Why is College Important? Pursue a Life of Significance at Regent
Why is college important in setting the scene for future success? The answers go far beyond higher pay or better job opportunities, although there are plenty of benefits like that. The experience can impart dividends that can’t be measured, although graduates know that they exist just as surely as the framed diploma hanging on their wall.
These intangible rewards can be especially prominent for students who attend a faith-based institution like Regent University. In this article, we’ll look at some ways a college education can help you grow personally in knowledge, experience, and faith.
7 reasons why college is important
A high school diploma is just the first step on your journey toward joining the workforce. The next step is deciding whether to pursue a college degree.
A bachelor’s degree or higher can help you thrive in today’s economy by providing more career options with higher earning potential, better health insurance, and greater job stability.¹ But college is so much more than a stepping stone to a job with more money. It provides a wide variety of experience and knowledge that can serve you in ways you don’t realize until they are most needed. Regent can help you achieve greatness and provide the benefits of post-secondary education that extend beyond financial matters.
Related article from Regent: College and Its Cost: Why Getting a Degree is Worth Your Time and Money
1. Experience spiritual growth
Personal growth in college can go so much further than academic endeavors. In college, you can be faced with choices about what you believe and how you’re going to live out your faith.
Regent students experience more than an academic community. You become part of a spiritual family. Students, professors, and staff come alongside each other to support, encourage, and challenge spiritual growth. A diverse community of people from many denominations, cultures, and backgrounds makes up the fabric of the Regent family. Everyone shares an intentional focus on Christ-centered values.
2. Build healthier habits
The transition between the rigid parameters of a high school and “real world” independence can be daunting. College is much different from high school. You may be in a new city, in a new home, or living in a new community. It’s an excellent time to start fresh and build habits to take with you for the rest of your life. You may practice personal habits like setting a budget, regularly attending church, or even making your bed each morning.
Students who attend college have the advantage of developing valuable “soft skills” (non-technical) that hiring organizations look for. These can include organization, critical thinking, delegation, and leadership. Personal development in these areas can serve you while attending college, writing a resume, raising a family, being a friend — all aspects of life.
3. Exercise the mind
At Regent University, you can gain the knowledge, character, and skills to change the world. Critical thinking skills are invaluable both in academia, the workforce, and beyond. You can engage your mind in all college majors, degrees, and programs by encountering many opportunities for intellectual discussion and exploration.
4. Make valuable connections
College is about more than just showing up. It’s about digging in, getting involved, and growing roots. Student life at Regent helps make you stronger, embrace your purpose, and serve with vision. When you join a community of individuals passionate about education and faith, you build connections that can last a lifetime.
These won’t just benefit you personally. They can help you build a professional network and open up career opportunities. Whether you connect with faculty, other students, volunteers, or businesses in the community, you’re creating a network. These are valuable relationships with people who can help you on the path toward success.
5. Become more well-rounded
Colleges place incredible resources at the fingertips of their students: knowledge, mentorship, and community. The time you spend on personal growth in college is just as valuable as building up class credits that lead to promising job prospects later on. You can pursue personal growth by finding activities, classes, or experiences that push you out of your comfort zone.
You could be an engineering student who takes a pottery class. You could be a psychology student who takes a computer science course. You may discover a new passion or uncover a potential dream vocation. College is a unique opportunity to explore different avenues of self-discovery and have fun. Why not take advantage of all it has to offer?
6. Fun, adventure, and student life on campus
The education process can involve traveling overseas, pursuing exciting research in a particular field, joining a club, or playing sports. When you engage in life on campus, you can meet new people who can pursue life, faith, and education with you.
Regent has a vibrant student life that includes over 50 student organizations, leadership opportunities, athletic programs, events, and experiences. Campus organizations like these are an excellent way for students to meet new people, enhance their leadership skills, and be an active part of student life. You never know who you can meet or what you can discover.
Why college is important to society
Statistics show college graduates have higher overall employment rates, overall happiness, job satisfaction, life expectancy, and even lower divorce rates.¹ While these are all signs of a thriving society, the long-reaching effects of a college degree go beyond that.
Statistics show that college-educated individuals are more likely to engage in citizenship behaviors like voting. Voting rates are higher among individuals with higher levels of education. In the 2016 presidential election, 73% of 25- to 44-year-old U.S. citizens with at least a bachelor’s degree voted, compared with 41% of high school graduates in the same age group.¹
This points to the notion that college is not only a benefit to individuals but also to society as a whole. Colleges like Regent University are the catalyst for building a nation of informed, dynamic, artistic, critically-thinking, well-educated adults who can change the world for the better.
Experience college life to the fullest at Regent University
Whether you want to pursue an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, Regent has the right programs for you. At Regent, you can be challenged intellectually, socially, academically, and professionally to become the best version of yourself. Regent University currently tops the list of Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in Virginia. It is ranked among the top national universities by U.S. News & World Report. Contact Regent University today to learn how you can become a part of their community and mission today.