I disagree with the idea that 100% of the good jobs require a bachelor's degree.  My high school educated husband made close to $90K last year...not including full health benefits for the ENTIRE family, paid sick/vacation/personal time etc.  This year, he is moving to a new (completely unrelated to the old) job, where he will be making upwards of $150K.  I'm the one who borrowed WAAAY to much money to get that coveted BA degree--my income last year?NADA...haven't even written a resume since graduation.  So, if one of my kids doesn't want to go to college...I will rest assured that their future will most likely depend on their motivation to succeed and not how many letters are tacked on behind their name. Of course, this will be after I try the "as IF" argument!!

When I graduated, a lot of the other students took a year off - and that year turned into 2, 2 years turned into 3, and so on. The excuse now is that it's too hard to go back to an educational setting once you're so used to living on your own.

When I graduated, I went to university for a year, then took a year off. I got to do all the traveling, but I also felt compelled to go back to school to finish what I'd started. While this might not work for everyone (in my case, I paid for my first year of university entirely in scholarships, while money may be a lot more of a hurdle for someone else,) I've always planned to tell my kids "You just have to do one year. After that, it's up to you."

I think a lot has to do with what they do instead of college. My father was an electrician. It's blue-collar, for sure, but it's also totally different from working at McDonald's. He needed education, training and to pass a certification test. It's a job that was not without responsibilities. So, if my baby wants to be a tradesperson or an EMT or something, I'm not inclined to stop him/her, any more than my dad was inclined to stop me from writing a novel.

There's absolutely nothing shameful about skipping college in exchange for a technical school, the armed forces, or just work experience.  Not every person that graduates high school should go to college and not every person that goes to college should even be there.  BTW, who are these parents that are forking over 30,000 a year for college?  For one, a parent should not pay for a childs college tuition and two, why the heck does it cost 30,000 a year?  Not one of my friends had parents pay for their schooling and only one of my friends attended a private university that cost that much. The rest of us chose state schools, 6-8,000 a year and managed just fine.  For the most part we all have really good jobs and are better off for having gone to a state school vs a private school.  

As an academic advisor that deals mainly with freshman, believe me when I say that college is not for everyone.  Some people are not ready at 18, some are just not "cut out" for school, some are unprepared, and some are just uninterested.  I wish the parents of these students would have listened instead of forcing their kids to go to college where, more likely than not, they get terrible grades and drop out a year later.  

Let them have options after high school - whether it's college, technical school, a year of volunteer work, whatever - instead of being forced into college courses.  In addition, I see many students return as adults much more prepared/excited/knowledgeable than they would have been as 18 year olds.  

I have friends and relatives who, while clearly smart enough to handle college, weren't ready or interested or whatever when college time rolled around.  Some of them have since completed degrees (one, amusingly enough, *teaches* at a university now) and a few of them haven't and they're all doing fine.  One of my closest friends has a two-year-degree from a community college but is a self-taught expert in an emerging web technology and lives in a house more expensive than mine and travels the world because his services are so in demand.  

If my kids don't want to go to college I probably won't make 'em, although I will STRONGLY encourage them to go.  It's not a life sentence to the drive-thru window not to go straight to college at 18.

Like some of the other commenters, I believe that college is not for everyone.  It wasn't for me.  Knowing what you want to do with you life is so much more important than having a degree that you will use to get the first job you end up hating.  Colleges want to sell you on the idea that you will make more money in the long run if you get a degree.  They may be right, but how much money buys happiness?

If your newly minted adult wants to try some crazy career path, let them.  Be proud that you have raised someone determined enough to not follow the herd.  As long as they are happy and making ends meet they have everything they need in life.

It's totally ok for your kid to forgo college for a different path.  But that's the key, there needs to be a path.  My parents don't really value college, kind of just left our futures to us without a whole lot of input or guidance and 2 out of their 3 children are paying the price.  

I knew I wanted to get the heck out of dodge, so I signed the loan papers (read: my life) and did just that.  My brother slept for a year in their basement and then did go back.  And he's still there almost 6 years later with nothing but more school left and a huge loan debt.  My sister has attended 3 different schools on and off for about 8 years.  She has a certificate in radio broadcasting, a liberal arts AA degree, a huge debt, and a job at Hertz rental car working right next to highschool kids.

Not all kids are self motivated, especially at that age, so if not college, there has to be encouragement to DO something.

Wow!!!!  I have heard (actually read) it all.  I always thought of Strollerderby writers as fairly liberal "do what's right for you" types.  I suppose only decent kids go to college????  There are all types of people in this world, they are all different.  College isn't for everyone.  Don't we need people who do different jobs???  Someone has to pick up garbage, run the park department, work at a day care, work at Target or Burger King.  I'm also willing to bet not all those people are as unintelligent or misguided as the author would lead us to believe.  Many of them might even enjoy their jobs, really.  My oldest is autistic and college isn't in his future, but that's not to say his future won't be as bright as the next guy.  I've always told him (and will tell my other two also) "It doesn't matter to me what you do after high school.  Your career path is your own, but whatever you chose, be the best you can be, whether it be a garbage man or a CEO of a fortune 500 company."  Isn't it more important that someone be happy and a good person???  

I secretly hope my child wants to go to college because he loves learning stuff and doesn't want to stop. It has nothing to do with whether or not he picks a viable or lucrative career path. But I am a total geek who wishes college was still primarily valued for learning's sake and no career agenda (which was true in like, what, the 1700s?). I remind myself constantly that my son is his own person and I will love him and support him just the same if he is a jock, or hates reading, or thinks art sucks or whatever.

As a "older" parent with three grown sons and a 2 year old daughter, I'm going to say this: you don't have much control over the situation!!

Lisa