People see college as the next stepping stone in life after high school graduation.

Studies show that there are 5.1 million more people attending an American college or university annually than there were 20 years ago, and the percentage of high school graduates attending college is 70%. These numbers are likely to grow in the next decade.

This raises the question, though, why do so many people attend college?

The obvious answer would be that a bachelors degree will get people many more jobs than a high school diploma alone will, and that people have to go to college to get a good career and make more money.

This isn’t true, though.

People can be just as successful without a college education as they can with a college education.

There are so many people who have become successful without a college degree.

For example, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, dropped out of college after one semester, and his legacy left a permanent mark on the technological industry. He’s not the only one, though. Others like Ellen Degeneres, Rachel Ray, and Kylie Jenner don’t have a college degree.

Also, people don’t need a college degree in order to get a good paying job. If you’re looking for a career that pays over 50,000 annually, you’re in luck because commercial pilots, computer programmers, and plumbers don’t require anything more than a high school diploma.

Some people may say that you’ll be way more comfortable if you choose to go to college. It’s impressive on a resume and you may get more opportunities if you go to college; however, it is evident that there are options beyond the traditional college lifestyle.

Another viable option is to enroll in the military. You get perks like a 30 day paid vacation each year, free health and life insurance, travel discounts, and a paid retirement, and while all of this is nice, you also learn valuable life lessons such as leadership skills, determination, and discipline.

Sometimes college is too expensive, or it just isn’t what you want to do, but that’s not going to stop you from living life to the fullest.