Why Students Avoid College
By Darlene Hernandez
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As many of you may know, High School Seniors have started applying to colleges and universities all around the world, most with a dream school and career in mind. However, not all have the same opportunities to attend their dream school or to even attend college in general. Many students in our community come from similar cultural backgrounds, but, everyone has a different economic background.
Some students have gotten the chance to pursue a second education because they or most commonly, their parents are able to afford it. But like in nature, there are always two sides to things. Sure, some students can go straight to college but some students can’t afford great opportunities because of financial reasons. This is when the knowledge and skill the students may possess come in handy! They can be offered scholarships, and further financial aid programs to support them. However, is this always the case? Do students always receive support? Are they guaranteed it?
Ever since 2011, the rate of college attendance has decreased by 15%, which is actually astounding given the fact that the idea of college is often drilled into high school seniors! and this trend will most likely continue to increase.
A single year of tuition(and fees) in a public institution now costs around 9,349 US dollars on average
What might be causing this major increase? Well, every student who chooses not to attend college has their own reasons, however, the main reason that prevents a college student from continuing to study is the cost of college. College cost has had an exponential growth over the course of the last 50 years, and as the price continues to skyrocket, it affects high schoolers and their life choices more and more. Students who come from low income families, will most likely want to avoid themselves the debt of a college education because they simply can’t afford to pay it off in a short amount of time. These students rather work at any part time or full time job as long as they are being provided with enough money to support themselves and maybe their families too. However, these students are the people who most likely live paycheck to paycheck. Even those with a job that pays above minimum wage, like a $20 hourly wage, will not grant these people the wiggle room to save up anything. Is this what these students really want?
No. Not at all. Almost half of these students dreamed of continuing their education life and attending college, having a well paying job, being someone in life, and maybe even dreamed of giving back to their parents and family. The first generation students dream. As mentioned before, not everyone has the same opportunity to be successful in life. Yes, the government does offer a good amount of financial support for those students in need but there are requirements that need to be met in order to receive that help. For example, “FAFSA” requires your family to receive government assistance, you must be a U.S citizen and you must be enrolled in career programs. What happens if a low income immigrant student has great academic talents and he/she wants to continue? Thankfully, they’ll be able to make use of their intelligence through DACA. However, DACA will probably not stay around as long as we think, therefore, all these students will eventually no longer have the opportunity to pursue their dreams of attending college. Nowadays, money plays one of the most important roles in everyone’s life. Money doesn't buy everything, but it definitely buys economic success.
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