[dcole2929]

I think this article misses out on what in my opinion is the biggest reason to go to college for a teen and it all has to do exploration. Simply put you don't know what you don't know and at 17-18 that can be a lot. College gives you an opportunity to explore who you are and what you care about in an environment largely free of external stress (yes I know there can be stress but it's generally a lot different than "I need to provide for my family"). A lot of people are super confident in what they think their life path is until they actually encounter the steps it takes to get there. Generally we do a pretty poor job of educating young people on what different careers actually look like and what it takes to get there. There are a million lawyer and doctor shows but it's a lot harder at 17 to know that you'd actually love to study library science, or be an economist.

At 17 I thought I wanted to be a sport journalist or shoot rockets into space. Turns out I had zero interest in the path to ESPN and am terrible at chemistry. Sure looking back I can totally see that computers made all the sense in the world but I didn't recognize that then. If I had bypassed college and just started working to get to one of those paths I saw for myself who knows where I'd be. This is not to say that college is the only place where you get this freedom to explore, but colleges, especially good ones certainly encourage you to explore other options.

I think ideally your last year of high school would be nothing but career exploration, but failing that I recommend most teenagers go to college even if they think they know what they want to do.

[flak48]

Your comment is much more than this, but: just wanted to add that in a lot of places (like India) the norm is being forced to pick your major before entering college, which unfortunately negates a lot of the self-discovery that happens in freshman year.

But besides the area of study / major I loved the college experience of being forced to be away from the sheltered environment of home (although college is sheltered and restrictive in it's own ways). Being able to recognize thought patterns and impulses that I always grew up with felt like being able to see new colours that I never knew existed.

Also being able to make friends - I don't take this for granted.When you are in an environment where you have 10x to 100x the number of people you went to high school with, it is much easier to find someone/ somoe group that you can gel with regardless of how many ever quirks you have. After all these years, my best friends are still the ones I made in college - not the ones before nor the ones that came after.

At the very least I'm grateful to my college education for making me less of an overconfident asshole who thought he knew it all, while at the same time boosting my confidence in other ways.

I understand that in many countries like the US, the exorbitant cost of uni education might make what I said look like nice-to-haves and luxuries but I'm happy for a change to be born in a place where I could afford to have this experience (while recognizing that many will not be privileged enough to experience even this :( )

[prawn]

"being forced to pick your major before entering college, which unfortunately negates a lot of the self-discovery that happens in freshman year."

I was generally a straight-A student leaving high school but lasted six months at university before quitting. I distinctly remember much of my career decision was based on a single sentence description of the engineering degree flavour. I had good entrance scores but wasn't interested in medicine or dentistry. The description mentioned computers and design which were two things I enjoyed, but in reality it was more about designing computers rather than with computers. Had great teachers and parents but don't recall being steered by any of them on my selection.

Not sure what the answer is, but I imagine it involves more flexibility in that process (rather than prerequisite courses that start to narrow in at age 15) and more guidance.

At one point, we were given a large book - an index of jobs, basically. We flipped through and laughed at "cheesemaker" and "crane chaser" but there was not much about areas of interest or one-on-one with counsellors. Is a high school teacher really going to be best positioned to coach their cohort (with varied interests) on what direction to take?

[thrwaway69]

I have something to say but I know my anecdote experience isn't worth much so I will shut. If I had a choice again, at the cost of being in poverty in future, I wouldn't go to school let alone college.

It has given me enough PTSD as a young person that despite all the evidence and stories of success or barrier to entries, I personally wouldn't choose that path and I have had a poverty driven life my early childhood so I am aware of how it is. It is better. Buying a bottle of sodium nitrite or jumping from a tall building doesn't cost much or require years of mental fatigue.

Although there are certainly more factors than school behind this. School just amplified it.

Some young people do evaluate all the risks and potential of backfiring it. They live in fear of it but no one cares about why.

It's fine to be emotional from a whitelist of decisions you can take but it's not fine to do that for school or college.

There is no safety net for these students in most places. Even if there is, I bet most parents are wholly unaware and know how to handle the situation.

There are no in-person learning places, resources whatsoever. All of them half baked. A lot of open source or coding/cs initiatives now a days require you to be a student at some college. People selectively filter out those all the time. Great! They have plenty good enough reasons to do this but that doesn't mean I have to see them in the good light because it does say that I am worth less because I wasn't willing to be a punching bag for longer.

Young people also tend to bully others about this more than the adults.

If someone asked me whether they should go to college or finish school, I would totally yes if they are fine.

But if that person had a terrible experience, driven to taking anti depressants, mood stabilizers and being on shit ton of anxiety pills out of that. I would tell them to quit after reconsidering the consequences. It's cruel people think otherwise. If all you could have is suffering and all people say it gets better, it's cruel bullshit because they aren't in the same situation. Anyone's reaction to their finger burning down isn't to wait for it to pass or follow the protocol on how to put out the fire or treat wounds unless they have been extensively taught. It's to panic and take the most emotionally rational decision they can take to protect themselves which sometimes might be different from what you should have done. Would you blame that person?

[brianpan]

But you can do that exploration without college. You act like a startup- be "ramen profitable" and agile.

What you say is true, but it is a real luxury to do this at university rates.