Why I’m not going to college

This is a repost of an article written by Chad Stembridge. You can learn more about Chad by going to Stembridgemill.com

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“So, are you going to college?” It’s a question I get asked quite a bit. My answer: “No, I don’t think so.” Awkward pause. Sometimes I wonder why people ask “are you going” without a “where” or “when” in front of it. Nope, I’m not going to college. Before I get too far into this, let me say that I don’t necessarily think that all of the college system is a waste of time and money. It’s not — there are fields and professions that require college. What I do think, however, is that college isn’t for everyone. I get the feeling that our culture expects every high-school graduate to go to a college by default. It’s just expected. But is it necessary? Here are some reasons people give supporting the notion that every young person should go to college: 1. The biggest thing about it is learning how to learn. 2. There are numerous opportunities to get out into the world and socialize. 3. Young people often find what they want to do in life at college. 4. Young people also find who they’re going to marry at college. 5. Having a college degree will allow one to get a good job. Here are my counter-reasons, answering in the respective order: 1. If a person goes to college to learn how to learn, they haven’t been paying attention for the last 18 years of their life. 2. Exactly what I don’t want to do: spending a lot of time with people who are going to be shaping my mind in a way contrary to my beliefs. Some people think homeschoolers don’t know how to socialize in groups larger than three or four. Meh! Figure A. A bunch of anti-social homeschoolers. 3. Yep, sounds like a great reason to me! Go to college, switch majors three times, then work a job that has nothing to do with any of them for the rest of my life. 4. While this is true, I don’t see the point in going to college solely to help a young lady get her MRS. degree… 5. While also true, this point isn’t true in every case. Good character, integrity, and a work ethic will go a long way for fields that don’t absolutely require specialized education. And again, I realize that some people really should go to college (brain surgeons, for instance). I’m not one of them. Here’s why: • I don’t feel that the Lord is leading me to go to school. • I’m getting into the field of video production. This means I would either need to go to a school that offers education in that, or go to a film school. I would spend four years working on student projects and learning from the professors who teach all the videographers that end up making low-quality local TV stuff. That would be four years of getting simulated experience, rather than working in the field. What’s more, I would have the distinct privilege of paying big bucks to do so! • Film school, and college in general, is a place where too much indoctrination takes place. I don’t want to be subjected to that. And believe me, with all the weird beliefs that float around in the secular film world, you wouldn’t want to either.

In short, I don’t feel that it’s worth it to go to college. That doesn’t mean I think I don’t need to learn anything else; quite the opposite! If I need to take classes for anything, I would much prefer distance learning over the physical classroom. There are other, better, less expensive (in more than one sense) ways to learn without using the conventional method. That’s it in a nutshell: why I’m not going to college.