Over the past few decades, society has transitioned into a culture that deems college a necessity for success in life. It seems like a bachelor’s degree is the new high school degree, which leaves those without proper access to educational and financial resources stuck in a perpetual cycle of oppression.
There wouldn’t be so much pressure on young adults to go to college if there wasn’t a societal notion that it was the only way to secure a well-paying job.
Of course, college does provide some stability to one’s life: many high-paying jobs do require degrees. But, the main problem with the stigma surrounding college is the unfair pathway to a four-year degree.
Starting as early as preschool or elementary school, significant differences divide those who do and don’t have access to quality education and funds. From there, the gaps begin to widen.
Parents who cannot afford prestigious preschools or extra academic resources are already falling behind in the education and mental stimulation of their children.
It becomes only more evident into middle and high school that the generational wealth of families can either hinder or boost their children’s success. Funding for public school districts largely comes from property taxes, meaning wealthier communities have access to schools with more resources and, therefore, more opportunities.
Meanwhile, households in lower-income communities must send their kids to schools that have less to offer. When one school provides dozens of Advanced Placement classes while another has only five, the same student will end up with a drastically different list of academic achievements depending simply on the location of their residence.
Even within one school, guidance counselors and teachers have a heavy hand in shaping their students’ trajectories. Racial stigma, while often subtle in appearance, persist in the classroom and manifest in the tracking systems that place some students in more advanced classes than others. At schools throughout the U.S., some ethnic minorities are still assumed by teachers to be less academically capable.
It is difficult to beat a system that does not want to help you.
While students who are low-income may have access to fee waivers for standardized testing and school applications, as well as other forms of financial aid, inescapable aspects of their life can place a burden on their educational experience nonetheless.
Some students may have to work part-time to help support their family. At the same time, they might not be able to afford additional tutoring or travel to tour prospective colleges — many of which offer applicants extra points for this sort of “demonstrated interest.”
These factors alone further complicate their process into college and push them behind their well-off counterparts.
Students who are not concerned with the logistics of their family’s income not only have more access to resources, but can also put their time and energy into their schoolwork and extracurriculars. This only exacerbates the educational gap because they can excel far beyond low-income classmates who are stressing about finances instead of homework.
Wealthier families can enable their children to build up credentials by earning outstanding standardized testing scores and dedicating themselves to extracurricular activities. Some even have the advantage of being a legacy applicant for a particular university. None of these advantages means a student is truly more qualified, but it does offer them a leg up.
Upon acceptance into college, students appear on the way to job security, as they receive a wealth of new opportunities and connections. A 2013 Georgetown University report revealed those with a bachelor’s degree or higher credentials have seen the most job growth since the 1989 recession.
It is possible, however, to live well without a college degree. We’ve all heard the success stories about highly affluent individuals who never finished higher education. Meanwhile, attending trade schools or going straight into the workforce can still provide a living wage.
There’s a stigma against blue-collar jobs, especially in the higher education world. Yet every sector of the economy needs employees, and these careers are more than valid.
The school system must emphasize hard work and a desire to learn instead of forcing the path of college onto its students. A worsening negative stigma looms over trade school, community college as well as the choice to opt completely out of higher education.
Traditionally minimum-wage jobs — which usually don’t require a college degree — carry similar connotations. Only now during the COVID-19 pandemic have they begun to be appreciated and applauded for existing — before, essential workers were oft seen as lesser than those with a white-collar occupation.
There shouldn’t be only one concrete path to success in society. But if that’s what will continue to be pushed at our children, then all who are on that path should have fair access to opportunities and resources. This country is one that has consistently catered to the wealthy while generation after generation of low-income families are left to climb themselves out of a hole they can’t seem to escape.
