More high school grads should go to work, not to college
A columnist argues that the longstanding policy encouraging every high school graduate to pursue college—and the federal practice of making large student loans widely available—was a mistake. The piece contends that a greater share of recent graduates should enter the workforce instead of continuing immediately to higher education.
Why It Matters
The article challenges a decades-old national approach that promoted college for all and expanded federal lending to support that goal. Reassessing that policy could shift how young people choose postsecondary paths and how public funds are allocated.
Key Facts
- Claim about past policy: Decision made decades ago to promote college attendance for all high school graduates.
- Federal lending: Uncle Sam began providing broadly available loans to high school graduates pursuing advanced degrees.
- Author's recommendation: More high school graduates should go to work rather than attend college.
A recent opinion piece criticizes a long-standing national approach that encouraged essentially every high school graduate to pursue college. The columnist describes that policy choice as profoundly misguided, arguing it became the default expectation for young people after secondary school.
The critique also singles out federal student lending as a key part of the shift. Decades ago, policymakers expanded access to government-backed loans, making it possible for many high school graduates to borrow substantial sums to attend college and pursue advanced degrees.
Against that backdrop, the author urges a different emphasis: rather than treating college as the only acceptable next step, more high school graduates should be steered toward immediate entry into the workforce. The piece presents this as a corrective to the earlier policy of universal college attendance and broadly available federal lending.
The column calls for rethinking how society and public finance shape postsecondary choices, suggesting that policy and expectations established decades ago warrant reconsideration in light of alternative paths such as direct employment after high school.
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