Why Go To College Essay Example for Free

Why Go To College Essay What influenced me to attend college? My Grandparents have tried to get me to go to college for many years. However, I didn’t have much interest in furthering my education. I was a nanny for almost seven years, and had hopes of making that my career, until I was charged with a felony. That put an abrupt end to a career in any form of childcare. So after spending the next two years in treatment, I came to the conclusion that going to college would be the best way for me to achieve my new interest of helping others with their chemical dependency addictions. â€Å"Your future starts here†(www.grad.pci.uta.edu). There are a lot of colleges that use that catch phrase. My future without college became clear to me when witnessing two brothers that came from the same background. One attended college and the other chose not to, and began his own transportation business. With the event of 9-11, his business went under. Without an education beyond High School, he has not been able to find meaningful employment and is currently living in a camper and doing odd jobs. The other brother, that attended college, is now an executive in a major corporation and is living in a ‘mansion’. It became clear to me that in order to get into the field I am interested in and make a decent living, I would need to further my education. The difference in the annual income between someone with just a high school diploma and someone with a Bachelor’s Degree is huge. Statistics show that High School graduates on average make $33,176 a year, and someone with a Bachelor’s Degree can make $54,756 on average per year.(www.ohe.state.mn.us, Facts About Income of Graduates, Minnesota Office of Higher Education, March 23, 2012, web, Aug. 2013) Now that’s quite a difference. I chose to compare these two things because a Bachelor’s Degree is what I would need to get into the field I may possibly be interested in. I’m still unsure of a specific major that I would like to pursue. Chemical Dependency Counseling is an interest of my mine, but I’m still undecided. So that’s another plus with going to college, they offer courses that are meant to help someone who’s unsure about what they want to do with their future, find something that interests them. I have found that college is not as easy as I once thought. There are many things or activities one must give up or put on hold while attending college, but a little studying now will lead to a better future later. Mainly what I hope to gain by attending college,  is not only a higher education, but also a skill set and the discipline to build a career in the field I choose, rather than just having a minimum wage job.