Is college for everyone?

In Monday's class we discussed the assigned reading sections of "Women without Class" and started talking about the article, "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower". This article was about an older woman who decided to go back to college. She had a very hard time adapting to the technology and the level of writing. Afterwards we were asked the question, "Should everyone go to college?". I answered no. I believe that college is not for everyone. I do think that everyone should have the opportunity to attend college, but it should be a personal choice. In certain situations, the student may not be properly prepared for the higher level education. I know of many kids I went to school with who did not give their full potential in high school. I know from experience that even though I did try my hardest for the past few years, I still find myself struggling in college. Also, the student may have a plan for a career straight out of high school. My friend Elliott got a job the summer after graduation doing blueprinting. He makes more money than I can even imagine at this point in my life, and he feels that college is just not for him right now. His idea is that if later in life if he decided to go back to get a degree, at least he will have the money to pay for it.
In the next part of our discussion, we focused on the process of getting into college, and the issues that arose in that process. I feel like these days society is making it mandatory for everyone to get a college degree. Not only that, but job requirement are now mostly a Master's Degree. We also talked about majors that have an "upper division". Being a nursing major, this hits home. Basically I take classes for two years, and then I apply for upper division. I will be competing against a ridiculous amount of students for fifty open slots. As stressful as that sounds, it definitely pushes me to try harder in my classes. Also, I have to have a backup plan because I do not want to be here wasting my money for more and more semesters until I get admitted. Along with getting into college, there is always the worry of how you are going to pay for it. I do not like the idea of the FASFA at all. From personal experience, I do not think it is fair at all.  There are so many ways that a person can find ways around it. Whether their parents are "divorced" but still live together, or they have parents with their own businesses. I also do not think they should look at your earnings for the past year alone. My dad was laid off for four years, and did not find a job until my senior year. They took this information and concluded that my family made too much money, but did not consider the debt we were in due to my dad losing his job. Needless to say, I will be paying back loans for a while.  Another way to pay for college is scholarships. They are either merit-based or need-based. With the merit-based, they do not look at your income, they look at your performance through school. For need-based, your parents have to make below a certain amount for you to qualify. In class, we argued the pros and cons of each type. Altogether, I believe that it is good that the government is willing to help pay for education, but I do not believe that everyone is getting what they deserve.