Fionn Rogan | Deputy Opinion Editor
Why go to college? Why pursue a third-level education? Why indeed? The Irish are the second best qualified young people in Europe. Nearly forty-two percent of our twenty-five to thirty-four year olds hold some form of third-level degree. One might wonder then ‘what exactly have the Irish achieved with this near-peerless level of ‘education’?’ Which might lead one to question further ‘what exactly is the intrinsic value of a college education?’
I would wager that a frighteningly large degree of the Leaving Cert horde each year are led unwittingly into a college degree because they have been made ignorant of every other path available
ADVERTISEMENT
It’s an interesting question that isn’t asked enough in Ireland. Pursuing a third-level degree has become one of the sacred cows of modern Ireland and to question its worth is to unceremoniously slaughter it. However I feel compelled to ask ‘is it worth anything?’ Why do I go to college? Well the only means of answering that is to examine the aims of the student. What is the student looking to achieve from going to college? Did they realise in their Leaving Cert year that they possessed a certain zeal for education and consciously decided to pursue a 3 or 4-year course of enlightenment in their chosen field, be it in arts, science, business…etc.? I would wager that a frighteningly large degree of the Leaving Cert horde each year are led unwittingly into a college degree because they have been made ignorant of every other path available to them. To opt for an apprenticeship or even to pursue a career as an entrepreneur straight after school is to risk being marginalized by an education-obsessed society.
If it can be inferred that a number of students are currently pursuing a third-level degree as a direct result of this paradigm then perhaps the more appropriate question than ‘why do I go to college’ would be ‘why does society want me to go to college?’
The pessimist and cynic however might view a college as an exaggerated and expensive baby-sitting service that shelters young people from the real world
The optimist would suggest that someone should go to college in order to mature and become a well-rounded person. They receive a specialized education that prepares them for employment in some sector that requires an expert knowledge or specific training. The social aspect of college allows them to experiment and develop into a multi-dimensional and informed adult. It all sounds very pleasant and beneficial to society as a whole, even if it might suggest that those who do not attend college could never become well-rounded people. The pessimist and cynic however might view a college as an exaggerated and expensive baby-sitting service that shelters young people from the real world where failing to fulfill one’s responsibilities carries very real and frightening consequences such as unemployment, debt, perhaps even poverty. I often joke that I have two years left before I enter the ‘big bad world’ so I can admit there is some truth to this appraisal.
Education does not guarantee intelligence or innovation
Ultimately, as with most disputes both sides are right and wrong. The optimist makes a compelling argument for going to college. It sounds like a wonderful and sensible life choice however it places too great an emphasis on the necessity for a third-level degree to succeed in life and work. Education does not guarantee intelligence or innovation and despite several institutions attempts to do so, characteristics such as entrepreneurship and cop on cannot be taught. NUIM (National University of Ireland Maynooth) actually offers a level 8 course in Entrepreneurship. That is a laughable notion.
The cynic offers a legitimate counter-argument. Going to college isolates the student and insulates them to a certain degree from a harsher reality. However the cynic fails to recognise the benefits of young people being exposed to an environment designed for the free exchange of intellectual thought and discourse. If a college education cannot guarantee intelligence for all it can at least hone and focus those who already possess a certain capacity for deeper thought and analysis.
Photo by Andrew Murphy for The University Times.
As a nation we should ask ourselves more often ‘why go to college?’ I believe everyone should have the opportunity to go to college but this does not mean I think everyone should go. As a society we need to reevaluate and consider a broader spectrum of options for a post-Leaving Cert existence. There is a prodigious number or reasons for going to college but equally there are a great deal of other things to do also.
