To College or Not To College | Crash Course | How to College

What is college? And should you go? In our first episode of Crash Course How to College, Erica talks us through some of the reasons you may or may not want to go after that degree.

Dr. Erica Brozovsky (from PBS's Otherwords) hosts and breaks down how to apply for, succeed at, and graduate from college. Check out our all new Study Hall Channel (linked above) where you can watch Fast Guides about college majors and even more series.

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Chapters:
0:00 - Introduction
1:28 - What is college? + Types of colleges
5:42 - Why be an educated person
8:06 - Do you want to go to college?
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[GGTaino]

I’m 28. I’ve always wanted to go to college/university. But never had a clear idea of what I wanted to do. Last year finally found something I like and something that will help me help others. I might be 35 by the time I’m done if everything goes according to plan but I’m still exited

[SpyGenesis]

To people over 30. Remember if you are planning to go to university or collage, it's never too late to make a change in your life. I'm 33 and just started my engineering degree and I think that it's the best choice in my life. Why not make a chance and be eager to learn more about the world and what you are interested in. It's always your choice to make the difference. Not someone else's.

[Avizarr]

If anyone of any age is thinking of college, do community college. Coming out of HS, it has been the best and most amazing experience. So affordable and great education. Smaller class sizes = more personal interactions with professors and easier to learn.

[LordBrittish]

I am 40 and actually debating to myself and looking into this right now.

[angekfire]

I understand this video is in partnership with a university, but this seems incredibly biased toward "everyone should go to college and it's just a decision of how you'll do it that you need to make" without really addressing the reasons college may be wrong for people.

Given the cost of college now and how many people get into vast amounts student debt in the process, saying "you'll earn more later in life" doesn't work out for a lot of people. Sometimes, those super specific career paths you dream of taking simply don't have the jobs in the market to really provided any viable career path after graduation.

It talks about the flexibility to do an associate degree before pursuing a bachelors, but fails to mention many of those credits often don't transfer so you're spending more time and money doing it that way. Or you have the ability to totally change directions in the middle of your academic career, which while true, depending on how big the change is, can add years and tens of thousands of dollars to your debt. Yes, it's a great experience to be able to figure out what you want to do in the future, maybe even if you aren't sure. But there are very real costs associated with that, both financial costs, opportunity costs, and time.

I have many friends who have college and university degrees (some have multiple college or university degrees, or have Master's degrees) who couldn't find jobs in their field even after several years of looking and have been working jobs as a server or retail, or call centers, in order to pay their bills, who are working paycheck to paycheck trying to afford rent while also needing to pay off 40k in student debt. I went to community college and 70% of the people I graduated with never found jobs in the field, and had to either go back to school for something more focused to be able to find a job, or who found jobs in completely unrelated industries where they don't use anything we learned in college and who view it as a complete waste of time and money. That's obviously not the case for everyone, it worked out well for me and I know many successful people who did go to college and university. But for everyone person I know who went to college and is successful, I know 3 who found it to be a waste of time and money that they're still paying for, who are in a worse position than they would have been if they'd skipped it.

I guess I've come to expect this channel to provide simple & unbiased, yet nuanced explanations of things like this, and this video feels very specifically biased toward college as the only real choice, it's just a matter of how & when. And for a title like "To college or not to college" this video did not adequately address the "not to college" part.

[jliller]

I did community college right out of high school then two years intending to finish a practical bachelors at a university. Then a decade later I went back to a different university and completed a different degree. I've known lots of people with various levels of college education. Here are my lessons learned, by experience and/or observation:

1. If you don't want to go to college and aren't motivated to be there, don't go. You'd be wasting your time, even if you graduate with a degree. Come back later when you're ready.

2. On a closely related note: do not let your parents or anyone else force into a specific college or degree. Be realistic about your options, but you're going to get more out of being somewhere you want to be doing something you want to do than if you're grinding it out. See #1.

3. College is what you make of it. Not just pure academics or even socially. Look for opportunities: volunteering, interning, and other extracurricular activities that will help you learn, develop, and gain experience.

4. A community college will get you half way to a four-year degree, but it's closer to high school than a university in terms of how challenging it is. You will save money, but you're also usually losing out on half of your college experience (see #3).

5. Develop study skills in high school, whether you need them there or not. You will need them in college.

6. You can get a Bachelors degree without knowing what you're going to do with it (see #3). Not so for grad school; you should only got for a Masters or Doctorate because you've got a specific career in mind that requires it.

7. Go to tech/trade school if you like the work. Don't feel obligated to get a Bachelors. Traditional college isn't for everyone.

