The College Conundrum - Part 2
Should you stay or should you go?
If you made it past all the questions…you want to go to college, you’ll go debt-free, you’ll armor up and you’re prepared to put marriage and children on hold. You believe this is God’s plan for your life…then, my answer (for whatever it’s worth)?
Go for it.
I’m serious. I can’t find a stitch of evidence in the bible discouraging women from higher education. As you can see, all arguments asserted here are practical ones - and in this modern world these practical matters are immensely important.
Let me be crystal clear: I am absolutely, unequivocally pro-education, pro-learning, pro-growing, pro-skill-acquiring. Just because I’m pushing back on attending university doesn’t mean I want to see women ignorant and illiterate. If you believe it’s God’s plan for you to attend college, then my advice is to weigh all of your choices and decisions against God’s word. Pray. Test everything. Explore all your options.
If you DIDN’T make it past these questions, I’d seriously consider whether formal college is the way to go. That’s NOT to say there aren’t other options, or that you should EVER stop learning and accumulating new skills. I just means college maybe isn’t for you and, despite what the constantly-yammering meritocracy tells you, that’s perfectly fine. You’re just not off the learning hook (you already knew that :) Here’s a great article from John Piper about how God’s word calls all of us - men and women - to be fully educated.
To be fully educated does not equal holding a bachelor’s degree. I’ve watched many a homeschool mama graduate their kids. I know many non-degree-holders who possess the knowledge and wisdom of Gandalf. There’s no reason why we can’t educate ourselves. Read all the books. Take classes, watch YouTube tutorials. Become an autodidact. It’s a thing.
Going to college - especially going away to college - is a huge life decision, and one that should not be taken lightly. It requires careful thought, wisdom and discernment. It requires an understanding of God’s calling for your life. Pray. Scour scripture. Seek the counsel of an older, godly woman. It’s a personal, intentional choice and one should never sign up for a university “because that’s what you’re supposed to do.”