The What and Why of College

The What and Why of College

Despite recent discussions in the media and new Trump administration policies emphasizing the return on investment for a college degree, this study found high school and college students view college as valuable for reasons beyond careers and earnings. Sociologist Ann Mullen noted that students are not driven solely by career concerns when thinking about what they want to study, and that came through in these interviews as well.23 While all of the students in the study spoke of the importance of college for career preparation, most did not see that as its sole purpose. Instead, the vast majority of students viewed college as an opportunity for both personal and professional growth and thought of their futures not only in terms of work but also who they want to become as whole people.

While the most cited reason for attending college among the high schoolers was career preparation, many connected their future careers to the independence and opportunities they hoped a successful career would provide. For example, one high school student spoke of their interest in sports cars and looked forward to having the money to be able to engage with that interest.24 Another high school student discussed working in environmental science as a way to travel, both around the United States and as far away as the Congo.25 Yet another student also wanted to travel and experience different cultures; they stressed doing “something that I love or like I’m satisfied with but while also making money off of it.”26 Though earning a good salary was a factor for high schoolers as they considered the high cost of attending college, when deciding whether to pursue college they also spoke of intellectual enrichment and personal growth.

A few ninth and tenth graders mentioned that increasing their knowledge would be the primary purpose of attending college. But the eleventh and twelfth graders thought of college as a great opportunity for personal growth. These students spoke about college as a chance to develop social connections and better understand the workings of the world. One said that, if given the opportunity to go to college, you should take it because “it’s your responsibility to be a good citizen of society and to be able to contribute.”27

Reasons for attending college remained largely the same for the college students, who generally associated not attending college with limited options in the future. Nearly all of the college students saw their degrees as offering more career choices, higher-paying roles, and structured pathways to professional success. One student who did not want to reduce their college studies to a set of career choices conceded, “I feel like since I’m paying so much for college, I don’t want to just leave here and get nothing out of it.”28 Socioeconomic factors also influenced how college students viewed the decision to attend college. Nearly all of the first-generation students saw college as a stepping stone to a good career and a good salary, though only one college student spoke of a high salary as the primary reason for pursuing a future career.

The college students shared that various forms of personal development were important in their decision to attend college. Similar to their high school counterparts, college students were most excited about the potential for travel. One college student shared, “I want to live outside of the U.S. and I want to travel. One of the big things I want to do is travel more just to see what country I would fit in.”29 Regardless of the field the students wanted to pursue or were already pursuing, preparation for a life that would allow for travel turned up as a consistent factor for attending college.

The college students also thought of college as an opportunity to gain independence and develop an identity separate from that of their family and the influence of their hometown. One college student shared that what they most wanted to get out of their college experience was “just finding out who I am and not having my parents influence, like, just kind of putting them to the side and really finding out who I am as a person.”30 Other college students hoped college would help them grow socially, meet new people, and be exposed to people of different backgrounds. A college student made the point that, “if I were just looking for the degree, I could have done online college or community college. So, I think the people aspect is really important to me as well.”31 The chance to meet and learn from new people in college was also understood to be part of becoming a better citizen. Though they felt they were taking the necessary steps toward having a fruitful career, one college student shared that they were also “hoping to get lifelong friendships, a better outlook on the world, I guess the tools to be, I mean, I hate the term, but, like, a global citizen, just being more aware of what’s going on and understanding what you could do to help change for the better.”32 For the vast majority of both high school and college students, the benefits of attending college reached far beyond just potential careers.

Their ideas about the purpose and value of college were generally shaped by parents and peers. The high school focus group participants reported speaking with both family and friends when deciding whether to attend college, but they almost uniformly reported that they felt no pressure to follow a particular path. One lowerclassman said, “my parents have always been supportive of what I chose to do and never really told me to do something.”33 Another echoed this sentiment, saying, “I’ve never been told ‘Don’t do this.’ I never really changed my idea of what I want to do growing up.”34 The eleventh and twelfth graders reported feeling similarly. Most had at least one person in their life who followed the path they hoped to pursue, but similar to the ninth and tenth graders, they did not feel pushed to follow one path over another.