Future Risk and Uncertainty

When I first started applying for college, I was very confused as to where I wanted to go. This was the biggest decision I had made in my life thus far. So, leaving room for no regret, I applied to 16 different schools. Only 2 were in state. Though I was unsure of my future, I was so certain that I would be leaving Illinois and only applied to those 2 schools for my parents. Most of the schools were Big 10 and California schools.

I have always tended to do research before I do anything; buy a new product, go to a new restaurant, etc. I have always been particular about making sure I am getting my money’s worth and that I won’t regret my decision. Even if it is something as small as what the best deodorant is, I have never been able to make a blind decision. This habit comes from my parents who have always taught me to be rational about every decision I make. This carried over as I obsessed over which school would be the best fit for me. I did countless hours of research and narrowed down schools based on school stats and program rankings.

Full of denial, my research showed me that the U of I really had everything that I was looking for in a college. However, at the time my sister was starting college soon as well (she is currently attending the U of I) and my brother was going to be in college in 5 years as well. Along with my research, this was a big reason I decided against going out of state because of my siblings and the financial stress that this would put on my parents. Additionally, if I were to attend medical school out of state, the extra money saved from going to a college in state could be put towards that.

As a senior, I am confident that I made the right decision. I can see now that the U of I was the best choice for me. I started off as a molecular and cellular biology major. However, I had some interest in business as well. So, I took some introductory business and economics classes freshman year. I fell in love with Econ 103 and right there and then, I had an idea. If I switched to economics, this would provide several benefits for me:           

1.     It would make me stand out against other students applying for medical school.

2.     If I didn’t get into medical school or didn’t want to go, I could pursue my interest in business. Plus, there are not many interesting jobs you can get with an MCB major.

3.     Economics is a very useful major that applies to every field and industry.

With this in mind, I transferred to economics my junior year. I am glad I did this because had I not, I would be in a very frustrating position at this point in my college career. I was able to eliminate some uncertainty by making sure that at that moment I covered all of my bases. This set me up for success in the future.

Switching gears, I want to discuss preferences for students in general. I am currently in a sociology class and we recently had a discussion about college students. They have found that most college students are only motivated to go to college because it makes them more valuable to companies. Further, their work and involvement during college is based off of what they believe companies want to see on their resumes rather than what they are actually interested in pursuing. Overall, this is all motivated by the desire for a large income.

This motivation and desire to minimize risk can be seen through activities students engage in. Fortunately, my parents were able to pay for my tuition and we have not accumulated any debt. In general, it seems that students either have their parents paying for their tuition, they are paying, or it is somewhere in between. For students whose parents pay, they tend to not worry too much about future income and don’t save much in college. For students paying on their own, they often have part time jobs through the university and work very often while closely monitor their spending and savings. For those in between, they usually have to use their own money for everyday purchases or their housing and have part time jobs. In this way they are minimizing any chance in the future that they may not have enough money to support themselves after graduation or that they may not be able to attend grad school.

I have learned that things don’t always plan out the way you would expect. Every decision we make should be with what would be best and what is realistic for our futures. Although our plans don’t always fall into place, it’s important that we make decisions ahead of time so we can minimize whatever possible problems we have in the future. Having the right mindset, staying motivated, and being flexible are key to achieving our goals. Though things haven’t always panned out the way I expected, what I do know is that crucial we set ourselves up for success when it comes to future income risk. The decisions we make today shouldn’t be from fear but rather being able to look back and know that we worked hard to get where we are and seized every opportunity we could to be successful.