Although the majority of Algonquin students choose to go to a college after graduation,  some students, however, question that path and look to other options to start their careers earlier.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 40 percent of students across the country do not attend college after graduation. But according to guidance counselor Rebecca Haberman, only five percent of Algonquin students do not attend college after graduating.

Pressure from the environment seems to be the driving factor behind students’ decisions to attend college.

“The vast majority of kids from Algonquin do go to college after graduating,” Haberman said. “This is because of parent, peer, and community expectations of them.”

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The impact that the environment has on a student’s decision is not always beneficial to the student. Senior Filipe Galvao is questioning the traditional path of attending a four year college and then searching for a career.

“I feel very pressured by my environment to go to a traditional four year college, get a degree, and then finally make money. What’s the point if you spend the next ten years paying off loans?” Galvao said.

According to The Institute for College Access and Success, an independent, nonprofit organization, the average student loan debt is $28,950 for 2014 four year college graduates.

“It makes me angry how you can’t get your dream job without having to pay such a huge amount of money. It deters me from school,” Galvao said.

Algonquin alumna Jenna Lesnikowski is a freshman at Colorado State University, and she has a different way of looking at money.

“[College is] not cheap!” Lesnikowski said. “Once I accepted the fact that I would have to take on student loans, I kinda just went with the school that I loved the most. I’ll have the rest of my life to pay it off, so why not just have a good time now.”

According to Federal Student Aid, a part of the U.S. Department of Education dedicated to providing student financial aid, undergraduate interest rates for federal student loans are at 4.29 percent. For some, the steep price and interest rate may shine a different light on college, and a new light on trades.

“Obviously you have to learn something to get a career, but at what cost?” Galvao said.

“I feel like community college and trade schools get a bad rep. They’re affordable, quick, and get you cash pretty early on.”

According to a 2014 report by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan American think tank, college graduates working full time earn about $17,500 more than full time workers with just a high school diploma, and $14,500 more than those with just a two year degree.

Learning a trade could be a feasible option for those who know what they want to do, but others may not want to specialize so soon.

“I chose to go to college because I’m honestly not sure what I want to do yet,” Lesnikowski said. “I mean, I figured that I would want to go to school one way or another, so I’ll just hide in school for a couple of years until I make a decision and then I’ll declare a major.”

Some students may not know what they want to do yet, but Lesnikowski thinks the Algonquin community puts a lot of stress on going to college.

“Algonquin is a school that is definitely set up for the students to go to college after,” Lesnikowski said. “All the assemblies and guidance counselors: not everyone gets that in other schools.”

However, guidance counselors understand that a four year college is not for everyone.

“Some students choose to go straight to work or military or vocational school. They do it usually because of financial situations, but some just want to figure out what they want to do,“ Haberman said.