Let’s start by saying “worth” can mean a lot of different things. Is it worth the stress and anxiety? The Money? The constant questioning of self capability?
Higher Education is many things, I never truly know if this is the place for me, but I know in order to have a great future ahead of me then I must get a degree, and I’m sure many other people feel this way. Higher Education does have many similarities too dystopias. Let’s begin with loans. In order to receive a higher education over 50% of student have to create and accumulate debt that they’ll be paying off for the rest of their life just to attend college. This is even worse when you consider the second factor in similarity that some people’s degrees will not solidify them a job post-graduation. Thirdly, college causes a lot of psychological warfare. A plethora of students undergo depression, anxiety, abnormal amounts of stress, and many more mental disorders while attending college. Does a degree that may not even get you a job deem all of this worth it? No. So, what does?
I personally think that in many ways college can be looked at as a dystopia, but the experiences and long lasting friendships are what make it the opposite. There has been many of times where I have been sad because of a grade or exhausted from a hard week and my friends helped pull me through. Even though my freshman year got cut off because of Covid, I had the most fun I’ve ever had in my life with friends I had known for 2-3 months. Even then it felt like I had known them for years. The experience and lessons you learn through higher education is what makes it worth it. It is also what makes higher education better than a dystopia. I mean think about it, without academics or a pandemic (can’t forget about Covid), college could actually be the best four years of your life.