8. Most colleges these days have a foreign language requirement. Build a foundation for this in high school.

[xochitlorihuela]

i really appreciate this series :) i failed out of university earlier this year and watching all my friends continue through their education/get started in their careers has made me feel like a black sheep. nobody in my family went to college, and they all think that once you leave school you can't go back. i've been stressed out since spring because academia has always been a huge part of my life but now it seems like an ended chapter. after finding this little playlist i feel like i can take a deep breath because i'm not running out of time; my experience is just different :)

[TheNateNoHate]

Community college all the way. I really don't understand why people scoff at the idea of community college. I had a wonderful experience.

[WaysideReborned]

I never wanted to go to college until senior year of high school. my grades were great but i decided to go to CC since i didnt do my college apps but now transferred to a university and best choice i ever made

[kbflawless]

I would like to make something very clear you do not have to go to college to be successful in life. There is nothing wrong with going to college but just know you have other options. College can be a very big burden and can put you in debt. There is no guarantee you will be successful after you graduate from college. What truly matters is the persons ambition, motivation, hunger to be successful in life.

[chillsahoy]

So that everyone can see different perspectives, I'll give mine. All my life I had wanted to do science, and dreamed of being a researcher. So I studied biochemistry at university, the first in my family to do so, and in my last year, while doing the research project, I found that I didn't like academia all that much. So after graduating I went into healthcare and worked my way up. While I am not directly using my degree, the knowledge and skills I gained have definitely allowed me to get to where I am now, and shape some of my decisions or approaches in my current job.

My mother, on the other hand, started a part-time degree in her late 40s. Since graduating, she has not gotten a job related to her degree (it's hard to get hired as a philosopher) but the experience of studying at that level has changed her forever, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

[alejandronasifsalum]

Even though I'm a grown up from Argentina, graduated, and in a totally different higher education system (University of Buenos Aires), I totally agree with many of the conclusions at the end of the video. Society can't ask from you to know at age 18 what you wanna do for the rest of your life. It's not fair and is a cause of serious anxiety for many.

[YakuLin]

Yeah, before I entered college, I really wanted to be a Computer Engineer. I remembered being so passionate even during 1st year, but as time passes by, my passion for the field began to die down. I'm currently in my 3rd year and I am a bit afraid. One factor could be online classes (because in my country, we still do not have face to face classes), but if it's not that, I'm not sure of other reasons. I do hope that my passion for the field rises again in the near future.

But yeah, basically, just because you found what you want to do, doesn't mean it's gonna be consistent. In the end, we're still continuing to explore on what we really want to do in life.

[johnzuleger]

REMEMBER THE TRADES! CONSIDER APPRENTICESHIP!

[darkbluetoo]

I feel like people keep devaluing associated degrees. I am currently getting mine in environmental studies and do not plan on getting a bachelor's degree. For some reason, people keep telling me that I am stupid for not going on further but I am just trying to do what is right for me.

[deboragrenzel]

One thing I missed from this video, was important, although the admittedly controversial topic of maybe not going to college. I'm from Brazil, so my experience can be wildly different from people in other countries... But in my career, a degree is not necessary in Brazil. Studying at a University was sometimes fun, sometimes exhausting, and sometimes terrifying... but the way it impacted my life the most was the networking possibilities that I got. That being said, it was worth it because I was studying for free. Universities in the US are terribly expensive from my understanding, and I don't think it's worth it, at least in Brasil, to start your adult life in a huge financial debt for the networking. At least in Brasil, there are other cheaper ways of doing that. I'd say that it's important to evaluate first what do you want to work with before enrolling, figuring out if it's necessary to go to college, and, if it's not, first build your financial stability before doing it for fun.

[frankly]

I have no idea what I like to do or passion and it's freaking me out. I can't do college if I don't have a passion/career goal.

[BuildinWings]

Most Community Colleges these days offer trade educations - They *also* have a small gen-ed base on top of it, but I guarantee your local CC has sponsored trade programs for you. You CAN have both.

[artistradio]

I went to college and majored in art. Then I changed my major to computer science since they make enough money to live in California. It kicked my ass so I went back to majoring in art. I make $15, 000/yr selling things on ETSY but I'm married to a guy who makes $190, 000/yr as a cybersecurity engineer so things worked out at the end.

[TheAstralBlade]

I only realized this quite recently myself, but another option people have that I've never really seen talked about is simply taking more community college classes after/instead of getting an associates!

The community colleges are a great transition into either a full-year or work in general, and are super cheap compared to full universities: so it can help a lot more to take advantage of that lower price and close proximity to campus to take more classes-

These classes could be all the gen-eds required for a future degree, or simply opportunities to learn new things and explore hobbies at a low cost (such as taking art classes)!

It's an option I've been greatly considering for myself as I've gone through my first year of community college, and feel it may be a better idea to take another year or two to continue taking these community college classes even after graduation to continue my interests and hobbies at a low price, likely alongside a part-time job to save up for future 4-year tuition!


...and along that note, it feels like a lot of people may not realise you don't *have* to complete these degrees in exactly 2 years or 4 years, and can spread out classes more if need be!