Everyone has always said that picking a college is one of the biggest decisions a young person has to make. They say that it shapes the future, as well as the level of success a person will have. However, as more and more time passes, students are discovering that it doesn’t really matter where you get a degree from as long as you get the degree.

For years, students have tried to get into the best colleges just because we think that where we go is going to be the deciding factor in getting a job or not. The reality is that a future employer doesn’t really care whether you went to an Ivy League school or a community college. As long as you have the degree and qualifications they are looking for they won’t care.

So, why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we pressure ourselves to get into the best school we possibly can? Maybe it’s because we want the title. We want to be able to say that we went to a prestigious school and say that we learned from the best in the business. Maybe it’s because our parents hold us to those standards and expect us to be accepted to those types of schools. While the reason may vary from student to student, the mindset is all the same.

Students push themselves to their breaking points to get into amazing schools, and in some cases this may be a good thing. They learn to have a great work ethic and are able to get things done quickly. But are those skills enough when students are faced with immense student loan debt immediately after college?

The truth is: college education isn’t cheap, especially when you get it from a prestigious school. Once students get into these schools they have no way to pay for it so they take out student loans, even though they could go to school at a slightly less prestigious college for much less. They do this because the impression that cheaper equals worse has been embedded into their minds since a young age. However, it is actually the opposite. Sure you can go to a fancy college and get a fantastic education, but you are going to come out with a whole lot of debt. And that is going to make adjusting to the real world so much harder than if you would have gone to a cheaper school and received the same education

So, to all of the future college students out there, whether you decide to go to the best school in the state or to a local college, everything is going to turn out alright. You are still going to be able to get a job and be successful. Your entire future is not shaped by the college you choose as long as you work hard and push yourself to become the best person you can be. Just remember that the degree is the thing that is important, not the school you got it from.