None of My 3 Kids Went to College. Spoiler Alert: They Turned Out Just Fine. Here's How.

With the approach of National College Decision Day on May 1, when accepted students across the country must lock into a school (and parents must cough up deposits), I’ve been thinking a lot about the atypical path taken by all three of my young adult kids, starting with my son.

I had mixed feelings when he, the oldest of three, said he was going to be a plumber like his dad. We had both gone to college, after all — I was a freelance writer using my English degree and though his father wound up in a trade, he majored in business — and I wanted him to see what kind of other opportunities there were. I was honestly disappointed, and afraid he’d be missing out.  
 
But when we suggested we all go to visit some colleges during my son’s junior year of high school, he could not be persuaded one bit, saying he absolutely couldn’t stomach anymore schooling and hated sitting in a classroom. Looking back, I realized that was true. He struggled to pay attention, hated sitting still, and had always been a hands-on learner. And when he pointed out that plumbing didn’t require paying four years of tuition, and that he could learn everything he needed to know on the job, it was hard to argue with his logic. I couldn’t face the thought of paying thousands of dollars to force him to do something he had no interest in. 
 
Next up, two years later, it was time to plan my daughter’s future. She had no interest in college, either, and had her own idea: to stay at the job she loved, in the dining room of an assisted living center, for a year, just long enough to save money to work toward becoming a certified esthetician and lash tech. This time, having learned from our son, we didn’t even try to convince her otherwise. 
 
A year later, it happened again: My youngest son decided to graduate high school a year early and travel the world. During his sophomore year, he had fallen in love with plants and farming — an interest that blossomed through work on our family garden — and really wanted to globetrot instead of going to college. Future schooling wasn’t even on his radar. Instead, he did some research on how he could travel without having to pay for a place to stay, and found the national organization World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, through which he now works in exchange for food and a place to live — and the ability to see the world and do something that he loves.  
 
Did I ever imagine that not a single one of my children would attend college? Never. In fact, I had spent their childhoods bracing for all three, which I had very close together, going pretty much simultaneously, which would’ve been a real strain on our finances. 
 
When each one decided, in their own way, to ditch the idea of higher ed, I admit I struggled with second guessing and worry — especially when I was hanging out with other parents, who excitedly discussed college visits and scholarships their kids had. But my kids aren’t the only ones opting out of college. In fact, it’s a topic of frequent discussion among teens these days.  
 
But I trusted my gut — and my kids. They not only knew what they wanted, they knew what they didn’t want. And the life they desired didn’t require a college education, Plus, if any of them ever changed their minds, they could pursue further education then.  
 
Now, the idea of openly questioning the worth of higher ed has become normalized: Articles asking “Is a College Education Still Worth It?” abound, and Pew Reserch found, in 2024, that after decades of falling wages, young U.S. workers (ages 25 to 34) without a bachelor’s degree have seen their earnings increase over the past 10 years. It also found that only one in four U.S. adults say it’s extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree to get a well-paying job in today’s economy. 
 
I am here to attest to that. My three kids didn’t just turn out fine without a college education; they are happy, thriving, and experiencing more than I did at their age. Not to mention, they won’t be paying off student loans for the next 20 years. Bottom line? They’ve all made me incredibly proud — and taught me to look outside of the box when it comes to societal expectations for our kids. And for that, I’m grateful.