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Should I Graduate From A Post High School Program? - Insights Guide

This application’s question is full of valuable information pertaining to the decision making thought process. The process you should use to properly answer this question can and should be used for many of the life’s questions/problems you will answer or solve. Consequently focus on the question and eternalize the thinking process so it can be used later. 

Specifically, the graduation question (after you have already made the decision to go to a post high school program) is clouded with emotion, often full of faulty thinking, and carries intense peer pressure. These factors may cause you to make a choice that doesn’t give you the greatest ratio of benefits in comparison to costs or in other words a better choice for you is available. To help you identify and work with proper decision making principles in this case, consider the following:

  • Each day is a new day and may have differing expected benefits and costs. What was of high value to you when you decided to go to a post high school program may be of lesser value today. Something might have happened that influenced your values or life’s goals such as health (yours or others) or changed your income level such as a new job offer or winning the lottery.
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  • Good decisions need to be revisited along the way to reflect changes in your values and goals. This is called marginal thinking.
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  • Decisions can be modified as well as changed. Acquiring an education after high school is an option that is always available. Saying no to continuing a post high school program today is not saying you will never come back to it and complete it. Note, however, it is often more difficult to come back to post high school programs later in life. 
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  • One of the benefits of post high school programs is demonstrating that you have persistence and follow through. This value is lost if you don’t complete the task for you personally and for others who may be evaluating you for a job or promotion.
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  • In a market style economic system, most people are rewarded based upon their productivity levels. More education usually makes people more productive and that is why people with higher education levels make more money.
Application Insights-Should I Graduate From A Post High School Program? is not an answer key. To the contrary, it is a value packed process that helps you make the best choice at a moment in time given your values and life’s goals. It will help you become more objective and reduce the impact of others. It will help you feel comfortable that you have and continually will make the right choice along the way. Using good decision making principles and following the guide thoughtfully will help you make a good choice in this very important arena.
  • It is important to keep in mind that this question relates to should I continue my education program and graduate. It is based upon the previous decision of applying for and getting accepted into a program. Therefore, the context is reviewing the expected additional benefits against the expected additional costs of continuation. 
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  • Because this decision is based on a previous decision, it is important to determine if something has changed that will cause a change in your decision. Look again at your values and life’s goals. Look at your ability to pay for post high school education. Are your relationships the same or have people come into your life or left you that dramatically cause you to look at things differently. Be sure to focus on health issues (yours and others) as they are “game changers”. Changes are if everything is about the same as it was, you will find it easier to say “let’s keep doing what I am doing”. If a change is apparent, this will be an area that needs review and may cause you to do something else, at least for now.
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  • If some changes have occurred in your life, focus on those, at least initially, to identify new alternative courses of action. What options are available now that better fit my new environment. If health is an issue, is a new location important or if a new job availability changes what you have to give up to go to school and graduate, that should be considered.
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  • As you did before, carefully determine and weigh the expected benefits and expected costs of each alterative against the others. A new alternative may now carry the highest value either because it wasn’t factored into the decision in the past or your values have changed due to new circumstances. Moving closer to sick family members may now be the best-most valued alternative.
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  • Before finalizing your decision, seek input from others. Be sure to find some that have continued on the initial path of going to school after high school and completing the program and those that changed their minds during the process and not finishing-at least right away.  Be sure to include any new insight into your weighing process.
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  • Make a decision and now you should feel comfortable in reviewing you decision often until the goal is reached or new circumstances cause you to alter your choice.

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