Anyone who’s an upperclassman will tell you that applying to college is no cakewalk. There are multitudes of applications and forms to fill out, essays to write, and not to mention endless campuses and options to tour. Choosing where one attends college is one of the biggest decisions in one’s life. College is the gateway from adolescence into adulthood, and where one goes can affect where one gets a job, how much debt, if any, they owe for the rest of their life, and where one will call their alma mater. When it comes to something that gets so much attention, the question must be asked, is college overrated?

The easy answer would be no. In today’s ultra-competitive job market, a college degree is vital to securing a good job. In the 60’s and 70’s, people were able to enter the workforce without a degree and still get a well-paying job. In today’s current market, a high school diploma is essentially worthless. In addition, many people will try to go to the best college they can, meanwhile putting themselves into crippling debt for degrees that do not even guarantee a job once you are out of school. Student loans are becoming an epidemic in America, and there is no sign of it slowing down. Society as a whole has become more accepting of student loans, many seeing it as a part of life. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with it, almost everyone would agree that it would be better to not start their adult life with $100k in debt.

The other side of the argument is that one could avoid the copious amounts of debt and immediately join the workforce, therefore making money right off the bat. There are jobs out there and trades that can be learned that lead to six figure salaries, such as electricians, plumbers, and car mechanics.

It all comes down to what lifestyle one wants to live. Some people are content with living an average lifestyle, having enough to go on vacation and enjoy life. Other people like to go for broke, betting everything on a college education and taking the risk of not being able to pay it back, but also hoping to climb the corporate ladder, or invent the latest piece of tech.