Higher Education: Funds and Passion

Students cheer during commencement ceremonies at Columbia University. Author Andrew Hewitt said only 16 percent of those who start college will graduate and find fulfillment in their careers 5 years after graduation. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

For many in the U.S., college is a dream that is never realized due to lack of funds.

The Obama administration has said that it will make college education possible for more people through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which allots over $30 billion to make college more affordable and accessible according to the Whitehouse website.

“President Obama is committed to ensuring that America will regain its lost ground and have the highest proportion of students graduating from college in the world by 2020,” said the site.

Increased scholarships will only partially solve the problems facing American students, and cannot guarantee happiness. The mindset of students cannot be solved through funding.

Mind-Set

Forty-seven percent of college enrollees drop out before earning a degree, according to Andrew Hewitt, author of “The Power of Focus for College Students,” in an interview on New Tang Dynasty Television’s show “The New Millionaire.”
 
Only 16 percent of people who start college will graduate, and find satisfaction and enjoyment in their jobs five years post-graduation, said Hewitt.

Hewitt calls this the college crisis.

Students who finish school have invested a lot of time and money in their education hoping that a college education will provide a brighter future. Hewitt notes that the 16 percent satisfaction rating is terrifying for parents and college students.

Hewitt, himself a disenchanted college student turned entrepreneur, decided to look for a solution.

Instead of founding a school or advocating for school reform, Hewitt looked into the mind of students as a way to transform education from the inside out—from the mindset of the student.

The key, said Hewitt is to find what lights you up, your passion and figure out who you really are. He said that ultimately if education is “not in line with who we are, we quit, drop out and fall asleep at our desks.”

Hewitt also created the Passion Puzzle. Available free online, the Passion Puzzle is a questionnaire geared towards bringing greater insight into who a person is, what skills he or she possesses, and what he or she wants to do.