica. My family questioned why I would put myself into any type of situation for a country that isn't my own. But I'm doing it for the people in this country, and, after I listed the benefits, they started to see it as an opportunity and said they would support me in whatever way they could. -Krystal Reid from Landover, Maryland
5. "Working this job is helping me figure out what I eventually might want to go to college for."
I have not ruled out college for the rest of my life; I just don't know what I want to do yet or who I am as a person, really. I feel like I'm very young to be making this decision, and I don't have enough experience in actual adulthood to decide what I'm going to be as an adult. I don't want to spend a bunch of money and be in debt forever to possibly end up doing something I don't want to do to. Right now, I'm working as a manager at a fast-food restaurant. I really enjoy learning about how the business runs, and having people with different experiences and who are both younger and older than me look up to me. Working this job is helping me figure out what I eventually might want to go to college for. -Sarah Murphy from Fayetteville, Arkansas
6. "[College was] in the cards for me, but then I got into music."
I've been an all-As, honor-roll student my whole life. I love school, and I wanted to go to college because I really appreciate what an education can get you. Both my parents have PhDs, and so I've been raised with the culture of going to college. It was all in the cards for me, but then I got into music. I played in the orchestra, and did a lot of musical theater in middle and high school, and I also started writing songs and taught myself to play the piano. I started doing open mic nights, which turned into paid gigs that eventually led to me being discovered by someone in the music industry, and I was signed to a record label.
I think if I hadn't signed with the company, I would have gone to college because then I could have still pursued my dream and gone to college at the same time. But this is a really big opportunity that I couldn't have taken full advantage of if I went to college. It's never too early to start working for something you want to achieve, and if you can make a career out of it instead of going to school, then you should do just that. -Annelle Staal from Southern Pines, North Carolina
7. "I definitely will go to college and study what I'm interested in, but I'm not sure exactly when."
I did well in school, but I wasn't a huge fan of the way the academic world is structured. You get good grades so you can go to college, you go to college so you can get a good job so you can get a good house, and then you die. I didn't really like that perspective.
Last spring, I participated in a poetry slam, and I advanced to a citywide team, which ultimately took me to an international competition. I saw that as an opening to pursue something else. I'm living with my godmother, and working a retail job to support myself as I explore the possibilities of poetry and writing for a year. I definitely will go to college and study what I'm interested in, but I'm not sure exactly when. I could see myself putting it off if I got the opportunity to go abroad for a job. But education is important to me, and I care about going to college so I can learn - I don't want to just get a degree because it would get me a job. It's much more relaxing to have a framework of what you want to do but but to be OK with whatever the world throws at you. -Genera Fields from Ann Arbor, Michigan
8. "I heard of a program for 18- to 22-year-olds to do mission work in third-world countries."
I kind of always had the idea of going to college right after high school, because that's what everyone's plan is. My senior year of high school, all of my classmates were applying to schools. We even worked on college essays in my English class. So I applied for a few schools and was accepted, even though I had no intention of going. I was sucked into this mind-set of "you have to go to school." But, halfway through the year, I heard of a program for 18- to 22-year-olds to do mission work - like building homes and churches, and helping orphans and victims of sex-trafficking - in third-world countries.
I applied for the program and I got accepted, and that's what I'm going to do for nine months. I think I'll learn so much being abroad rather than in a classroom studying. I get back next May, but after that, I'm still confused on what I'm going to do. I'm hoping for clarity on this trip. I'm also a photographer and writer, so maybe I can just continue that when I come back. Everyone has this idea that you have to know what you want to do, but you don't. I have no clue what I'm doing, and I kind of like it like that. -Lizzie Hrycyniak from Kenosha, Wisconsin
9. "I like the idea of a job that requires more physical labor."
I was on a pretty normal track in high school. I had good grades, I applied to college, and it felt like things were going exactly as planed. When May 1 came around, which is the deadline to accept a college, I just didn't do it. I realized it wasn't what I wanted at this point in my life, because I'm not sure what my passion is, and I didn't know what I wanted to do quite yet. I felt that if I took some time to get a job and actually get assimilated into the world outside of school in more than just two-month breaks, I could be more prepared for life, and if I did eventually go to college.
I'm currently working as a delivery driver, but I've thought about going to trade school to become a mechanic instead of going to college. I like the idea of a job that requires more physical labor. But I also want something where I could move up instead of leveling out in a job after two years, and that's where I feel like I would need a college degree. So I'm working on figuring out what direction I want to go in. -Kira Sands from Atlanta, Georgia
10. "I started exploring things that I actually wanted to do, like photography, art, and writing. I currently make an income from photography."
I left high school when I was a sophomore, and I decided to homeschool for my last two years. I've never worked well in a classroom, not because of the academics but because of the social environment. I was bullied at school when I was younger, and that had a big effect on how I perceived going to school - that, along with having general social anxiety and depression. After that transition, I found I learned so much better and I was able to absorb more information. Seeing that change in me and how much I grew, I decided that maybe college, which I had originally planned on attending, wasn't a good fit for me. I'm just so much happier following what I want to do instead of what society has deemed appropriate or acceptable.
I had a lot more free time when I began homeschooling, so I started exploring things that I actually wanted to do, like photography, art, and writing. I currently make an income from photography. I still live with my mom, but I eventually want to be able to support myself fully with a career in photography. -Meghan Faulkner from Spring Grove, Illinois
Follow Kate on Twitter.
