Nowadays, there seems to be a growing number of students who decide to drop out of college in Taiwan. However, as the universal higher education phenomenon intensifies, it is expected that one should at least has a bachelor's degree before applying for any job in Taiwan's society. Some might find their decisions weird, for it is considerably strayed from what most people believe is the right life path. The following paragraphs should elaborate on some critical causes that lead young students to drop out of college.

 

     First of all, the financial condition of each student plays an indispensable role. Most students are usually sheltered by family support when studying in college. However, others might not be as lucky as the previously mentioned students. They do not have the financial aid from their families and they have to do a part-time job to make ends meet. Thus, they often straddle between school assignments and work labors from time to time, which could be overwhelming for a student to bear. As a result, those students without financial aid tend to drop out. They cannot focus on what they should do either in school tasks or work positions. Those who do not need to worry about money and could live freely through college years may find it difficult to understand, but if they put their feet in others' shoes, they would perceive that money is indeed an important factor for studying. That is to say, the financial condition is indeed a big factor when it comes to studying in college.

 

     Secondly, students do not know what they really want to learn in college. Instead, they are studying at a college only because they were asked to study. In Taiwan's society, we started to learn effortlessly since kindergarten, all the way to graduate school, only to strive for the opportunity to get into a promising company thus attain a good salary. Nevertheless, not all of us are fortunate enough to discover our interests before applying for college. As a result, a lot of students are majoring in subjects they found no favor in their eyes, which gradually wears them out and eventually makes them want to drop out. On top of that, they are more likely to drop out as they suffer from a financial problem and lack of interest simultaneously, for the only thing they could get after graduating is nothing but a worthless paper. It is crucial to find out their interested majors before going to college, or one may waste time and money and eventually achieve nothing.

 

     Thirdly, it could be more realistic to intern in society than studying futile knowledge at college, especially for students who meet the first and second statements mentioned above. For instance, for those work positions that do not require in-depth knowledge like drivers and waiters, it is much more practical for them to leave college and start to work so as to get familiar with their future career. In addition, some students may choose to join the military or take a national examination for admissions to the civil service sector. They crave a stable career and a straight path in life. The former one does not need a degree to survive in the military system, whereas the latter one could make good use of the time off-campus to prepare for the competitive national examinations that do not require a diploma. Without a doubt, there are typical conditions such as internships that lead students to drop out, for they have something else better to do than lying aimlessly in college learning unpractical knowledge.

 

     In a nutshell, numerous reasons tempt college students to drop out of school, including financial issues, major interests, and even different occupational choices. From my perspective, it is not about meeting the expectations of society in Taiwan that matters, but meeting our own hearts does. As a quote by McGraw goes, “Sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you make the decision right.” As long as one is content about his or her own decision, dropping out is not a big deal but a decision to make.

 

 

 

References

McGraw. P. C. (n.d.)  Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out

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