I’ve been seeing a lot of headlines like this recently touting that approximately half of American students are not ready for college when they graduate high school.  Although this is certainly a problem, I think we aren’t asking the right questions about these facts – mainly whether college is appropriate for everyone.

The price of college has become nearly prohibitive for the average American forcing either parents and/or students to take out tremendous loans.  Upon entering the workforce, students struggle to find adequate paying jobs let alone pay off these enormous debts.   Instead of emphasizing the importance of attending college, why not encourage students to examine all the alternatives instead?

Some of these alternatives include attending a technical school or college or waiting to attend college for a year or two, attending a state or local institution instead of an expensive private college, enrolling in a community college until the student decides what he or she wants to do, or simply not attending college at all.  We as a society put a lot of pressure on individuals to attend college and more pressure about attending the best ranked college.  Why is the idea of choosing an alternative so taboo?

Another concept I find interesting is the movement of free online college classes.  One of my friends has recently developed a passion for computer science and web design after enrolling in a few of these courses.  Students could even delay attending college for a year, enroll in some of these courses and work in a practical job setting while gaining real world experience and saving up to offset college expenses.

What do you think about college?  Should we be concerned that about 50% of high school students aren’t scoring what they should be on the SATs?  Or is seeking alternatives the answer?