Optionality is a design flaw

One of the biggest “selling points” of universities is actually a huge design flaw:

optionality

When students arrive at college, most have no idea what they want to do.

But college apologists say that’s okay because universities offer hundreds of courses and scores of potential paths.

There’s only one problem with that . . .

humans don’t thrive when presented with an endless array of choices

We get overwhelmed, anxious, and often end up less satisfied with the decision we made or we make no decision at all.

And if you don’t believe me, check out the many books and studies that have been published on the subject.

Yet, our educational system is praised for its utter open-endedness.

At 18 years old, students have no idea what they want to do.

So, they’re placed in front of an endless buffet of majors, minors, electives, concentrations, and extracurriculars, with minimal guidance and support.

Then we’re surprised when students switch majors three times, take five years to graduate, and end up in a career completely unrelated to what they studied.

Germany and Switzerland focus on preparing students for specific roles in society and the economy

These systems narrow the decision set to a manageable number of well-defined options and provide extensive guidance along the way.

Students still have choices, but they choose between a handful of clear, understood pathways.

As a result, most enter adulthood with a stronger sense of identity, more confidence in their direction, less anxiety, and greater satisfaction.

In many ways, these systems recognize that most people are worse off when presented with many options.

U.S. universities’ promise of unlimited optionality often produces the exact opposite outcome:

paralysis, confusion, and unhappiness

But I don’t solely blame universities for this.

High schools need to play the primary role in career orientation to give students a concrete sense of direction before they graduate.

Many people will cry, “No! That’s awful! Don’t pigeonhole these poor students so early in life.”

These people are wrong.

If you have the right structure in place, then you are doing these students a tremendous service by helping them narrow their paths early on.

That way, when they approach the critical decision point of what to do with their lives, they have only a few well-defined, attractive options in front of them.

And THAT is what actually leads to a fulfilling, productive, and happy life.