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Tiffany Lau

Benedetti

UWP1

10 June 2021

Factors that Affect a Student’s Future

Everything happens for a reason. Every decision made now will affect the future. For

students, that is their decision to continue a higher level of education or go straight into the

workforce. The choice they make can determine the life ahead of them, but what is the life they

want? Is it truly what they want or did someone convince them that it is what they want? Even

when it comes to final decisions made by an individual, their decisions are always influenced by

their surroundings. Therefore, in actuality, many factors come into play when the final decision

is being determined. These factors stem from students’ communication with their surroundings.

These factors include family relations, online interactions, and individual encouragement. How

they choose to interact with these factors will influence their perception of the future they want.

Once they choose their goal, they will take the next step in achieving it, setting in place the

future they want.

As society has changed throughout generations, the reasoning for students to attend

college has also changed greatly. The common reasons typically heard from students who attend

college are to fulfill their parents’ desire and to find a stable job. There are many factors that

impact a student’s decision to pursue a higher education, such as their academic abilities, family

structure, and financial support. Former Dean of Seneca College, Frank Daley, mentions that

some students are unprepared for college and lack academic skills because they do not know

their reason for attending. Going to college is extremely different from attending high school. In
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high school, most students are dependent on their families. They have their parents to provide

food on the table, to help keep their grades in check, and many other factors. However, college is

a time for students to be independent and be accountable for themselves as they become adults.

Even when lacking academically, students are expected to progress on their own and seek

additional help to improve. Many students would have difficulty with this sudden transition, but

will still choose to attend college. In school, students are almost always encouraged to go to

college. There are usually college ambassadors from several different locations who go to high

schools to speak highly of their school and provide encouragement to attend. These ambassadors

provide insight to how college has affected their personal lives and would typically speak about

the positive outcomes. These outcomes include having a great experience at college and finding

a steady job they are interested in. Students associate steady jobs with making good money, so as

a result, many students choose to attend college after graduation because it seems to be the next

step in the “right” direction. Not only do other students encourage attending college, their

families also play an important role in their decision.Usually, parents who immigrate to the

United States come from lower income and education(Baum and Flores). Parents often tell their

children that they will have a higher chance of being financially stable and could live an easier

life, so their children have “a feeling of obligation to their immigrant parents”(Baum and Flores).

Students begin to connect having a college degree to earning more money. According to the

article, “Generational differences in American students’ reasons for going to college, 1971–2014:

The rise of extrinsic motives,” they found that millennial college students are less interested in

the education portion and more interested in the outcomes of obtaining a degree, such as a better

job which can lead to more money. Since they do not have a personal motivation for going to

college, many students merely complete the requirements and earn a passing grade in order to
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graduate and earn a degree. Additionally, college is becoming more expensive as time passes, so

students begin to correlate paying tuition as a way of buying a degree. Students lack the

motivation to attend college for educational purposes and decide to go for the reason to make

good money.

Still, in order to attend the desired college, students must be able to stand out in their

applications and maintain their grades. Maintaining high grades is difficult and can cause

extreme stress on students. Just like any other human being, students need time for themselves

and look for an escape from school to relax, so they turn to social media to temporarily break

away from reality. “The Effects of Social Media on College Students” mentions that students use

social media as a method to relieve pressure. The authors took data from their peers and found

that a large percentage of students would respond or post during school hours. They also

associated students who spend more time on social media with lower grades. Since they spend

more time online and less time studying, this would lead to lower grades. Being able to see their

grades allows them to reflect on their academic performance, but many still spend the same

amount on social media which takes time away from studying. When students do not study, they

are not attempting to improve, they are concerned with completing the requirements in order to

earn a passing grade to put them a step further in obtaining their degree. From this study, it was

found that a large percentage of students spend 6-8+ hours on social media sites (Chen et al).

