Think about this, you spend your whole life getting good grades and working toward a common goal, college. But once it’s time to apply you don’t have enough money or practically use all your money in order to get in for one semester. Colleges are so high priced, that even today “Nearly half of parents haven’t paid off their own student loans,” according to Tim Grant / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Most teens nowadays, feel the need and pressure to go to college in order to get a good job and make a living. Edward James Poll on ThinkAdvisor.com states that, “ 83% percent of Americans say they can’t afford college.” If this is true then over half have of Americans can barely afford colleges, on top of that make a living. Lucie Lapovsky, from Forbes.com,  also states that, “ 57% of students, the highest percent on record, chose not to attend their first choice school. Among those not attending, 62% said they could not afford it.” So how are we supposed to even enjoy college if you can’t even get into the school of your choice.

Furthermore, the fact that society has engraved in teens’ minds that in order to get a good job and earn money you have to attend college is just sad. I’m not saying that college is stupid and not worth the money, but it’s not the only option. Feel free to pursue other options such as vocational school, tech school, or even take a gap year. There are many jobs out there that require vocational and tech school experience. But whatever you plan to pursue in the future just remember, “There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs,” said Zig Ziglar.