S02 EP06: To Go To College Or Not? Why College Isn't the Right Path for Everyone
In this episode, Thomas discusses the pros and cons of attending college.
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In this episode, host Thomas Caleel discusses the pros and cons of attending college.
In response to many messages and comments from listeners saying "college is a waste of time" we encourage you to sit back and think about your own goals and abilities and make an educated decision on what is best for you. And if college is the answer, well, you are in the right place.
Have your own question you'd like answered? Email us at hello@thomascaleel.com or send us a DM on instagram @admittedlypodcast.
Key Highlights
College may not be for everyone and that is okay.
We need to respect everyone's decisions and life paths, there is no right answer.
Alternative paths to a lucrative career include the military, trade school, community college, and internships.
College opens up opportunities by teaching you how to learn, connecting you to new people, and exposing you to new career paths that you may not be aware of.
About Thomas
Thomas is a parent and alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania. After earning his MBA at the Wharton School in 2003, he moved to Silicon Valley. For three years, he was director of admissions and financial aid at Wharton School. He worked closely with admissions professionals, students, alumni, and professors to create the best possible MBA class.
Thomas has been an entrepreneur his entire life in the fields of finance, agriculture, wellness, and sporting goods. As the founder of Global Education Opportunities, he works with diverse and underserved communities to help them become successful college students. Thomas started the podcast Admittedly because he is passionate about demystifying the application process for parents and applicants.
Related Links
Apply to be a guest: www.thomascaleel.com/apply-for-podcast
Follow Admittedly on Social Media
TikTok: @admittedlypodcast
Instagram: @admittedlypodcast
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Hello, and welcome to the admittedly podcast. My name is Thomas Caleel. I'm the former director of MBA admissions and financial aid for my alma mater, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. In this podcast, I don't promise easy answers or quick fixes. But I will use my decades of experience to help you achieve your education goals. Now, let's get started.
And today's question of the week comes to us from well, more than a few of our listeners, we've been getting more and more of these comments on social media, and I wanted to address them. A lot of people are commenting, you know, you don't need to go to college, why would I go to college? I don't need to go to college. And this is a very complicated question.
Alright. It's important to keep in mind that college is not for everybody. Okay. I want to say that I'm gonna say that very clearly. I've said it many times before, college is not for everyone, I think it's very important to take a look at yourself, your goals, and your objectives, what do you hope to achieve?
Now, It's very important not to look at somebody like Bill Gates, you know, Mark Zuckerberg, and say, Well, they didn't finish college. And they're tremendously successful. Yes, of course, they are. But you can also look at the Powerball winners and say, they didn't do they just bought a lottery ticket, and they were successful. So I can be too.
I think it's important to know yourself and ask yourself, Okay, what are my skills? What do I want to achieve? What will College help me or not helped me to achieve? We want to look at the return on investment, right? What schools can you go to? Are you making the most of your time and money? Can you do it? You know, can you do better?
For example, going to a community college and keeping your costs much lower? Should you go into the military, for example, and get your education that way, either through a GI bill or continuing education, through different courses and, and opportunities in the military? Should you go to trade school, right? If you are interested in working in IT services, or there are many, many professions that do not require a college degree, you can go to trade school, you can start working and have a far more lucrative career than delaying that for four years to go get an unspecified degree.
So I think it's very important to realize that college may not be the right path for you. But it can very much be the right path for somebody else. And I think we need to respect everybody's different paths. And understand that each of us has our own journey that we're going on, and to respect that journey, and to make the most out of our own options, and our own life.
Thank you. Thank you for joining us today. Please take a moment to subscribe to the admittedly podcast and download this episode. I welcome you to share your thoughts and questions with me. You can find us on social media @admittedlypodcast. I look forward to continuing our journey together.
