In researching this article I consulted friends, colleagues, online resources and my own reasons. There were many reasons given for why a person should go to school. All lists mentioned earning potential, some reasons were cited more often than once; however, no two lists were exactly the same. Although many people disagree with this list, I am confident that this list includes some of the best reasons to go to college, if not the top three reasons to go to college.

3. Rewarding career
Most people have jobs. People go to their job because they need money to pay their bills. When you have a career you go to work with purpose, and you impact people’s lives. It has been said “do something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.’

You selected your major, so the field you will be in is probably the one you chose. You will be interested in the work because it is a field that got your attention and caused you to study the field. If you find that you are no longer interested in the exact field you are working in, your four-year degree will open many doors. Frequently, you will be able to leverage your education as you transition into a field that do enjoy.

2. Money
According to College Board, the non-profit membership based organization that administers the SAT exam, Advanced Placement Exams, as well as other exams, in 2003 a person who had a four-year degree earned $19,000 more every year than people who do not have a degree. Considering that people work nearly 50 years over the course of their career, a four-year degree equates to about $1,000,000 more for the educated worker when you consider inflation.

The increased income will provide a full life. You will be able to pay your bills, save for retirement, and take vacations. You will be able to provide for your children and help them go to college. Every increase in disposable income translates into freedom and choice. You may decide that you want to retire early, with some discipline and the additional income, you can retire early.

1. Personal Growth
The college experience is unique. You will do self-reflection, some exploring and maturing in ways you probably would not do if you did not go to college. Colleges are full of diverse people who are close in age, experiencing similar things, the resulting mix is a supercharged social lesson. The social lessons you learn in college will prepare you to deal with personal relationships, as well as ‘office politics’ in the workplace.

College teaches critical thought, or the practice of verifying and validating information rather than simply taking things at face value. Critical thinking will change your perspective on life. Most people ‘find themselves’ in college. This means they have a sense of identity, comfortable in who they are and what their values are, they head out into the world to start a career, start a family, and achieve their goals in life.

Daniel Martin is a lawyer with a Masters Degree in Organizational Behavior and a Juris Doctorate.

He enjoys sharing lessons he learned while going to college. Mi Tutulo, which means my degree in Spanish has information for students and parents about college preparing to get a college degree, applying to colleges and succeeding in college.

He is particularly interested in seeing minorities get college degrees, some articles are available in Spanish as well as in English.