Education does not make something of a man. Man makes something of an education. Mandates do not make someone value their school, do not motivate them to succeed within that system, and do not teach them to define the meaning of their experience themselves.

Doing something simply because you are told to creates dependency on authority, erodes the muscle of critical thought and stifles autonomy.

As it is, a college degree is practically compulsory anyway. Sixty-six percent of students head straight from their high school graduations to new institutions, according to nces.ed.gov.

From personal experience (just talk to any random sample of college students), I know many make the move without much consideration as to why they’re going to college or what they plan on doing when they get there. A mere 55 percent of those end up graduating, according to slate.com. At an average cost of $40,000 a year for private schools and $19,000 for public, according to the College Board.

Those 45% who did not graduate paid a high price to find out what a little common sense will tell you — a life is not defined by a college degree, and unless you have a clear reason for attaining one it is not worth the cost.

Added to this, 69 percent of students who do graduate are saddled with debt — an average of $28,400 per borrower, according to ticas.org. Half of the jobs they take do not require a diploma, according to bloomberg.com. While it is true that earning a degree opens up opportunities, these statistics show that simply attending college will not align a student’s future for them.

Often with the talk of college there is this vague sentiment that by going somewhere and by doing something one can attain something else, which is something that one wants, though exactly what any of these somethings are one does not know. College is associated with the sense of “a better life.” And it certainly can be. But what exactly is a better life?

This returns us to my initial statement, that you make something of an education, not the other way around. Our communities teach us values, our culture instills a lifestyle, but as individuals we are the ultimate judges of what is meaningful in our lives. Decide for yourself why you will go to college, or why you will not.

Decide for yourself why you will choose one career, or why another. Decide what the good life means to you.

If anything is mandatory, it should be that students will not attend college — for two years, at least — and be sent to work and live in a foreign nation.

See what that will do for your clarity.