Identify and explain a significant reason why college students most struggle in pursuit of their goals

Any college student can list three or more reasons on why its a struggle to pursue their

goals. Our high school experience and education does not prepare us for our first year of college,

first year students enter college blind, we are told that college years will be life changing, some

of the best years of our life. However, that is far from the truth. Our motivation to pursue are

goals is compromised by money, parental pressure and outlook.

Whether it is saving or spending, money will be on everyones mind especially for a

college student. College isnt in any means cheap, the more years put into it the more money is

invested into it. Over the years, a college education has become more unaffordable, and for many

its deterred them from either going to college or pursuing their intended major and/or goals. In

just one year, a college student can expect to pay roughly $9,000. The average for an education

at a private school is nearly $35,000. These numbers do not even take into account the cost of

living. Without scholarships, a student is left thousands of dollars in debt after four years.

In addition, once a student is finally able to put themselves through the four years, they

accumulate bills and expenses. Those are expenses on top of the debt they already accrued for an

education. A typical repayment plan is 10 years. In those ten years, a students debt can be twice

the amount that it originally was when the loan was first borrowed. Just the thought of

accumulating that much debt in the pursuit of a higher education is discouraging for many

students.

Although I have only just begun my college career, my older sister recently, Catherine

Soc, graduated from NC State. I took some time to sit down with her and discuss her experience.

Because she went to a dual enrollment high school, she only had to complete two years at the

university level. In those two years, she was able to complete her Bachelors degree and
completed an honors certification. I sat down with her to discuss her college experience and her

motivation to complete her education goals. According to an interview with Catherine,

I wasnt quite able to accomplish everything that I wanted to. I wasnt ready to graduate.

I thought there was more that I could do, more I could accomplish. I wanted to do a

minor, and had actually started planning out how it would work into my schedule.

However, to complete the majors and/or minor(s) that interested me, I would need to stay

for one or two more years. That would potentially mean another $10,00 in student loans,

bringing my total to roughly $20,000. The cost was way too much and far from practical

for me (Soc)

Like many college students, her motivation was stunted by the realities of how much it would

cost to get all of the education she wanted.

Aside from money, parental pressure also plays a key role in driving a student. Parents

have a huge effect on students college career, from if they choose to attend, where they choose

to attend, how they choose their majors/minor, how they adjust to college, and more. Often

times, for a variety of reasons, college students dont always have the support from their parents.

If a college student has a poor relationship with their parents and do not receive that parental

support, they are not always able to adjust to the college life and are at a higher risk to drop out

before their second year (Brown). Because of their situation and higher dropout risk, they lose

sight of their goals.

The opposite also holds true with parental pressure. Parents can be too involved, invested,

and/or attached to their students. In these cases, a students performance and goal achievement is

also affected. Overinvolved parents are an added stressor for college students. Often times,

overinvolved students are concerned with every choice their child makes, pushing students to
abandon their original goals and force their ideals and missed opportunities onto their child, all

under the guise of wanting the best for them (Garrison).

Lastly, a college student struggles to achieve their goals as they near graduation and even

post-graduation. Job outlook is a huge demotivator in the pursuit of a students goals. Growing

up, children are told time and time again that if they want a good job they need to go to college.

So, we do. But a degree does not always result in the high paying job students were so often told

theyd be able to get. Nowadays, we see time and time again that college educated students are

either not able to find a job related to their career or they get a job where they are highly

underpaid. In fact, in recent studies, nearly 40% of students[were] employed in a job where a

college education [was] not required (Barton). The economy was not quite adjusted to accept

and fill college students in jobs that required their degree. With that kind of future and outlook,

the chances that a recent grads goals will be achieved is bleak.

Conclusion:
 Works Cited

Barton, Paul E. "How Many College Graduates does the U.S. Labor Force really Need?"

Change, vol. 40, no. 1, Jan, 2008, pp. 16-21, ProQuest Central,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/208047681?acco

untid=10008.

Brown, Natashia. Predicting College Adjustment: The Contribution of Generation Status and

Parental Attachment, State University of New York at Albany, Ann Arbor, 2008,

ProQuest Central,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/304385765?acco

untid=10008.

Garrison, David M. A Phenomenological Study of Parental Involvement and the Undergraduate

College Student Experience, Drexel University, Ann Arbor, 2013, ProQuest Central,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1424830453?acc

ountid=10008.

Soc, Catherine. (2017, December 8). Personal Interview.

Soc, Catherine. (2017, December 8). Personal interview.