Today, higher education is the goal for more and more students at all levels of schooling. Some parents push and pull kids to be like they were and go to college for four years, while others encourage their progeny to be the first in their family to get a degree. But for a few Garfield students from the class ’08, a period of what could be called “personal reflection” has delayed that goal, possibly for good.

Though they don’t bear the slacker attitude that tags along with the condemnation of being a dropout, Anna Hoang, Drew Avery*, Andrew Turner, and others from their class are no longer enrolled in the colleges they attended last year.

Avery and Turner took classes at Western Washington University and Washington State University, respectively, until they received grades too low to continue.

“I thought I’d be more into class,” Turner said of his grades. “But I almost never went.”

Avery had a similar situation with his classes at Western. “I experienced a curriculum very similar to high school in that I had to take lots of core classes which left little room for what I wanted to take,” he said. Because he wasn’t satisfied with his classes, Avery isn’t too sad to leave the college behind.

“It was entirely my fault that I got kicked out so it’s not like I’m blaming it on the school, but I’m not extremely upset that I won’t be going there next year,” he said.

Hoang, in contrast, took a voluntary step back after her freshman year and decided that she would take some time off before re-enrolling in Washington State University. “It was my choice to stop going to school. I realized that I had way too much fun at school and didn’t want to waste my mom’s money if I didn’t care,” she said.

Hoang’s mother supports her decision to take a break from classes and the party life, and Hoang now believes that a post-high school gap semester or two can stimulate valuable growth. “I think I just realized I wasn’t ready to go to college yet a semester too late,” she said. Hoang is now simply taking time off instead, and plans to return to college, hopefully WSU, in the spring or in fall 2010.

Neither Avery’s nor Turner’s families and friends disapproved as much as they expected. Turner’s inability to return to school received a reaction that was more supportive than anything else, and he wasn’t overwhelmingly criticized.

“I was surprised at the number of people who didn’t think it was necessary to go to a 4-year college,” said Turner. After failing out after going to school for only a semester, he would have had to reapply to WSU for a second semester of classes.

Turner now lives in Seattle, looking for work and taking classes at Seattle Central Community College. There isn’t a plan in the works to return to a 4-year college at this point, and he said he probably won’t go back

Avery had a similar experience as he left college behind. He took a year of classes before dropping out, but plans to return to Western in the future. He also took longer to tell people about leaving college.

“After I heard that I had been kicked out it took me a while to tell people. It wasn’t like I was proud. Coming from Garfield there’s a lot of pressure to do well and if you don’t, it’s pretty embarrassing,” said Avery. Of his family’s opinion he added, “Of course they’re upset but they’re helping me figure sh** out.”

Avery didn’t allow his experience to disrupt other plans; he’s now traveling in Guatemala, with plans to return soon. “It’s probably what I should’ve done before college,” he said. But Bellingham will remain home for Avery. He’ll continue living with friends from Western, and begin studies at the local community college.

“I don’t think that anyone should feel like the key to success is college and good grades,” Avery said. “I definitely believe you can be successful without it.”

And for a few ’08, it’s worked out that way. College seems like a break from the drudging work of high school, when in reality it’s an even higher pile of work to teeteringly stay on top of. The prospect of having to leave college, after putting in the hours of testing and essay writing is discouraging, but not the end of the world.

*Name has been changed