Who Do You Think You Are?

11Is College Right for You?

There was a time when high schools took a more simplified view of how to prepare students for life after graduation. One group of students, sometimes small depending on the local economy, would be on a “college prep” track, taking the most academically challenging courses in English, history, science, foreign language, and math all four years. These students would go on to college and then perhaps study further to become doctors, lawyers, scientists, businesspeople, and other white-collar professionals. Another group of students, sometimes large in rural or industrial areas, would be on a vocational path, taking general foundation academic courses and then selecting a specific vocational track for technical learning, perhaps even finishing high school ready for a good entry-level skilled job in a well-paying blue-collar career path. It is a common misconception that these vocational tracks were seen as undesirable. In fact, depending on the town, spots for certain vocational training programs were highly competitive because of the local job opportunities at the time. Students would compete for the opportunity to get into technical courses for machinists, electricians, mechanics, or pipefitters.

Over the past three decades or so, this division between college-bound and career-track students has become more ambiguous and controversial. The cost of college has skyrocketed, growing wildly faster than average household earnings. Shaun distinctly remembers ...