So you are wondering if college is an option for you. If you take a look at how college life is portrayed in the media you might get the impression that college is only for honor students, bookworms or people with money. This is simply not true. Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about college:

1. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average college graduate will make more than one million dollars more than the average high school graduate throughout the course of their life.
2. According to the U.S. Department of Education, minority enrollment in college has doubled in the last 30 years. In 1980, only 16% of college students were minorities, in 2007 it was more than 32% and the number keeps climbing.
3. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 60% of all college students receive some form of financial aid. In fact, college is much more affordable than you think.
4. There are more public colleges than private colleges in the United States and you can get a very good education at a public college. In fact, you can even get a good education at a community college.

The Anxiety Factor

You might be worried that college will be filled with super smart students or students that don’t share your interests and that you will be an outcast. This is also not true. The majority of college campuses have a large selection of student clubs and organizations to choose from. These organizations range from cultural clubs for people that are interested in learning more about their culture and spending time with people of the same culture, to special interest clubs such as sports, computers, movies, music, video games and travel to name only a few.

Many schools also have student radio and television stations as well as student newspapers and magazines. Chances are that if you have an interest in something, your college will have a club that caters to those interests and will also allow you to meet and make friends with people that share the same interests.


Freshman Year

Don’t forget that almost everyone that goes to college has these same worries at first. Everyone will be looking to make friends and you will be surprised how social and easy going most college students are. Most campuses have all sorts of events such as sports events, concerts, special speakers and dances. Most colleges also have social events just for freshmen.

Before your freshman year you will most likely have to go to a freshman orientation where you will be probably be required to stay on campus for several days which is a great way to make friends. A lot of colleges also have extended summer programs before freshman year that allow freshman to live on campus for several weeks during the summer so that they can get used to the campus and the social aspects of college life before they have to start taking classes.

Don’t let your fears or misconceptions about college limit your choices. If you take a closer look at your college options, you will find that college is for everyone.