Pressure to go to college?

[oneDay]

Hi. Does anyone here have counselors, teachers, administrators, etc. in their high school pressuring them to go to college? And I don't mean any form of recommendation, suggestion, or honest advice, I mean actual pressure to prepare you for college without regard for personal interests or circumstances.
I, for example, have rarely been advised on what direction to go after high school other than an overly expensive private collage or university. Nearly everyone who ranks high in their class (like myself) has been required to take classes they don't like, take unnecessary tests as much as possible, and pushed into any conference, meeting, presentation, workshop, and almost anything that remotely relates to college. It gets tiring to say the least.
Even though I appreciate my school offering hundreds of opportunities to learn about and get into an "institution of higher learning," as they so pompously like to say, I fear for everybody else who are getting left out simply because they're seen as showing little potential or don't have good enough grades. I wish everyone were given an option to choose what they want to do and not forced to feel guilty simply because they have little interest in college.
Sorry if this a long post, I'm just eager to ask for some opinions and stories on the subject. Thanks.

[West Coast Sheriff]

Yeah, my school is like that

[PonY]

If you want a opinion well I have one for you.
Go to collage. I didn't and probably won't. You should, even if you don't want to. make something for yourself and your kids if you have them one day.
I won't have anything for myself now because I didn't even finish high school. I regret it very much and now I am stuck working 12+ hours a day, and not easy work either.

[oneDay]

If you want a opinion well I have one for you.
Go to collage. I didn't and probably won't. You should, even if you don't want to. make something for yourself and your kids if you have them one day.
I won't have anything for myself now because I didn't even finish high school. I regret it very much and now I am stuck working 12+ hours a day, and not easy work either.

Wait a minute, why didn't you finish high school. I can almost guarantee that whatever circumstances that prevented you from graduating would have also interfered with going to college. Am I right?

[PonY]

That's something I don't talk about.
Just not finishing high school prevented me from going to college.

[Magical]

Oh yes. Originally, the whole point of our school is to give the nearby university 'well prepared undergraduates'. This has stuck.

[Empty Spaces]

No. Because I know that if i don't go to college i will not have future here in my country. And to be honest, so many young people here have finished colleges and have no jobs. Anyway, i think it's important to finish college.

[Straight]

Is a collage like a university in England?

[TheTopDawg]

Is a collage like a university in England?

Yeah it is, over here in the U.S. the terms are interchangeable.

[HunterSteele]

If you want a opinion well I have one for you.
Go to collage. I didn't and probably won't. You should, even if you don't want to. make something for yourself and your kids if you have them one day.
I don't think the OP ever said anything about not wanting to go to college. He was just sympathetic to the students who didn't get good grades who might not want to go to college after high school.

My school seems to accept people who want to enter the workforce as soon as they graduate and they aren't pressured into all the things you mentioned. I still haven't decided what I really want to do after high school.

[oneDay]

I don't think the OP ever said anything about not wanting to go to college. He was just sympathetic to the students who didn't get good grades who might not want to go to college after high school.

My school seems to accept people who want to enter the workforce as soon as they graduate and they aren't pressured into all the things you mentioned. I still haven't decided what I really want to do after high school.

I really wish my school was the same. It turns out though that it's a "college preparatory" campus which isn't too surprising considering the fact that it's a magnet school. But, you see, I'm not just sympathizing with students who don't do well grade-wise, I'm talking about anyone who does not feel properly prepared to get thrown into college without a plan and without any direction. I hope to avoid doing this by delaying it for some time. And good for you by the way. Personally I think not knowing is better than rushing into something people have already chosen for me.

[FreeFall]

Yes, my high school did that. They did though, take into account that not everyone wanted to go and backed off as long as the student gave a reason. They push to go, but didn't help you in direction. Honestly browse on the web or go check out campuses that catch your attention, the school doesn't seem to be much help.

[NotYourSombrero]

No matter how much I say I want to go into the navy (I'm planing on getting my education while in the navy) people always tell me to go to collage or ask me what collage I plan to go to. Whenever I tell my parents that I'm going into the navy they always change the subject quickly.