Brian Chen

Scott Community College houses over 7,000 students a year. Community College’s offer 2-year institutions.

Graduating from high school provides students with multiple opportunities like, college, gap year, certificate/trade schools or going straight into the workforce. These decisions impact their future careers and opportunities. 

If students are unsure of their next steps after high school, they can consider a gap year. A gap year can provide students with more time to reflect on their career path and decide whether or not college is the right choice. It also gives students a break from education and provides them with time to travel, volunteer, work or find new interests. 

In recent years, the number of students pursuing certificate programs and trade schools have increased. Becauspe of the rise in cost of 4-year colleges, many students would rather go straight into a program that provides them with specific skills. 

The decline in students going to traditional 4-year colleges can be credited to the rise in tuition, new pathways and students’ varied perspectives. As jobs become more solely based on skill rather than a formal education, some students avoid going to college. 

“I would rather go to pilot training right away instead of going to college. I did a little research on the price, and it shows the price for college is almost 1.5 times more expensive, which is ridiculous,” senior Wenjun Pan explained.

However, a fair amount of students are still deciding to attend a 4-year or 2-year institution. In Iowa, 58.2% of the class of 2022 students enrolled in postsecondary education. With college, students have more opportunities to have an advanced job in fields like medicine, engineering and computer science. 

“I plan on going to college because it’s gonna provide decent education that will bring me to a successful career,” senior Connor Brown explained. “My plan of study is going to be biology and criminology.”

Even though certificate programs and trade schools have seen an increase in students, colleges are still getting many admissions from students that want to study a more advanced field. “I plan on attending college after high school. I believe that college will set up my future well and allow for many opportunities to open up such as a job so I can live comfortably later on in life,” senior Carter Cox said. “In college, I plan to study agricultural engineering as it is an area that interests me greatly.”