Even if you just walked across the stage, shook the dean’s hand, picked up your diploma, and your undergrad degree is already framed and stationed up on your bedroom wall, you should seriously contemplate staying in college. Graduate school is calling your name: listen to it. Here are five reasons you should go to grad school even though you can’t even fathom the thought of taking another final exam.
1. The economy sucks
The job market is slim pickins out there. Undergraduate degrees mean nothing anymore. Seriously, I hate to break it to you, but it’s about as useless as having a high school diploma. When you go to a job interview (if you’re lucky enough to land one nowadays), you can brag all you want about your degree. Your employer will give you a look that says, “…and?” Because now, everyone has a bachelor’s degree. Everyone. You are no longer set apart from the rest of the pack by going to college. You are part of the majority. And the majority doesn’t get good jobs. The small amount of people who go to grad school are the ones who get jobs. Do you want a job? Go to grad school.
2. It’s so easy
If you wait too long, you won’t have the motivation to go back to school. You think you are lazy now? Wait until you turn 40 and you decide you want to go back to school. It just won’t happen. Do it while you’re young and you still know how the education system works. Think about it: you know how to study, you know how to pull all-nighters, you know how to write a decent paper, and you know how to schmooze your teachers. Take advantage of the fact that you just went to college. Graduate school will be a cake walk. If you’re worried about busy work, don’t. Graduate school is about picking a major and solely focusing on that subject. Say goodbye to worksheets and unnecessary homework. Say hello to learning more about a subject you are passionate about.
3. You can live off of your parents a little longer
Chances are your parents are going to be far more likely to help you out if you go to grad school immediately following college than if you wait ten or fifteen years. If your parents are like mine, they retired as soon as you got your bachelor’s degree. Take advantage of them offering to pay your rent every now and then or buy your groceries when they come to visit you. That will stop happening if you choose the real world over graduate school.
4. You still get all the undergraduate benefits
Dollar pint nights. Free beer on ladies’ night. Student discounts at the IT store. Student discounts at all of the restaurants in town. Understanding part-time employers. Free pizza at any event. Student pricing on football tickets. And it’s still socially acceptable for you to attend a party. Try to do that after you graduate college and get out in the real world. Watch how many judgmental stares you will receive.
5. You are not the exception
People keep graduating college with this notion that they are the exception to the rule. The rule is that an undergraduate degree really doesn’t matter. No one is the exception. Think about it this way: you will always regret it if you never take the chance to finish up two more years of school. But if you do decide to go, you will come out with a job that pays you so much, it will be worth the 18 years of schooling it took to get you there.
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