USA Today Wants To Know If College Is Worth It

USA Today has posed the question, “Is college worth it?” Do you get any sort of bang for your buck? The reality is that we’re in the middle of a recession making jobs harder to come by (good paying jobs seem like a myth at this point), and college costs are higher than ever. (Seriously, $200 for a book? Who are those publishers kidding?) I think it depends on what your goal is. What are you looking to gain from the experience?

I always knew that I would go to college. I started sending information requests to schools when I was in the 5th grade. I don’t think I had mastered the cursive letter “q” at that point, but I knew what my dream schools were: New York University, Harvard, and The University of Texas, otherwise known as Too Expensive, Way Too Expensive, and Just Out of Reach.

In the end, I enrolled at the economical Stephen F. Austin State University. Two hours from home, in the oldest (and what I swore was the smallest) town in Texas. When I graduated four years later with my Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, I owed just over $18,000 in student loans. That’s just a tiny bit below the average of $23,000, so I suppose I did get a bargain. For that low, low cost, I had two initials after my name (which were VERY important to me), a piece of paper declaring my competence to the world, and 4 years of life experience that I wouldn’t have gotten any other way.

While I was in college, I learned that they aren’t kidding when they say “violators will be towed”. I learned that some professors, like regular people, are cantankerous asses who can’t be swayed towards kindness. I also learned that some people, including some professors, are truly kind and want nothing more than to help you become the best person you can be. I learned that there will always be one person who you absolutely can’t stand, and that you’ve always got the option to not deal with that person.

I also learned about philosophy, astronomy, Greek mythology, world history, and how to white balance a camera (which has never been needed in my real life). I remember some of the Spanish that I learned, and most of the grammar rules that cantankerous professor I had for journalism taught us. But the most important things I learned didn’t happen in the classroom, per se. I learned that life has consequences, and that when you don’t get your work done on time, there are repercussions. When you don’t pay attention, you miss out on important things. I learned how to be an adult. That’s what college taught me.

Was it worth all of the money spent? The late nights studying and the times when I worked multiple jobs to pay for it? The stress of trying to get good grades and make friends when I was a broke liberal on a campus full of well-to-do conservative Christians?

Yeah, it was. I always say that I wish I had a different experience. I would have loved to have gotten to go to my dream school of NYU. To study at Tisch, surrounded by like-minded people and creativity and city lights. I would have loved that. But I can’t say that the experience that I got wasn’t worth it. Going to college isn’t about leaving and collecting a fat paycheck (not that it wouldn’t be a nice perk). It’s about becoming who you’re meant to be, learning about more than the world you already know. And it was worth every penny.