Pressure of going to a four year
Looking at Gap year program and college brochures (Riley Ehrlicher, The Puma Prensa)
By Riley Ehrlicher, staff writer
Maria Carrillo has been known for its excellence in education, and higher academic standard for its students, with this known quality of the school, students are facing the pressure of getting into a four-year college straight out of high school. This pressured to go to a four-year college is due to peers and teachers, making students feel that it is their only option. Although attending a four-year college is an great option, there is other paths that can be better for different students. Stress about what to do after high school is a common issue among student. This is mostly because they don’t know about other programs and options available to them. Stress over financial aid and student debts is also prevalent. However there is the same issue when really there are so many options that they have to choose from but don’t know about. Going to a high school that mainly focuses on students going to a four-year after graduating, causes more students to feel pressured to do something that they are not mentally ready to handle, furthermore causing a more stressful environment. Teens need to be able to feel like they can go into a 4-year college with confidence that they will achieve all of their goals.
Students here at Maria Carrillo are not shocked by the pressure to go to a four-year straight out of high school—they often get asked; What college are you going to after high school, or; What are you going to major in? Most teachers and peers assume that their peers are going to go to a 4-year school based on their grades, which classes they are taking and what their goals are. This has students feeling that they have no choice but to go to a four-year school, which is a big issue. Julia Carr, a Senior here at Maria Carrillo said: “I feel like the demographic around going to four-years is very pressuring and so people do feel pressured to go to a four-year”. Carrillo allows students to achieve their goals of going to a four-year college but they don’t necessarily talk about the other options that high schoolers have after they graduate.
For example, another option for students to go to a JC can save families so much money and it is important for people to know about it no matter what age they are. There are many programs that can help students financially such as the FASA and Doyle scholarship. Other community colleges that have good transfer programs are Irvine Valley College, Santa Monica College, and Santa Barbara City College. With our school struggling to make it clear to students that a four-year is not the only option, students are not aware of the benefits of going to the JC. Edith Tiko, a senior at Carrillo stated “I have never heard about any scholarships for the JC'.” Knowing about different scholarships, especially the Doyle scholarship, can pay for much of the JC’s tuition and also have other benefits such as paying for food and books that are needed. One program that is particularly helpful is the Doyle Scholarship which is a financial aid program that pays students to go to the JC. This helps with student debts, and people can end up making money from it, which helps them in the future. Although teachers talk about going to the JC,there is very little to no talk about doing a semester at sea, a trade school, or having a gap year. The JC is also a good option for people who do not know what they want to major in and to get general education done before transferring to a State or University school if that is the goal. The Maria Carrillo staff need to do a better job of sharing the other ways students can achieve their dreams. This is important for students who not only want to go to a four-year but for students that might not have the chance or ability to go to a four-year.
Another option is taking a gap year for students to figure out what they want to do with their life and make a plan, or simply take a break. With programs that help with financial issues as well as programs that allow students to travel and see the world, traveling during a gap year can help students find what they really want to do with their lives. It is okay to not know what to do after high school but many students are pressured to think otherwise due to parents, staff, and peers talking about what college they are going to go to.
Another option is a semester at sea, where college students can come together and meet with many different types of people and cultures. While on the world-renowned professors with there being so many students that are going off to college being unprepared with what is ahead of them. Another way to experience the world would be by taking a gap year. Senior Ava Lewallen said, “ I wish they explained what a gap year is and talked more about the JC.” This allows students to go to different places worldwide and learn from experiences instead of in a classroom. Taking a gap year is a great opportunity for people to find out what they are truly passionate about and how they want to carry their experiences into their future lives. A well known program for gap years would be Institute for Global Studies which helps students find internships in 23 different countries.
Another great option would be going to a trade school to learn about the specific job that you want to do and allow you to have hands-on experience. Trade schools offer a wide variety of jobs for students to pick from such as electrician, auto mechanic, plumber, computer repair technician, and more. Trade schools are much cheaper than a four-year college, but students only get training for that specific job and can’t experiment with other interesting jobs. This could lead to trade schools not being as appealing to those who want to be more flexible in their work later on in life. As well as this, it doesn’t have the campus culture that most get in college.
Some students are not intrigued by going to college after high school and want to do something for their country. Going to the military or marines is something that some students from Maria Carrillo and high schools across the country have done straight out of high school to help serve our country. When in the military people get wage, health insurance, housing, and there are a variety of branches and jobs you can have in the military. Although there are a lot of pros to going into the military, on the other hand there is a lot of risk and people are under the control of the military. Especially with today’s political climate, many would dislike the military. Throughout the year at Maria Carrillo, there are marines that come to the school and talk about what it is like and what their job is to students. There are sign up sheets when the marines come so that students can take action for what they want to do.
According to US News Maria Carrillo is the 3rd best school in Sonoma country and is the number one public school in Sonoma County. Carrillo is, as it stands, a college-based high school, which causes an abundance of students to feel pressured to go straight to a four-year high school. While many students want to go to a four-year, that option may not be possible for many students, and other students might not want to go to a four-year or college in general. Schools should continue to advance their knowledge with how to introduce students to different forms of education after high school. Students graduating high school should not feel the need to go to a 4-year college if they are not mentally ready for it.