A Little Mistake That Cost a College Student $6,000 a Year

Someone you know may be getting ripped off.

Here’s a question:

What’s the easiest way for a college student to throw away $6,000 a year?

I’ll give you a hint:  It’s not overpriced books, failed scholarship applications, or forking over too much in tuition.

It’s bigger than that.

Imagine tossing a briefcase full of $100 bills into the Grand Canyon.

It’s that big.

What I’m about to say will probably send some academic types into a tizzy. But, it needs to be said.

The easiest way for a college student to throw away $6,000 a year is:

Rely on the standard college education.

I’m talking about the “just enough to get by” philosophy. You’ve seen it before. Students asking themselves, “What’s the least amount of work I can do to get an ‘A’ in this course?”

Nowadays, if you do everything the teacher asks, you get an “A.” If you muddle your way through, that’s considered average. You get a “C.”

Really?

Here’s a startling reality: muddling your way through school is average nowadays.

If you don’t show up for half the classes, you might get a “D.” Even then, you’re only considered slightly below average.

There’s a lot of pressure for colleges to retain students. Each student that says “college is not for me” means loss of revenue. What’s a way to keep students inspired to stick around?

A grade is a subjective evaluation based on a professor's made-up criteria.

Somewhere along the line the “C” became the “A” in many colleges and universities. Now, minimum requirements are rewarded with marks of excellence.

How would I know?

I lived through college. I turned in some “average” papers. I did just enough to get by, and my reward for that work was an “A.”

The current system deludes students into thinking that they’re producing exceptional work. In reality, the work is mediocre.

And guess what? Don’t expect that big balloon to deflate any time soon.

I call it: The way it is.

No need for an overhaul of grading scales. Grade inflation is just the way it is.

The real answer to overcoming the shortfall of the standard education is within the individual.

To really get the most out of your education, you must go above and beyond. Don’t settle for the standard “A.” Don’t do just enough to get by. I’m telling you, all you’re doing is cheating yourself.

College is the opportunity to stretch to the fullest capacity, to put in the extra effort to learn everything you possibly can, to add discipline to your life that will propel you to accomplish your dreams once you’re done with school.

Here’s the real challenge:

Go beyond the “required” knowledge and become self-educated.

One student came to me when I was a writing consultant and said, “I want to be a great writer, but I haven’t taken enough writing classes.”

I said to him, “Well, do you really want to be a great writer?”

“Oh yes,” he said, “more than anything.”

“Well, here’s the greatest secret I know: You don’t have to wait and take classes to be a great writer. There are tons of books available that can teach you how to improve your writing.”

“Yeah, but that’s boring,” he said, “Besides, I don’t like reading that much.”

“Well,” I said, “The books are there whenever you are ready to become a great writer.”

You don’t have to wait for a professor to tell you what to do. Get curious. Spend time reading the books outside of class. Read more than what you’re assigned. Dive into the material with childlike wonder and watch as you add so much more value to your life.

BEWARE:

If you go for “standard,” you’ll get standard – or worse.

Rely on the standard education, and it’s as good as that briefcase full of money at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

BEHOLD:

Use college as an opportunity to learn the miracle of self-education, and you’ll have invested one year and $6,000 into your future.

You have to set your own standard, a high standard, a standard that grows each and every day.

You, and you alone, have to require much, much more of your self.

You are the leader of your education.