Why Are Students Saying No to College?

Saying no to college. This is commentary from James Brown. Colleges across America are facing tough decisions.

These schools are more expensive than ever at a time where the average parent and students are stretched to the bone.

Enrollment is down on average, small colleges are closing while majors and classes are being slashed everywhere. Ouch. It's a painful reality.

Students like Christina Westman had their dreams crushed when her music therapy program was eliminated at St. Cloud State. She's now scrambling to transfer schools. Why is this happening? It's never one thing, of course. Covid relief funds are drying up as relatively high paying jobs and a growing minimum wage are luring college students who are on the borderline directly into the workforce. Online courses and tutorials are new, flexible options for some potential college students.

Then there's the culture war. Year after year, fewer young men choose college, especially black men like myself. It's been that way for at least a decade.

All this as uneven campuses became hotbeds for a new generation of protests, as well as their well documented widespread adoption of safe spaces, trigger warnings, and speech codes. You may think these are good things, but if you're not a progressive, you might not be comfortable in a world run by them. Then there's the economy.

Add the looming AI revolution, which many believe will kill a lot of entry level jobs, a decreasing birth rate, and watching your parents and older relatives struggle with student loans for literal decades. All while most of us don't get to do what they want to do or what they went to school for.

Taking all that into account, this seems inevitable. No wonder kids are saying no to colleges. As Chris Rock once put it, I wouldnt do it, but I understand I have mixed feelings about this.

I benefited greatly from the college experience. Niagara University is a big reason why I escape multigenerational poverty. Its partly responsible for my career in media and marketing. Ive got to work for companies I grew up watching, reading, and listening to. And more importantly, going to college got me away from where I grew up. It was really expensive, but I needed all that. But even 20 years ago, when I stepped on that campus, it was obvious that college wasn't for everybody.

Too many of my friends and fellow students were there because they didn't know what else to do, or their parents didn't give them a choice. This is what we gotta get better at. We must tailor education, especially pre college education, to the wants and interests of every young person. If college makes sense, so be it.

But for the 2025 version of James Brown, perhaps they would be better burning $100,000 in grants and loans, learning at the feet of writers, journalists, radio talk show hosts, podcasters and salesmen instead of spending it on dorms and cafeteria food. What do you think? Are you sending your kid to college? And do you think kids should go at all? And by the way, how should our educational system work? Big questions, no wrong answers?

Share your thoughts in the comments and support my work at jamesbrowntv dot substek.com. on that note, I'm James Brown, and as always, be well.