College is not cheap. Many people graduate with thousands - sometimes hundreds of thousands - of dollars in debt. This sparks the question: "Is college worth the heavy price tag?" Many have answered with arguments why college is overvalued. In what follows, I list the arguments, and I offer a rebuttal to those arguments.
1. Colleges judge your work with scores. Scores are irrelevant in real life.
Scores are a reflection of how hard we worked. When there is an upcoming test, the score does not simply show how you did on your test. It shows how disciplined you were in studying. A high score proves that you worked hard before the test and did your best. Striving for high scores involves studying hard. Developing discipline in college and high school by studying and preparing for tests is a skill that carries over to day-to-day life. So, the score reflects your discipline and shows you what you need to improve. That is very relevant.
2. In following your passion, you work to magnify your strengths. School, by contrast, attempts to suppress your weaknesses.
School does, in fact work to magnify your strengths. School offers different majors based on what your passion is. If you did not choose a major that reflects your passion, you are at fault. Classes that are focused on your major are taught by people who have a passion about what they are teaching. The electives are classes that can supplement your major in building on your strengths, or assist in suppressing your weaknesses, based on what electives you choose.
3. College teaches you to think for yourself, but totally ignores the idea of teamwork.
First of all, teamwork is not vital to success. It is up to you to make yourself a success. If that involves surrounding yourself with people who will work with you, then that is up to you. Second, school does promote teamwork. In various classes, you may have group research projects. On campus, there exist many student organizations that are all about teamwork and assist in helping you become a better person.
4. Money is a good thing. Colleges promote a scarcity mindset that downplays the value of money.
The entire point is invalid. The whole selling point of universities is that you will make more money with a degree than without one. The price tag of the college proves it. Tuition is at an all-time high. Colleges know the value of money, and want to help you make more money in your career.
5. In college, you have to ask permission for everything. In life, you should not have to ask permission for anything.
The second sentence is true. In life, you should not have to ask permission for anything. But we need to learn to be respectful of those in authority. Raising your hand to ask teachers for assistance or use the restroom shows that you value what they are teaching, and you do not want to blatantly interrupt them. When we value what others have to say, we become more likable.
6. One does not have to always follow the rules or conform to the norm.
Let me say. If everyone thought this way, the world would be in anarchy. The established rules that colleges, workplaces, and governments have are there because they sustain order. These rules have worked for many, many centuries. By learning to follow rules, you learn what rules are good and bad, preparing you for a possible leadership position down the road.
7. It is okay to fail. College teaches you otherwise.
Yes. It is okay to fail. School does not condemn failure. It teaches you to learn from it. Did you not get a good score on your test? Study harder next time. School teaches you not only to avoid failure, but to achieve success. Studying, taking notes, and listening in class are ways you can practice preparing for success.
8. College teaches you to accept what you have been given, and no more.
If anything, college is a way you can achieve better than what you have been given. You may have gone to school, leaving a bad situation at home or your career may be stuck in a rut. School allows you to overcome how you were raised. It opens many doors and develops many skills to advance your career.
9. School teaches us that logic is more important than emotion. We are emotionally-driven beings and cannot operate this way.
This answer is up to you. Two main philosophies exist about life: Epicureanism and Stoicism. The Epicureans teach to live life based on what your emotion wants now. Stoics teach you to avoid excessive comfort in favor of a lifestyle based on productivity and contemplation. If you are a Stoic, by all means go to college and learn. If you are an Epicurean, college may be kind of hard for you.
10. College is expensive.
Yes. It is expensive. You are paying for a place to stay, for food to eat, and you are paying your teachers. They work hard every day to benefit you. They are investing in you. You are paying for knowledge that might be otherwise inaccessible outside the classroom. You are paying for lifelong friends you may meet. You are paying for memories.
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