With the end of this school year getting closer and closer, upper classmen should take their future into consideration. Whether they go to college or not they should consider it as on option, as it has a chance to greatly improve how well a teenager is prepared for life. The only way to know for sure is to experience it yourself. It seems like that goal has slipped away from most students in their final years of high school. It can be a big decision, so knowing the right amount of information is key to making that decision.

Many people have said that college can be expensive, so they shy away from wanting to go to college. There is no arguing with that, but one of the resources that can help are scholarships. By submitting different applications for these scholarships, a student can gain a variety of money for different reasons. Possibly for athletics, participation in the arts, grades, other extracurricular activities, and even for some activities you would never think of. One of the hardest things about scholarships is finding the right one for you. There is another helpful guide that is easily accessible called Scholarships.com that shows a wide variety of different scholarships, as well as the requirements and due dates. This tool should make it easier to help bring the cost of college down to an easier price.

One thing that really deters people from wanting to go to college is, “Why even bother if you can work right now out of high school.” Although these people may have been told that they can get higher wages from higher requirement jobs, they believe that with the money they make besides going to college, and the money they save from not having to pay for college is not worth it. Yet to put it into perspective, according to the national center for education statistics, “In 2013, median earnings for full-time year-round working young adults ages 25–34 with a bachelor’s degree were $48,500, while the median was $23,900 for those without a high school diploma or its equivalent, $30,000 for those with a high school diploma or its equivalent, and $37,500 for those with an associate’s degree. In other words, young adults with a bachelor’s degree earned more than twice as much as those without a high school diploma or its equivalent (103 percent more) and 62 percent more than young adult high school completers. Additionally, in 2013 median earnings for young adults with a master’s or higher degree were $59,600, some 23 percent more than the median for young adults with a bachelor’s degree.” Depending on the college and the dedication of a graduate, it can take anywhere from 1 year to 20 years to pay off student loans.

Whatever you may think about college, be sure to know everything you can so that you make the right decision for yourself.