My College Goals Essay

I believe this passage suggests that my college goals are a product of the current times. When I was growing up, I can remember being under the impression that people go to college after high school in the same way that people go to high school after grade school. I thought it was the unavoidable next step of education that everybody took part in. In fact, it wasn’t until I was in 6th or 7th grade that I asked my parents about their college experience and was shocked to discover that neither of my parents had more than an associates degree. To a college student in 1969, my goals in going to college may seem too materialistic and one-dimensional. Unlike the majority of college students in 1969, I don’t personally care too much about developing a “meaningful philosophy of life” through my college experience. While I do hope to learn more about myself and my place in society, my main purpose in going to college is to get a degree which will, hopefully, help me to find a stable, well-paying job that will help me build a good life and, eventually, support a family. This shows that the things people hope to gain through attending college these days are much more pragmatic compared to those of 1969.

This is because 74.7% of college students in 1991 are going to college for the same reason as me. I believe this is because society began to realize that people with more education may be able to perform jobs better. Therefore, it makes sense that people who perform the best in their fields will be paid more. Then, in order to make more money, going to college and getting a degree became more common. However, since everybody is aware of that now, going to college is very common and the job market is more competitive than it has ever been. At this point in time, going to to college is not a “golden ticket” for a high-paying job, it’s just an