Is it worth it? (College)

My latest peeve has been one associated with my current life status: College Student. 
I have been very frustrated with the way society has contradicted itself, and I am concerned for the future.
I am currently attending a community college, and though it is cheaper than a University, I have still had to take out student loans. I am putting myself in debt to make it through college; to make myself a better future. This strikes a current frustration. 

degreecentral.com provides statistics for college students. It says that 2,350,000 are enrolled and that only 1,750,000 of those students graduate. So why is this? Is it because the average debt of a college graduate is $23,700? Or maybe because the average monthly payment for college debt is $432.Granted, there are college students who make poor choices; ones who party too hard and don't want to go to class the next day, or ones who will get arrested for under age drinking, or drinking while driving.

These days, the media has put out the mentality that we should all strive to attain comfort and happiness in the moment we live in. No thought of the future, just basically "live and let live". There are few exceptions, the 1,750,000 who graduate college are focused on making a better future for themselves. This isn't a good thing! That number is insanely low, considering the population of 18-23 year-old's in the United States is 25 million. 


These statistics are harsh, but is it entirely the fault of students lacking the motivation to attend college? The rates of young adults enrolling and graduating college are declining, yet we see the cost of tuition rising because of the economy. What would motivate a student to go to college if the tuition costs are rising? 


I've seen the number of drug users, alcohol users, and teenage pregnancies go sky high! People are doing things that are putting them at a lower level in society because they are choosing to do things that make them happy in the moment. Why stay home and study when you can be passed out on a floor? Later on in these people's lives they can live off the government. The government is always there to pick up people when they fall. If someone can do whatever the hell they want as teens and collect from the government when they get older why would they want to go to college!


Then there are the exceptions. The kids like me and a few of my friends who chose to enroll in college and are determined to make a career out of the things we learned, yet we're the ones who have to borrow money to make a career.
Basically, we're encouraged to go to college, but we have to use outrageous sums of money to get there. Few people can find the reward to be mental and emotional of college when they know they have so much debt in order to get themselves through college. With the major decline of jobs, sometimes college graduates aren't able to find jobs after they receive their degree.
I feel some-what punished for wanting to go to college and in all honesty- I don't think it is worth the thousands of dollars that we have to spend. The education is worth it, but the prices of books are way too high, professor's salaries can't possibly be that much, fees, room and board, and tuition should be taken way down! It's almost as if college is just another way for the government to collect money from people! Sometimes, all people gain out of college is debt! No wonder people aren't going to college.
I realize there are pell grants and scholarships available for kids who have 4.0 GPA's or can really play a sport but those are for kids who are driven from day one. What about kids like me? I didn't get the best grades in high school and I didn't make varsity in any sports but after high school I was still determined to make a better future for myself. So since I didn't get amazing grades and because I am not extremely athletic means that I have to borrow that much more money! Not many kids are like me; even with no scholarships and only $1,300 in pell grants, I still went to college. What about other kids? Other kids would look at everything they aren't getting and say: "FORGET THAT!"
The new determination to do better could be immediately shut down!
Not to mention ACT and SAT scores. What if someone does really bad on those tests and they aren't given the chance to do better? Not very many kids ages 18-21 can create their own motivation. If someone wants to do well but doesn't test well, is it fair that they can't go to the college of their dreams?


The question someone might be asking is: Should people be given a free ride to college? 


I say: YES, at least for the first year.

I don't, nor will I ever think that it is fair for people who want to make a better future to have to accumulate debt. It seems like a punishment, kids who will drop out of high school or only settle for a HSD can live off their parents, the government, or a minimum wage job. Yet people who want to become teachers, doctors, biologists, business men, nurses, physical therapists, psychologists, radiology technicians, etc., have to go into thousands of dollars of debt in order to contribute to society and make more money to support themselves and future families. 

My voice, is small and faint but that doesn't mean I don't want it to be heard, at least by the peers of my Facebook page.
I think that the first 2 years of college should be offered as public high school education, at a community college for free for students right out of high school. This will help give students a chance to get good grades to send to 4 year universities and get scholarships who didn't work as hard as they should in high school and it will encourage kids to keep on going. I bet some kids would realize how rewarding college is if they know they have a chance to succeed in it! If I were given the chance to attend a community college for 2 years for free I would work my tail off so I could send an impressive transcript to a 4 year university (which is what I am doing now) without having accumulated debt and given the chance to earn scholarships. 

My dream college is a liberal arts university and it costs $35,000 a year (in tuition) to attend, I am going to accumulate a lot of debt attending that college alone, why should I have to go into debt attending a community college when I can do well and be given the chance to decrease my cost with scholarships at the private college? 


For my next and final subject: Parents who want to go back to school.
Though I myself am not a parent, I know that being a parent is a full time job! Schooling should be available to adults wanting to go back at a discounted rate. I believe that this economy will be lifted up if people are able to get jobs, people in their 30's who can't get a job without a degree should be able to do it. Prices of college are discouraging, and I don't think society has room to complain when the drop-out rates for college are so high.


In conclusion, people should be given the opportunity to do better without going into debt or paying outrageous sums of money. There will be less college drop-outs and more qualified people to take jobs and make jobs. If more people were given an opportunity to go to college and become what they want to be, it will create more jobs because more people will be qualified to make jobs. For example: Businessmen creating businesses.