After May 14th, I will be a college graduate.
By Fall, there will be no more acappella rehearsals, no more papers or exams, no more sleepless nights, no more weekday drinking, no more 1AM milk tea runs, no more San Francisco Bay Area exploring. I won’t be with the people I now see daily. I won’t have the same job with the same awesome boss. I won’t be singing under Sproul every Monday. I won’t be booked with weekly gigs that take me all over California. I won’t be lighting another VSA Culture Show.
I will also have new commitments: weekly dinner dates with my mom, brother/sister time with my other two brothers, job hunting and career building, car purchasing and and maintenance… In essence, my life will be – or at least feel – completely different. From what college alumni have told me, I will soon miss my college days after they are gone.
But in the bigger picture, outside of the daily tasks, what does it mean to hold a college degree?
My fellow graduating co-worker and I discussed the importance (or lack thereof) of our college degrees: while I considered hanging up my two diplomas, she believed that having a bachelors was so standard and insubstantial; only a professional degree is worth hanging up and showing off. Nowadays, holding a college degree (or two) seems like the norm; it’s not a very outstanding feat.
However, I’d like to defend the power of earning a college degree. Although holding a degree isn’t as powerful as it was in previous decades, stats still show that those who earn bachelor degrees are likely to earn twice as much as those who don’t. Also, only 27% of Americans can say they have a bachelors degree or higher. Realistically, having a college degree will likely mean a comfortable living and the opportunity to move up at work and in life.
Personally, my degrees validate my mother’s choice to leave Vietnam. She moved here for opportunity. She wasn’t able to attend college here or in Vietnam, nor choose her occupation. But her hard work has allowed her children to become the first generation of Americans in the family to earn college degrees: she gave us the ability to make choices she wasn’t privileged to make. Being the fourth and final kid to earn my degree in my family, my mom can now boast about having educated children who are making a name for themselves (a son who is a computer-superstar, a second son and future dentist studying at UCSF, another son who is earning his MBA and manages at Mattel, and a daughter who will is thankful to have three brothers to mooch off of).
For me, this degree symbolizes my family being able to make and take the opportunities that we’ve been giving in America, despite growing up with gang members down my street and a drug dealer across from my house. This degree will also mean that my children will have more opportunities because of my education, insight, knowledge, and support.
Even though a college degree isn’t worth as much as it did in the past, it still shows that I – along with my fellow graduates and the 27% of Americans with a bachelors or higher – will have opportunities unheard of a generation before us, showing everyone how important education is for our lives and our futures.
Great article, Jennie!
I’m in a similar situation – will be a college graduate next month! Taking some time to reflect, I have definitely done a lot of growing up in the last 4-5 years in college.
My usual routine is about to change as well, but I’m looking forward to the changes and challenges of being out of my comfort zone. I’m excited for the next phase of my life – moving to a new city (coincidentally, in the Bay Area) and finding my new place there. We’ll see what happens!
All the best to you!
Thanks Albert! Good luck with your move and new phase in life 🙂 You and I will both be enjoying the adventure of “figuring things out.”
A college degree will also put in you in $60,000 in debt, if not more. We’re entering an age of debt-serfs. You can’t discharge student loan debt through bankruptcy.
College is not for everyone. There’s opportunity costs involved. As well, for the last 30 years, since the way of easy money and reckless lending, college tuition has increased twice the rate of general inflation.
Nowadays, a bachelor’s degree (especially if it’s in liberal arts) is worth as much as the sheep skin it’s printed on. Everyone has one.
I know you’re very proud of your achievements, as you should be, but do you think it’s necessary to gush about your achievements so overtly? Is there a need to repeat that you have 2 degrees in as many sentences.
Modesty is a trait gained through experience and confidence.
Best,
wang
Thanks for your comment Wang.
I totally agree that the cost of college is getting more and more ridiculous. The average for college debt last year was about $24,000 which is very extreme.However, I think if someone wanted to go to college, they could make it happen at a reasonable cost. I’ve seen many fellow students take the path of two years at CC and two years at a public university. I’m not familiar with other states, but in CA one could choose the UC system at approx $13,000 a year or Cal State system at approx $5000 a year. Savings, financial aid, work study could all help alleviate the financial burden on students during their time in school (all things that helped me out a lot personally). Of course, everyone’s situation is different, so being fortunate enough to get money from parents or receive financial aid is relative. The power of a bachelors is definitely debatable depending view point and major. Some see it as a useless thing that everyone has, thus it won’t put you ahead of others. Others see it as a standard so you could get an interview in the first place. I think both are both true, once again depending on the situation. There are bull shit majors out there aren’t very practical, but then again there are a lot of jobs that don’t require text book facts and classroom skills to do the job. Most graduates I know say that college is more about learning how to think and networking. Lastly, thanks for keeping my modesty (or lack there of) in check. It’s good to know what people think.Jennie
And I guess the comment box doesn’t like how I formatted everything, so apologies for the block text!
Hi.
As everything, it’s a personal choice. The point I was alluding to is that college is not for everyone. One has to balance between the costs and benefits. If the costs, including financial and opportunity, are less than the benefits, then by all mean, go for a degree. If not, then do something else in life and earn a living.
What are the financial costs? College costs 3x (adjusted for inflation) more than in 1978. To put it another way, it costs 3x more now than it did in 1978 to go to college.
Opportunity Costs; Learning a trade and working the 4 years and not being in debt. Say, if one were to work right after highschool, and average around 50k/year, 30K/yr after living expenses, at the end of 4 years, he’d be $120K ahead of someone that went to college. Plus, one has to factor in tution costs:
4 year degree (tution & board):
public inst: 62k
Private: 142k.
To sum: After 4 years, the person w/o a college degree is at least 162K ahead. You can do a break-even analysis, but you get thep point.
Will attending college afford you a better lifestyle? I don’t know. What is a better lifestyle? Is it to slave away to afford a mortgage, a nice car and flashy clothings? And before one realizes, one reaches middle age and must buy a LV purse collection or a convertible mini-cooper for that oncoming crisis.
Or, is it better to work as much as one needs and devote the remaining time to pursue interests that enrich one’s life?
Wow! “50k/year” with only a high school diploma? Where are those jobs you’re talking about? Can you support your claim with a link to collected data?
There’s no doubt a college education is expensive, but there’s intangible values gained other than potential prospect of money. For example, the process of learning various subjects in college from experts allows one to discern facts from false assertions.
There’s probably some individuals with only a high school diploma who have achieved financial independence, but I suspect the number is small compared to the larger number of high school graduates working at dead-end, low-pay jobs.
Yes, if all you care for is money, don’t want to learn anything else beyond high school, and want to stay narrow-minded, then sure don’t go to college. However, in this globally-competitive era, I don’t see how anyone with only a high school diploma can compete with those individuals who have one or two degrees. Even a liberal arts degree has competitive values.
I guess you’ve gained much “experience and confidence” that you can modestly dispense your brand of wisdom.