Spending that much time online would give students access to view many posts and that could

affect how they view their own lives as well. Social media is open for everyone to use and can

provide an insight to people’s lives as well. Students are able to view successful people making

good money and living a wealthy lifestyle, who do not have a degree. A successful person, such

as Beyonce, has dropped out of high school, but sold over 118 million record sales and is one of
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the most successful artists in the media. Viewing her success can inspire others to pursue their

dreams as well. Seeing that she dropped out of high school, many students can perceive school as

unnecessary. Another example would be Mark Zuckerberg, founder of the social media platform,

Facebook. He dropped out of Harvard University during his second year to pursue his platform

full-time (Tarver). His story can inspire students to be innovative and some may believe that they

do not need further education as long as they have dedication. In Zuckerberg’s example, he was

known as the “go-to computer programmer” and had already created two other programs by his

sophomore year that became wildly popular(Tarver). Even at Harvard, a college filled with

brilliant minds, it was Zuckerberg who created the well known platform, facebook, and he did

not even graduate with Harvard afterwards. Being able to have a small insight into a successful

person’s life can be encouraging and dangerous at the same time. Students will be encouraged to

pursue their dreams, following in their role models’ footsteps, but their chances of success

compares greatly to their role models’. A successful person without a degree could be 1 in 100 or

even 1 in 10,000, so students will also need to aim for a low-risk future. Most office work

requires applicants to have some sort of degree in order to be considered, so students will go to

college to obtain one. In Facebook’s example, even though Zuckerberg does not have a degree,

all the employees who work under Facebook do. According to Facebook’s Careers, to be

employed under Facebook, one of the minimum requirements is to have a bachelor’s degree and

for an internship, it is to be in the process of obtaining a degree. Although it is encouraging to

see a successful person without a degree, to work under them, the employee must have a degree.

In the media, however, many successful people show that having a college degree is not

necessary. While that may be true, it can also give false expectations to students. In the world,

successful people are shown living wealthy lifestyles and many of them have dropped the idea of
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pursuing higher education and risked having a steady job to pursue their dreams. Everyone has

dreams and many have also dropped higher education or steady jobs in order to pursue them, but

the media only shows the ones who have succeeded in their journey. The musician, Keshi, was

interviewed back in October 2018 where he says that he has a full-time job as a registered nurse

while also pursuing music (Aben). However, in a later interview in October 2020, he revealed

that he was overwhelmed with stress between his music career and his job, in that he knew he

had to make the ultimate decision. Keshi says, “I was very scared. But I couldn’t be scared

anymore. The next day, I turned in my two weeks”(Guerra). In order to pursue his dream as a

musician, he had to choose between his dream and his stable job. Pursuing that dream does not

necessarily require a degree to be successful, so many students will see him as a model and

believe that they also would not need to pursue a higher level of education to be successful. Still,

Keshi is only one of many who was able to become successful. Everyone has access to view

these success stories all over the media, but these stories cannot be applied to every individual.

There are many people who attempt to follow a similar journey, but only the successful are

portrayed and not the unsuccessful. Social media can cause users to create unrealistic standards

for themselves. An interview with Adrian Dalisay, a 19 year old who dropped out of college to

pursue dance, touches on the topic of inspiration that led him to take a nontraditional path after

high school. His inspiration mainly stems from seeing others living his desired dream in the

media, especially his “favorite choreographers on instagram and seeing them accomplish the

‘impossible.’” As many successful people have similar stories about how college was not meant

for them, Dalisay saw that as a reflection of his story. Although he was studying nursing at the

time, he was able to see other people living out his dream which would cause him to live a

regretful life in the future if he never gives his dream a chance. However, he also mentions that
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he would not have realized this dream if not for the media. In his family, he was always

“encouraged to go to college and find a job”, but seeing others content with their lives without

going the traditional route of college and into the workforce. It’s true that everyone lives a

different life and not everything is suitable for the individual, and typical advice from successful

people include working hard and persevering through the struggles. Most students have not lived

independently and would not know adult struggles, so they would believe that this advice can be

easily carried out. So students should be cautious with their influences and find a path that is

most beneficial to them. However, social media can have the same amount of positive effect as

negative effect if used correctly. In modern times, many businesses, schools, organizations, and

so many others use social media as a method to reach a larger audience. “Social Media and

