Many students see college as a stepping stone to a successful career and a happy life. Which may be true for some, however, many overlook whether college will actually help them succeed or whether it will truly be a good fit for them. College is expensive and is not suitable for every kid who graduates from high school, even though it is marketed that way, graduates need to think critically about their decision. Should I take some time away from school to get to know myself better? What do I plan to do for my career? Am I more interested in educating myself about the things that interest me now and discovering my specialty as I learn, or do I feel like I know what I want to do? And also essential questions like: how much debt will I have to take on? And can I realistically pay it back? In the movie Declining by Degrees: Higher Education at Risk, John Merrow, the author, finds that colleges don't tell students that many colleges only focus on their need for bodies, not necessarily you, but yes, you will, if you can pay obviously, and have what they are “looking for”, don't worry about debt. Colleges want you and your money because the state cuts spending on schools, so colleges raise tuition costs and increase enrollment. The price of education is getting higher and higher and courses are not getting better, in fact classrooms are getting bigger and bigger, requiring teachers to teach a more standardized version of their course. Graduate employers complain that graduates lack critical skills such as written and oral communication and comprehension, as well as the ability to think creatively. Not all good jobs require a college degree to work there, in fact not all jobs want them anymore. Graduates are discovering this… middle of paper… and the profession is worried. However, the downside is that university is not the right choice and the only reason the person is at university is to get a degree, when getting a degree may not actually be the necessary course to take. This could be an extreme headache undertaken without any reasoning behind it. Works Cited Astin, Alexander W. What Matters in College?: Four Critical Years Revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Print.Merrow John. Declining by degrees: higher education at risk. PBS, 2005. Video online. Learning Matters, September 18, 2012. Web. March 2, 2014. Egan, Timothy. "No degree and no way back to the center." Class issues. New York: Times, 2005. 105-10. Print.Leonhardt, David. “The college dropout boom.” Class issues. New York: Times, 2005. 87-104. Print.Wilkerson, Isabel. "The Rise of Angela Whitiker." Class issues. New York: Times, 2005. 202-33. Press.