Dennis Marek: Dad, Mom - I do not want to go to college

When I was thinking about college, those words just would not have come out. To get to go to college was an honor and a privilege. Of course, most wanted to go to some college and get the best jobs. It was an assumption for most high school students in the 1950s.

USA Today ran an article a week ago that caught my full attention. The subhead read “Teen grads increasingly choosing tech school.” I had certainly heard the idea that college is not for all, and I fully agree. But the statistics that I read were a bit shocking. First was a survey finding that 45% of teens were not interested in going to college. Of that group, about 14% were considering a trade school of sorts, and the rest were considering other options.

Also, with those teens not wanting college, many of their parents were fine with the idea, but overall, over 80% of all teens’ parents encouraged their children to attend college. A substantial number of parents did support a plan to not immediately attend college, rather seeking some time during which to travel, go to work or pursue a nondegree program.

Of course, finance is one of the leading reasons for not attending college. The price of education, whether it be at a four-year university, a junior college or even some sort of online platform, can be downright scary. Right now, the average cost of an in-state tuition at a university is $10,000 a year, while to attend out of state is almost triple that number. College tuition has doubled since 2000.

Want an even a scarier thought? Full tuition at Northwestern Law School in 1964 was about $6,000 a year. Last I heard, it was now close to $80,000 per year. Walking out looking for that first job, if there was no scholarship help, that law student would be $250,000 in debt.

Compare those numbers with the fact that the average cost of a complete trade school program’s tuition was about $15,000 last year. Then, one can compare those costs with what the potential income would be for the student. Is that fancy school worth it? Will there be a return on that additional investment?

I look back at the classmates of my 1967 graduation from law school and look back on their productive financial lives. Take my three roommates over that three-year span in law school. What a difference in ultimate employment. My freshman roommate was hired by a very prestigious law firm in San Francisco and would eventually represent the National Football League! One ended up in the insurance business far from the practice of law. The third, after making the coveted Law Review his first year, moved to an island off Seattle and raised goats. He later taught online for a university, and for a short stint served as a public defender. He really did a minimal practice of law.

Of course, those men all completed seven years of college and probably owed a substantial amount of college debt upon graduation, as did I. But the field opened a lifetime of practicing law to two of us. The college grind and expense were well worth it in the long run. Without our law degrees, we couldn’t pursue that career.

But that was almost 60 years ago. Certainly, things have changed. My senior high school class of 1960 had me as the only one who had his undergraduate degree after four years. Many more were to achieve that goal in a couple extra years, but cost and other factors brought a delay to some and a permanent nonattendance to a lot of others.

It is now 2025. My two oldest grandchildren have graduated from college, and two more are in college. None have shown any desire to skip this further education. But one of the surveys mentioned in the USA Today article showed that most high school students and their parents are basically unaware of their post-graduation options other than the four-year college path. Until graduation is near, many high school students and their parents have not discussed future educational plans.

I remember hearing that when a friend of mine was in high school, his father talked only about IF he went to college. My family talked only about WHEN we went to college. Expectation is often a driving force.

But college life is so much more than a degree and learning new skills. It can open the student to other ways of life, other beliefs, even other political views. Growing up in Clifton had not taught me a lot about much of the world. Only getting out there and experiencing it had me learning of the many differences here on planet Earth. It showed me that we Americans can be quite different in our views, our social status and our beliefs, be it political, religious or economics. I even found out that there were lots of folks who did not understand the difference between a cornfield and a soybean field.

If college is one thing, it is the opening of one’s eyes to so many other ways of life. Trade school is fine but generally confining, with no relocation and the same community. College is so much more wide open to life experiences as well as education. So, if your child or grandchild wants to skip college and go straight to a work plan, so be it. But at least show him or her the other options, even though it involves a lot of hard work and expense. Let the child see both sides and then decide.

Dennis Marek can be contacted at llamalaw23@gmail.com.