College is the time for students to focus on their goals for the rest of their lives. However, students who are in school and do not know what they want in the future are wasting valuable time, effort and money.

What is the college experience? When I was in high school, the phrase generally meant partying in college.

After a few years, I kept hearing the phrase referring to living away from home or studying past a reasonable time to go to sleep.

I know students who applied to college not because they wanted a specific degree, but because they wanted the college experience. People feel they need this experience to have ordinary lives.

I have had people complain to me they are not getting this experience while they are working toward their degrees.

It is as if they are afraid if they do not achieve the college experience and all that entails, they will be stuck in some kind of high school, teenage limbo for their entire lives.

Wake up, people.

I cannot tell you how many students I know who are in their third or fourth year and have yet to choose a major.

This is unfortunate.

It is difficult to imagine how much money and effort those students are putting into a degree they will never use.

Students who are undecided should drop out and come back when they figure it out.

Some people say students who drop out of school to take time off are not likely to return. While this may be true for some students, some people really do need time to decide.

The average senior in high school is 18, and these 18-year-olds are expected to make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

Rather than puttering through college taking classes simply to remain a full-time student, students should save money and invest in their futures, whether that is taking classes in college or owning a business.

Who knows, maybe they will find unexpected passions along the way.

As for the students who do not return to school, is it better to have a life with no degree and a small salary or life with a useless degree, thousands of dollars in debt and a small salary? This is a reality for many graduates.

Of course, there is always the middle ground between choosing a major and dropping out of school — general studies. This major is a quick-fix for undecided students, and, like all easy options, will prove disappointing in the long-run.

Some may view a general studies degree to have value due to the critical thinking, diversity or other positive aspects of a well-rounded degree.

Some believe this degree gives employers proof of the intelligence and skill of the degree-holder.

While this may be true, a person with a career-specific degree or job-related experience is going to get the position.

Combine this with the cost of the general studies degree and the negatives outweigh the positives.

Some employees may want to receive a general studies degree because their employers will give them a raise simply for obtaining a degree, regardless of the field.

If an employee wants to continue the same job after putting four years of effort into his degree, that is a personal decision.

However, if my employer gave me that kind of leeway, I would not sit through 120 credit hours of what I am sure is a highly thought out combination of random classes.

Instead, I would take the more creative path and go for a degree that would give me some culture or experience.

Instead of majoring in general studies, I would choose to learn a foreign language or receive a fine arts degree.

People use the expression “maybe in another life” when they see an opportunity and have to let it pass by due to other priorities. Students should let their degrees be those opportunities to further their lives and never allow indecisiveness to hold weight in their futures.

By BRITTANY POWELL

Profiles Editor

bripowel@ius.edu