Introduction
I rejected 5 University the first time I was accepted and for a while I was adamant that I would never go to college. I was wrong, so wrong that I am writing this from my college dorm 1 year into my Electrical Engineering degree. Though looking back I had good reasons for rejecting University I am going to share both sides of my argument and why I eventually ended up going.
Cough Cough
To give some backstory I grew up in Barbados, a small island with a population of around 280k. Luckily here education is relatively free up until the tertiary level, its promise is if you do very well, well being straight A’s, the government will give you a scholarship to your school of choice. Now, I had always done pretty well in school and was on track to achieve this. What had been a pretty smooth academic progression quickly went sideways, there was this one period or rather a pause in time, COVID. A series of events took place that I will talk about another time for the sake of staying on topic, but I struggled academically and mentally .There was no way after making it through that somehow I was saying, “ yeah I will have another four years, sign me up”.
Let’s Slow down a bit here
I mean the natural progression after high school/ secondary school is to go directly to tertiary education and is just about what all of my peers were doing. I had long observed many take that route and returned from college without any real progression or without achieving what they had set out to. Many talked about how hard it was to find a job, others didn’t even like their major or worse, dropped out. I didn’t want this life for myself and resisted everyone who told me to go to University simply because it was the ‘normal’ next step without real explanation as to why or a thought process. I needed some answers first as to why so many didn’t succeed at what they set out to do and needed a clear plan as to why I am even going to college, a plan which I definitely did not have.
Well it isn’t free
Fortunately my grades were good enough to give me admission and scholarships to international Universities which is just about the dream of most students from my home country.The thing is even with scholarships University is still in my opinion extremely expensive. Spending extreme amounts of money is one thing, spending extreme amounts of money you don’t even have is another. I won’t sit and cry poor because I never lacked for any necessities in my life, but we could not afford university on our own. The Universities were well into six figures and my family were suggesting lending some exuberant amounts of money. I had done my research on the struggles students experience post graduation due to high student debt. Although STEM degrees repay better than most, spending my first 4-6 years post graduation repaying debt , that is if I get a job, a very big if, did not add up.
What am I studying again?
So I applied initially to study Electrical Engineering, though that is what I later ended up studying, I was completely guessing . At the time,I had never worked in the field, no clue what they actually did, job opportunities, nothing. Anyone who has ever asked a few college students why they are in their major have surely noticed that close to none are sure about why they even choose their major or how they plan to use it. My experience was exactly that , from asking around I was close to never convinced that a student was sure about the choice in major they chose, or that they even liked it. If I see a dish on a menu I am not sure about I don’t touch it, surely if I sign up for a 4 year program I need to at least know what it is, what they do, if I like it, and how I plan to use it.
Life was perfectly good
I started a business during COVID, story for another day, but it was doing well, I did many articles and interviews and was making some money. I wasn’t paying any bills , had all of my friends, enjoying the island life in Barbados , life was looking pretty good. So my life is finally recovering and even on the way up post ‘cough cough’, and now you’re suggesting 4 years of nothing but uncertainty and school which I literally just escaped, NO, no I am pretty good, I will pass.
These were my main concerns at the time and amongst my peers I felt like I was the only one thinking about this. I felt so unheard and the more people pushed me towards school the more I resisted and eventually said you know what, I am not going at all. A bit extreme,so don’t even bother convincing me because I am not going. Thankfully it didn’t last long. I began researching and addressing each of my pain points and here is what my much more rational research led me to find.
College is expensive but it doesn’t have to be
I was only looking at the big well known / IVY league Colleges and my financial situation meant that I wasn’t even qualified to say their names too much. Ok so now what colleges can we afford? How can I qualify for more scholarships? I filtered schools by cost and these questions and conversations led me to taking the SAT which is not a part of the Caribbean education system. The second time I was accepted my offer cost wise was less than half of what it was initially, just through doing some research.
Maybe let’s actually test my major
I did exactly that, I landed an internship at an electrical company and got the opportunity to work in the field. Turns out I actually like Electrical Engineering and can see myself working in the industry. I was also considering computer engineering/ computer science but I did some jobs in that field and though capable , didn’t peak my interest. Then went on to work at the Airport and completely loved the aviation industry.
Conclusion
Thus based on my experiences I am studying Electrical Engineering and want to work in the Aviation industry.What I want to point out is how I am able to write at length about all my uncertainties but two small steps which are often neglected, solved all of them. I feel much more comfortable and confident with my choice. I have enjoyed my experience so far and would truly recommend it to everyone especially away from your country when done properly. College is a big decision and should be treated with care and thought through properly. If not what is supposed to be the most pivotal, developmental point of your life can quickly turn into a huge mistake, you paid everything you have to make. So now here I am at University not because anyone told me to, or because I am supposed to but because I wanted to go, on my terms, when I was ready.