Strategic Communication: Attitudes and Perceptions Among College Students” reports that

many businesses use social media as a marketing and advertising strategy. Since more and more

people begin to use social media, businesses also have to keep up with the trend in order to

maintain relevance. In Dalisay’s example, his dance company, The Lab, uses social media as a

method to engage with a larger audience. Even Dalisay says “seeing kids younger than me

putting all the hard work to become something greater is such a beautiful sight to see.” Using

social media is a great form of marketing since it is accessible by a large population. Something

interesting catches the viewer’s attention and would naturally lead to the viewer’s curiosity. In

addition, more schools are participating in the trend of social media. Schools will provide

interesting pictures, information, etc. on these platforms, quite similar to a college ambassador’s

role. Not only students, but anyone on these platforms can view these posts. This would allow

anyone to get an overview of the school and is a great way for students to become interested in

college as well. Schools give announcements on these platforms as a way to engage with their
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students more. Since students are on social media often, they will be able to view the

announcement as soon as they open the platform. Individuals also use social media as a form of

communication with others. Students are able to quickly get a hold of their peers and also view

quick updates on their lives as well. So, social media can also provide positive outcomes when

used properly. Although it does play a huge factor in influencing students, social media is also a

part of the environment the student is surrounded by.

Individuals make decisions based on their environmental influences that point them in the

“right” direction. Some people may choose to go straight into the workforce and skip college.

Some people may also choose to go to college while having a bigger dream to pursue. It is not

impossible to live comfortably without a degree, but like everything else, results will not show

without dedication and hard work. An interview with Jonathan Jiang, a 26 year old who went

straight into the workforce after high school, gives his perspective on his influences and final

decisions. To survive without a degree is possible, but it is not easy. As we see in Jiang’s

example, in order to make money, he found that he was “restricted to work in more physically

demanding job fields.” Most of the time, comparing physically demanding jobs and office work

is significantly different in terms of payment for equivalent hours. It became clear to Jiang that

having a degree would make his life easier, but at the time after high school graduation, he

thought differently, as he lacked motivation to attend college and went straight to work in the

food industry. He found that working gave him quicker rewards and being 19 years old promoted

to store manager gave him great encouragement. He was quite young at the time and new to the

idea of living independently. As shown before, many students lack the motivation in attending

college, but many ultimately decide to go to earn a degree. This shows the importance of their

influences as they were rarely given the encouragement to pursue a different path. They don't yet
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understand how to live independently and the work required to live a steady life. Students

connect comfortable living by having a steady job, and they connect having a steady job with

obtaining a degree. In Jiang’s case, after 7 years of working, he found “that the path of someone

in today’s culture without a degree is very limited.” He ultimately decided to go back to college

and study economics as his opportunities to work in other fields were quite restricted. Although

having a degree will not guarantee a job, it can definitely help; which is why many students will

decide to go to college even with a different dream. Before Dalisay dropped out, he was studying

nursing, as encouraged by his parents. He continued college for some time, but finally dropped

out. In high school, he believed he had to find a steady job and make good money in order to be

determined as successful. There would always be the chance of failure in the future, so even with

different dreams unrelated to college, students would still pursue a degree as a “back-up plan” in

case their dream does not have a successful ending. However, after obtaining a degree could also

result in an unsuccessful ending as the future is uncertain. Students need to be cautious with their

decisions as there are no guarantees of success and stability in the future.

Every decision made now will determine the future outcome. Decisions are influenced by

an individual’s surroundings and are determined based on how the individual interacts with them.

For students, there is no guarantee of success with or without a degree. The media shows people

who live comfortably without a degree, people who regret pursuing a higher level of education,

however, reality can show the people who struggle to survive without a degree, and the people

who regret stepping away from a higher education. The final decision is made by the student to

determine their future. The correct path does not exist, only the desired path.
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Annotated Bibliography

In this article, Keshi talks about wanting to go to Berklee College of Music. Many people

wanted to be in his place, and he found that surprising when he wanted to be in theirs. This is an

interview, so the information given reflects his exact words. He also talks about his background,

which can answer the question of location and environment influencing his future.

Aben, Clarissa. “Interview: Keshi.” From the Intercom, 3 Apr. 2019,

fromtheintercom.com/interview-keshi/.

This article touches in the subject of college with immigrant families. It talks about the

reasons children from different families would view their futures compared to others and how

their family structure affects their future. Depending on the parents, sometimes children are

encouraged to go to college, whereas some are encouraged to go straight into the workforce.

Baum, Sandy, and Stella M. Flores. “Higher Education and Children in Immigrant Families.”

The Future of Children, vol. 21, no. 1, 2011, pp. 171–193., doi:10.1353/foc.2011.0000.

