College is not for Everyone

I know, the title of this post is crazy, right? College, not for everyone?? Are you joking?

No, I am not joking. Seriously, there are some really good options out there for young people that are NOT college options. College here would mean a four-year university degree. Well, trade schools are an option which is still schooling, but the students there get good hands on experience which, face it, college just does not provide. My husband and I are both college grads (BA degrees from a NY State university), my daughter has two BS degrees from Florida State and my son is a senior at University of Central Florida and will receive his BS degree in economics in May. (difference between a BS degree and a BA degree in these cases is the foreign language requirement in college) Obviously my family enjoys college. However, there are a lot of other options out there that parents need to consider.

1. Firefighter school - Check out this website - Fire Academy
2. Police Officer - Orange County Sheriff's Dept. - Police Officer
Requires two years of preparation, must be 20 years old.
Salary? $37, 000 - $38, 000.
Not too shabby!
3. Technical School Programs - These take a LOT less time, and money! Check out
Orlando tech
4. A.S. Degree Programs - A 2-year degree that moves the student right into the work force.
Here are the programs at Valencia. Valencia A.S. Degrees Watch out for pre-requisites that
can take a lot of time! The Nursing Degree, while fantastic, can take 4 or more years!

Students can also get a job locally and move on up the ladder without a college degree. If your student is artistic he can also go out on his own with freelance photography and art. Think outside of the box. If your student is not into getting a four-year degree, then please find other options! You can lead a kid to college but you can't MAKE his pass!

Sometimes a student needs more time to decide. Give him that time! He can do a lot of other things. Check this out: Seth Godin
Seth Godin has some amazing ideas for marketing both yourself and your products. Please read this post. If your student needs more time to figure stuff out, there are some great ideas in that post to keep him moving forward.

My son's good friend was an indifferent public high school student. Maybe indifferent is a little better than the reality. He graduated from high school, started working at a fast food place and tried to decide what to do. In January he decided to start at the community college. Still a bit of an indifferent student but decided to make a go of it. Two years later he has graduated with an A.A. degree and is now at the university. He would like to get a Ph.D. How is that for waiting to decide? Had he started right out of high school I am not sure he would still be in school now.

As a homeschooling family you get to know your child very well. Come on Mom and Dad, you know if your kid is not really into college. You also know if he really would rather be an artist, firefighter, police officer, well, you get the picture!