Can Students Focus on Self-Development?

This is the third part in a FrumForum series on the value of college written by FrumForum's summer interns.

I spent my first year of college with no unique desires to learn – but simply with the goal of getting a degree and eventually a job. I was a part of the many who flock to college and routinely proceed through the requirements because it is expected – and because a degree was thought to be a first-class ticket in the “real world”. But as I approach my senior year, I’ve come to realize how little a degree will do for me.

This formerly golden document has decreased in value as it became more common. A bachelor’s degree seems to have the same value that a high school degree had 100 years ago – but it costs $200,000 more.

The past few years led me to a realization: college is not about grades or degrees – it’s about self-development. Unfortunately, few people strive towards that anymore.

Those with a will and passion to embrace their textbooks and study what they are given will receive a meaningful degree, while those who spend their undergraduate years at frat parties will leave four years later with empty pockets and a mountain of debt.

My philosophy professor advised his students to use college as a rare opportunity to “think about the great questions of life” – using resources that will only be available during that short four-year period.

I eventually acquired the desire to learn as much as possible – and actually enjoy soaking up every bit of information that comes my way. At first, I thought it would increase my value after graduation – but now, I’ve come to enjoy it, and would often much rather spend my time reading an interesting book than mindlessly attending a social event. Perhaps my degree will hold more weight when I walk off that stage next May.

College rankings don’t matter. People are given information, and whether they choose to receive it is a choice defined by character. It’s ones character that will pave the path of the future – not one’s degree.

What a degree will do is open doors to opportunities – which someone who wasted their four years will not be able to step through.

An Ivy League school may brand students with a name that will give them more chances – but it won’t make its students any more skilled.

So is college worth spending $200,000 on? Yes – but only for those who embrace the tools they are given. It can be an investment – but only for those who know how to invest.