This article talks about the reasons behind why people choose to attend college and why

some don’t. There are many factors including family structure, illiteracy, poverty, etc. They

mention that students may lack academic skills and motivation when in college. Because

students are required to learn to be independent in college, they lack that motivation and are

unable to do work on time. Just like another article mentioned, college students choose a specific

program because they have “heard” it will lead to a good job. There are many factors that lead to
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the decision of attending college and this paper also talks about how the student decides to

interact with these factors as well. The author of this text is a former dean from Seneca College

and the information provided was based on his course of Communication and Problem Solving.

Daley, Frank. College Quarterly - Articles - Why College Students Drop Out and What We Do

About It, 2011, collegequarterly.ca/2010-vol13-num03-summer/daley.html.

This is Facebook’s website and it provides information on the requirements to fulfill in

order to work for Facebook.

“Facebook Job Openings.” Facebook Careers, www.facebook.com/careers/jobs.

Popular artist, Keshi, talks about his journey in pursuing music and his decision in

leaving his full-time job. His background and inspirations from the media that affected the

decisions he made in his life. Since this is a direct interview from Keshi, a clear representation of

his thoughts and life would be reflected. It’s about his own thoughts and life, and this article

mentions the risk in leaving his full-time job to pursue music. In the media, many artists did not

have steady work, but keshi had a steady job, so he would’ve needed a lot of confidence to step

out.

Guerra, Joey. “The Journey of Houston's Keshi from TMC Nurse to Pop Star.” Preview, Preview

| Houston Arts & Entertainment Guide, 30 Oct. 2020,

preview.houstonchronicle.com/music/houston-k-pop-star-keshi-is-making-it-on-his-own-

15679000.
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This article talks about how the decision to go to college has changed throughout

generations. They found a large increase in the reasoning “to make more money” and a large

decrease for gaining general education and appreciation of ideas. They also talk about how as

income has risen over the years, so has the cost for college. Students end up viewing college as

more money focused rather than the education itself. They talk about how students may be

devaluing education. Even though more students are attending college now than before, their

reasoning is superficial. This article cited all the sources they used and one of the authors is a

professor at San Diego State University, who has written other works, while the other was a

graduate student.

Jean M. Twenge & Kristin Donnelly (2016) Generational differences in American students’

reasons for going to college, 1971–2014: The rise of extrinsic motives, The Journal of

Social Psychology, 156:6, 620-629, DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2016.1152214

This research paper goes in depth to the interactions between college students and the media.

Although social media can be used to provide more information to spread awareness in certain

areas, most people do not use the media for that reason. Something that stood out in the paper

was when a PR talked about graduates and interns and how their intellectual curiosity and critical

thinking was disappointing. This paper does acknowledge that the media can be beneficial to

students, but they would need to interact with it correctly. The author was able to reference all

their work and show the approval of publication. They cited a lot of sources and were able to

find broader topics that supported their points.

Lewis, Bobbi Kay. Social Media and Strategic Communication: Attitudes and Perceptions

Among College Students, Oklahoma State University, 2013, hdl.handle.net/11244/7479.

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This article provides insight into Mark Zuckerberg’s life and education. It gives details as

to where Zuckerberg dropped out of and his journey in creating Facebook. Zuckerberg has been

interested in computers and has always been quite intelligent, so he was able to accomplish a

difficult goal through his dedication. Facebook was popular and still is, so this article shows the

success and Zuckerberg’s process through it.

Tarver, Evan. “Mark Zuckerberg Success Story: Net Worth, Education, and Influence.”

Investopedia, Investopedia, 7 June 2021,

www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/081315/mark-zuckerberg-success-story-

net-worth-education-top-quotes.asp.

The essay was written to study the effects social media has on college students. They

were able to find that as students spend more time on social media, their grades drop lower and

lower. Although social media is able to help students connect with other peers and can be a short

escape from reality, the authors concluded that students need a better relationship with social

media in order to balance their grades as well. Seeing as their grades drop, this can be connected

to a previous article that mentioned students devaluing education. Social media is a factor that

influences college students and their behavior. The authors of this essay had primary sources that

consisted of their own research from their peers and also included many secondary sources and

referenced them. Before publication, it was reviewed by seven different other peers and has been

accepted by an authorized administrator.

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Wang, Qingya; Chen, Wei; and Liang, Yu, "The Effects of Social Media on College Students"

(2011). MBA Student Scholarship. Paper 5. http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/mba_student/5