By: Nikki Hudak

Most people have to sit down and decide whether college is worth wilde for them.   Attending college can have many positive and negative effects.  A few negative effects are debt, partying, sexual assault, missing family and friends, and stress.  Positive effects are he/she gets a degree, makes new friends, becomes more diverse, most likely gets a good job after graduating, and helps he/she to become more independant and grow as an individual.

Starting off with the negative effects of attending college.  Tuition has skyrocketed over the years leaving college students thousands of dollars in debt right out of highschool, since many people cannot afford to fully pay their schooling off.  Going in that much debt is a huge benefactor of people attending college because many people just cannot afford it.  If he/she really wants to attend college and does not have the funds to do so he/she must work very hard in high school so that they can get more financial aid and apply for bigger scholarships.  This also means that students must work very hard while in college so that they can hopefully get a good job after they graduate to pay off their student loans.  Another negative effect that sadly has been becoming more common on college campuses is sexual assault.  Sexual assault in many cases is usually caused when the victim is walking alone at night and an attacker approaches.  It is terrible to think that it could happen to anyone.  With that being said many colleges nowadays have been putting in posts every few feet that have a button on them that when it is pressed the campus police will be notified and be there as soon as possible.  He/she can press this button anytime they feel they are in any kind of danger.  Another huge negative effect is students partying a lot while at college.  Partying can lead to many negative things as a college student.  One being if he/she is out partying all the time their grades are bound to decline rapidly because they are more interested in getting intoxicated than focusing on studying.  Many of the students out partying are usually under the legal drinking age.  If they happen to get caught they will most likely suffer some kind of penalty.  Drinking alcohol is not the only thing students may do at these parties they may even do drugs and get addicted.  Addiction and bad grades will most likely end in dropping out of college.  Once again not a positive situation that could happen while attending college.  Another negative effect is if he/she goes off to college and lives on campus they may not see their family and friends as often.  This will most likely be very hard for students leaving home for the first time and adjusting to being alone.   Lastly college can be a lot to handle for most people causing a huge amount of stress on students.  Having too much stress is not healthy for anyone, so if he/she is feeling stressed they should find an activity to join or someone to speak to, to hopefully help their stress decrease.   

There can also be many positive effects of attending college.  The first one being if he/she sticks through however many years of schooling it takes to get their degree usually around four years they will at least leave college with a college degree and that is hopefully the goal for many students.  Having a college degree can lead to many great opportunities in life.  Many jobs require some kind of a college degree so if he/she has a college degree an employer is more likely to hire the person with a degree rather than the person without a degree.  Another positive effect is he/she can make many new friends.  Having friends in college will probably make him/her feel more comfortable in their new environment and not miss their friends and family back home as much.  It also helps to make good friends that do not influence him/her to party every night to instead study every night.  Attending college may even help him/her learn to interact with bigger crowds and socialize with more people without getting overwhelmed if he/she is from a smaller town and attending a larger college.  Another positive effect is he/she will be surrounded by all different kinds of races and ethnicities that they may have never been around before.  By being surrounded by other cultures they will become more diverse by the end of attending college.  Continuing on to another positive effect is once again by attending college he/she has a much higher chance of getting a job with a college degree.  By getting a good job after school he/she will be able to get a jump start at adulthood because they will be able to start paying off their students loans quicker and the faster he/she pays of their student loans the more they can focus on having a more stable income and be able to afford nicer things.  Most importantly college helps him/her become way more responsible and independent than they were in highschool because he/she does not have their mommy or daddy there to tell them to get their school work done before going and hanging out with friends, get their behinds up and ready for the day, and of course do their laundry.  He/she learns how to live more independently to move into the real world after college.  Which this is difficult for many students to learn when they have once depended on other people to remind them to get things done and motivate them.  This is why it is great to make friends at college so that they can help him/her stay on track and not slack off as much hopefully.

With all that being said yes college does not always have the most positive effect on people, but if he/she stays away from all of the partying, drugs, stress, and bad influences that guide them on the paths it may not be that bad for most people.  College can also have many positive effects.  Like discussed he/she is more likely to get a job with a college degree, become more diverse, make a lot of great friends and memories, and most importantly become independent adults ready for the real world of getting on their feet.