College used to be marketed as being “for everyone”.

It still is today to some degree (that’s good, I know).

That “mistruth” is more false now than it’s ever been.

College can be one of the best experiences a young person has, especially if they go in with a plan.

I’m very glad that doctors, engineers, lawyers, and scientists go to college.

But having a plan and using college as a springboard to a successful career is not the norm.

One survey found that a third of American adults had no plan after graduation.

Another study found that about half of all bachelor’s degree graduates end up in a job that doesn’t require a college degree.

Meanwhile, college graduates, on average, leave school with $38,000 in student loan debt.

Most kids sign up for college, agree to pay the massive bill, then try to figure it out while they’re there. And sadly, almost half of them don’t (40% don’t graduate).

College has become this place to extend high school and delay adulthood. And it’s not hard to understand why.

We ask 18-year-olds to pick a major, choose a career path, and invest thousands upon thousands of dollars in a decision they don’t fully understand yet.

And even if they do it right, there’s still one major skillset they probably won’t learn in college:

How to solve real-world problems without a rulebook or a manual to follow.

College teaches you how to research, write, show up on time, and follow instructions. 

All of that has value, of course. 

But real success – especially today – demands more. You have to know how to step into unclear situations and figure out what to do next.

That’s rare today, and it’s because of how we teach our kids.

It’s almost impossible to teach that in a classroom.

Most college programs don’t regularly ask students to solve problems without a clear process. Students are taught to give the right answer, not find one on their own.

But the people who build careers and lead teams and make things better are the ones who create solutions when there wasn’t a roadmap, not the ones who follow all the steps correctly.

That doesn’t mean college is a waste. It has immense value for certain career paths. It just means there are huge gaps between what’s efficient for grading and what’s effective in the real world.

And the truth is, we desperately need more problem solvers than we need rule followers.