Education in 2036 by Daisy

Education in 2036 by Daisy - September 2025 Scholarship Essay

Education today isn’t the same as it was a century ago. Looking towards the future I predict that education will keep evolving to adapt to our changing world. A century ago there were few colleges that taught women. The college level courses set them up to work in the home. Nowadays women can start getting a college education before they even graduate high school. I am one of those women. As someone who has gotten a head start into college, I believe that it is the best way to get an education. In 2036 education should be more career oriented. Schools should all offer college credits, job shadowing, and a mentorship program.
Earning college credits in high school is not only allowing students to get a head start, but it is a smart financial decision. Colleges charge students thousands of dollars to take courses that are starting to be required to be an employee in the United States. Exiting college students should look forward to making more than minimum wage since they are educated. This is not the reality for most. As of 8 August 2025 the Education Data Initiative reported that the student loan debt is 1.814 trillion dollars. Debt.org claims that “A comprehensive survey found that 73% of Americans are likely to die with debt”. That is a horrifying reality. The Utah System Of Higher Education informs us that “It is estimated that Utah high school students would have paid $34.8 million in tuition for the 204,423 credit hours awarded in 2015-16. This amounts to anywhere between $1,300 to $13,500 in saved tuition per student”.
Another worry that high school students that are moving on to higher education is what career is the right one. There aren’t many resources that are readily available for students to decide what career fits them best. A job shadowing or part time internship program would help with that issue. Students could explore job types and can decide what interests them most. My school does vocational education but the classes fill up fast and there is a small variety of class options. Giving students 2 hours a couple days a week to job shadow, kind of like a field trip, would be beneficial.
Once a career opportunity catches someone's interest most times it's hard to figure out how you would go about obtaining the requirements for this field, when I decided what I wanted to do after high school I started researching. The research told me that you can become a pediatric physical therapist with a bachelors, that is incorrect. It took an adult in my community, who is a pediatric physical therapist, to tell me what I needed to do. Not everyone preparing for the real world has adults in their life that can give advice. I definitely think that a mentorship program could help students receive direction. There are too many things going on in a high school senior's life to have to do it all by themselves.
So, if and when education keeps evolving like it has in the past, I hope that by 2036 there will be more resources and opportunities available. Concurrent courses, job shadowing, and mentorship are perfect examples of resources that would positively impact high school students. The real world is explained to graduates as a serious environment. Why not set those people up for success rather than waiting to watch them fall flat on their face. 10 years from now I hope our education system is set up for their students to succeed.