REASON 9: There Are Better Ways to Learn About the World

The best way to learn about the world.

According to the logic of college enthusiasts, the best way to learn about the world isn't to buy a plane ticket and, say, see the world firsthand.  Rather, the path to worldliness requires you to pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition, to spend your nights reading theoretical texts that explain how the brightest scholars think the world works, and to spit all of this newfound knowledge out for your midterm and final exams.

I don't know about you, but I think that a plane ticket is probably the better way to learn about the world.

REASON 8: You Get No Respect

"R-E-S-P-E-C-T.  You can't get it with a college degree."

While the passion for knowledge is what drives some people to attend college (See Reason 1), the desire for prestige is another strong motivator.  Many college aspirants pursue a bachelor's degree simply because they believe that possessing a degree will make them seem more intelligent, interesting, or ambitious.  Some people hope that by majoring in fields like political science, they'll become the go-to guy whenever their friends want to resolve a heated political argument. 

However, this perception couldn't be further from the truth.  As college is becoming more accessible to the public, the awe factor of attending a four-year university is going down.  The respect that others have for the knowledge you will obtain over those four (or possibly six) years will be nonexistent.  And as a result, it will take far more than a college degree to boost your social status among your peers.

REASON 7: Tunnel Vision

Your future is brighter outside of the tunnel.

By now you've probably heard many people say that a college education opens doors.  In reality, a college education opens the door to a long, never-ending tunnel.  Upon entering college, a student exits a world where possibilities seem never-ending and enter a world where life is limited to a handful of cliche careers and grad school programs.

REASON 6: College Sports

New state-of-the art sports stadium: $250 million

The quality of your education going down the drain: Priceless

Do you care about the quality of academics at your school?  

Did you apply to college to get away from those annoying jocks and cheerleaders in high school?  

Do you spend more time at the library than at the gym?

Do you believe that higher education should be about more than tailgating, bonfires, and fuzzy school mascots?

Then do yourself a favor and don't go to college.

REASON 5: You Don't Know What to Major In

Do you offer Leisure Studies?

Once upon a time, college was a place for self-exploration.  Society realized the futility of asking an eighteen-year old to decide on his or her life-long career, and the job market was forgiving if a graduate's major didn't quite match to a specific occupation.  

Unfortunately, times have changed.

REASON 4: Lecture Classes

Don't forget your binoculars.

Imagine heading to your Introduction to Philosophy class on a cold winter morning.  You are running late because you slept past your alarm clock.  Because you had to work late last night, you only slept for three hours.  To say the least, class is the last place you want to be right now.  But if you don't go, you might miss out on information that will be on the next test.

REASON 3: College Writing Isn't Real Writing

The clarity of college writing.

If you want to learn how to write concisely and eloquently, don't go to college.  Along with instilling students with critical thinking skills (See Reason 2), colleges like to boast that a strong dose of the humanities will improve your writing skills.


Here's the truth: If you haven't learned to write concisely and eloquently by the end of your high school career, you probably won't improve your writing in college.  In fact, expect your writing skills to atrophy in college, regardless of your current writing abilities.


Here's why.