It seems to me that ever since I was a kid, the thought of going to college has been heavily pushed on me, and I have a feeling that I’m not the only one. For a very long time, kids ranging from elementary to obviously high school age have been pushed to go to or at least consider going to college after they graduate. But I personally feel like the reality of that pressure doesn’t really sink in until you’re in high school. Come freshman year, suddenly it seems to be all you hear. “What’re your plans after high school?”, “What do you want to major in?”, and “What college do you want to go to?”. 

As much as I want to go to college when I graduate in a year and a half, the pressure of it is enormous. I am 16 years old. Kids in high school are typically 14-18 years old. 18 isn’t even two decades. How is it that people who haven’t even been alive for two decades are allowed and coerced into deciding their entire future? If the average lifespan in the United States is 77 years, that means teenagers are deciding things for about the next 60 years of their lives. The human brain doesn’t even fully develop until about age 25. Why are teenagers with underdeveloped brains making the choices that are going to shape their futures if they aren’t even prepared for it? 

College is a big decision. Depending on where you go and what you do, you can get a degree, go on to graduate school, or go get a job. It can shape the rest of your life. Yes, I want to go to college. But I feel like the pressure on me and my peers is entirely too extreme. Kids shouldn’t have to stress themselves out daily to decide and work toward a future that is years away. While I think that yes, there should be some focus on preparing for college in high school (for those who want it), that focus shouldn’t be the only thing there is. The school system should be focusing more on giving students the applicable information of life skills, like managing finances, doing taxes, buying a house, etc. Those are the skills that everyone will need, yet those seem to be the ones that are taught least of all.  If students want to go to college and focus on that, that’s totally fine. But they shouldn’t feel like they’re a failure if they don’t want to go to college, it’s their life.