College has been on everybody’s mind for what seems like forever. Even as young kids with no set career path or a specific life plan, for some families, it’s always just been understood that it’ll be a part of the future. Even today most kids still don’t know what they want to do in the future, or what they want to study in college. But despite this uncertainty about what their next steps should be, students are still writing the essays, scheduling college visits and rallying up teacher recommendations. 

So why are students willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on an education when they’re uncertain of what they want to pursue and how to do it? Is the modern standard to attend college and achieve a higher education even about the degrees, or is it simply a desire to make your parents proud?

It’s safe to say that a majority of students’ parents at various Bethesda high schools attended college themselves, each having a different experience than the next. Whether they loved it, hated it or had other thoughts about their college years, the mere fact that they attended some form of university often pushes the same expectations on their kids. 

“Both of my parents went to Maryland together, which is where they met, so college has always been a common topic of conversation for me and my family,” freshman Owen Altman said. “I think the fact that we’ve always talked about it sort of put it into me and my sister’s minds that it’s something that we’re going to do, even though we’re not necessarily being pressured into it.”

On the contrary, many people tend to be attracted to college merely for the experience that is repeatedly reported to be “the best four years of your life!” For many, the appeal of attending a university goes beyond education and into the ideas of socializing and self-growth. 

“I met some of the most influential people of my life in college. Not only some of my best friends but the professors I’ve had. They got me to expand my thinking, taught me how to look at things and the world differently,” English teacher Ashley Herdman said

Though the basic purpose of attending a college is to study a specific major and gain experience for a potential career in that specific field, many applicants are unsure of what they want to study and pursue in the future. But that doesn’t hold them back from seeking further education and experimenting with different concepts and subjects through higher education. 

“I’m not exactly sure what I want to do, but I’m hoping that once I get into a school and start to dabble in a few classes that I’ll figure it out. I’m only 17 so I feel like I have a lot of time to figure out the specifics of my future and my career. I’m just hoping that my experiences at whatever school I end up at help me figure out the details of what exactly I want to do so I can go forward from there,” senior Peyton Brown said.

Whatever students’ motivations and goals might be, now is the time for students to start considering their post-graduation plans, whether that be discovering their major or exploring other options for their future. There are so many options beyond college such as trade school, gap years or immediate employment, all of which can lead to great success depending on each individual students’ goals, aspirations and desires.