How do I avoid College?

Question

I am supposed to be going to college sometime in the near future. I am a 17 year old with decent grades, upper middle class family, educated parents, and everyone just sort of expects me to go to college. The thing is I hate that idea. The thought of attending a college makes me want to drown in a puddle of my own vomit three times a day for all of eternity. It pisses me off that people seem to think you can't do anything in the world unless you go to college. I don't want my life to go as follows: graduate from college, get a job, make money, have a family, retire, then die.

The main problem is that I have no idea what else to do if I don't go to college. I am aware that I can't just blow off college then do nothing. That would be the last thing I would want to do.

If you have any suggestions or thoughts on the matter I would be more than happy to hear them.

Answer 1

You seem to be looking college at a negative light. This is a big decision and you should consider consequences.

What you could do right now is list your other options that you want to do.

Can you make money doing something that you like? If so, what are they?

How can you support yourself 4 years from now?

Answer 2

go to college. My parents and sister didn't go, and they are having a horrible time in life because of it.

Answer 3

You can always go to tech school.

But if you're getting good grades and are in a middle class family... Then I suggest suffering through college and living a happy life afterward.

about 8 or 9 years ago, someone could make 70k a year without going to college. Not anymore. Gonna have to go.

Answer 4

Dude...are you kidding me? youve got to be smarter than this...think about it for one minute.....

  No more little high school boppers to deal with, secondly, its college! tons of HOT chics, tons of parties, tons of new and lifelong friends to be made. Youll get more asss in college than you will the rest of your life if you play it cool.

  not to mention, you wont get a decent paying job, its fact, 50k a year aint shiit anymore.

   Youll make new friends and experience things you bonehead friends at home will never see. chics love college guys. you come home to visit and those girls that didnt give you a second look will then.

its not all about the girls bro, but its a great motivator!! you should be flippin happy as helll!!! most kids dont have the opportunity. soo stop crying us all a river and man up!!!

Answer 5

college is not as bad as it seems there are lots of partys and good times, i really wish i could have went but my life started early i got married at 16 then divorced now im remarried to the man of my dreams and my life is sometimes a drag i work cook clean and ext its boring but its life so my point is weather u go to college or not your life is what you make of it the real great thing in life is to love and be loved very thing else will fall into place... good luck and one last piece of advice you make a ton of more money if you go to college trust me i make 8 bucks an hour at a pharmacy all becouse i didnt go to college the ones that did make over 15, good luck and best wishes

Answer 6

don't avoid college. It can get you very far in life =] you'll be happy you did it later in life.  

Answer 7

You sound like the type of person that I was when I was your age.  I didn't want to go to college either, because I was burnt out on school.  What I did, and what you may want to do, is take a short break.  I waited 2 years and then I went to community college and then to the university.  Sure, I could have went straight to the university after the 2 year gap if I wanted to, but college is expensive, so I went the cheaper route for 2 years, got the generals out of the way, and then transfered.  While I was on my gap year, I worked full time and saved as much money as I could.  I did alright- I made 10.00 an hour, but I'm telling ya, that isn't c**p!  I just finished my bachelors degree in Psychology and I am going to get my Masters Degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and then I'll be doing what I love and making decent money.  Dude, maybe what you need to do is work in a bunch of dead end jobs for awhile and then you'll start to appreciate what college can offer and then you'll be ready.  Do NOT go if you are not ready, because when you do go to college, you need to do well in order to be competitive enough when you graduate to get the jobs you want.  If you slack off and just get C's, it will all be a sure waste of time.  Do not completely avoid college for the rest of your life though, because you'll be scraping by to pay rent, afford nice vehicles, take fun vacations, etc.  Life will not be as good for you if you never go to college.

Answer 8

Only thing I can suggest is to tell your parents that your not sure if your ready for college yet.  Tell them that you thought you'd like working in the real world for a couple years. Then maybe in a couple year or three of working, you might be better prepared and willing to attend college.  That way if you decide to go to college you can save all you can toward your tuition and other costs of attending college.  

If you do, do it that way, don't let any loan companies or credit card companies talk you into getting into a lot of credit. If they suck you in, you won't be able to save.  My oldest son made that mistake after he graduated from high school.  The credit companies sucked him into credit in which at the time he couldn't afford, but he thought he could.  Now he wishes he never got rapped up into the credit card at such a young age.  

Then after a couple years or so, you decide college is what you want, then GREAT!  I'm sure you won't be sorry.  On the other hand if you find your thing, as far as what you like and enjoy in work, and decide to go with that instead of college, that is great too.  And you still have the money in the bank for something else, like a decent car.

Just that, going to college though makes it to where you can start a job in the field that you went to college for, at a higher salary,  and/or, higher position than those who do not go to college.  Also a lot of employers won't hire someone without some sort of college or Vo-Tech.  The ones that do take kids straight from school, the jobs are usually not a higher position, nor is the salary all that great.  There are a few lucky ones,  not as many as the ones that attend college.  If you don't want college, then maybe a  vo-tech school or a trade school, depending on what you want to do in life, and what your interests, likes and dislikes are.  Also, maybe the military, you learn a good number of trades there.

College or going to a trade school is not all that bad.  It is not like grade or high school.  I hated school, but I liked college,  and tech, much different.

Good Luck!

Answer 9

You dont have to go to college to be sucessful. I have been to my local library and the bookstore and I have seen books that are for people who dont want to go to college they have job information and things of that nature in them. Go to your local library or bookstore and see what you find. If you map out a good plan for you future Im sure your parents wont be too angry about you not going to college. College isnt for everyone. There are lots of sucessful people who didnt even finish high school and they are successful. One of the owners of a restaurant I work at makes 6 figures and he is a high school drop out. He is just naturally a good business man and knows how to deal with people thats why he is successul. What skills do you have that you can use to be sucessful?

Answer 10

You're still young and as previously mentioned, you have a negative view of college.  College is not high school.  You have far more freedom to do as you please, and most people only attend class a couple hours a day.

I was in your situation.  I graduated high school, attended college for a semester, then dropped out.  Once I began looking for full-time jobs I realized nearly every career I would be remotely interested in required a Bachelor's degree.  After three years of working a job making $7.50 an hour, I decided to go back to college...it was the best decision I have ever made because I feel as if I really can be almost anything I want now.

Think about what you love to do and figure out a way to make it a career, and don't worry, many people go back to school later in life.

Also, your life is what you make of it.  If you see it as a flat progression of "graduate from college, get a job, make money, have a family, retire, then die," you're going to have a miserable life whether or not you attended college.