What are the pros and cons of going to College / University...

Seriously what negatives could their possibly be besides debt. Are you going to able to get a career without that education? 
 
Why are you starting to reconsider? Is it just your nerves from being away from home or being uncomfortable? Welcome to being an adult, gotta do things you don't always like or agree with.

Lots of sexual fun.  You will be getting laid every weekend and half the time no one will remember it.  If you're a virgin now, get ready for some serious fun!  

" Lots of sexual fun.  You will be getting laid every weekend and half the time no one will remember it.  If you're a virgin now, get ready for some serious fun!   "

If you're not paying for it, mass amounts of freedom with little to no responsibility. If you are paying for it some debt but a degree that will let you into a career you want and a job that can pay off the debt. (PS, if you didn't already know, people who don't go into college go into debt as well) 
 
College isn't for everybody though, both my brother and sister both stopped after less than 1 semester, but I think they're crazy.

As someone who started University in September here's what you can look forward to:
Moving away from home, giving increased amounts of freedom.
Getting on great and liking all you flatmates.
Hating all you flatmates.
Deciding who you hate and who you get on with.
Lots of great nights out.
Real world experience, which you gain earlier in your life than you would by staying at home with parents and working.
Debt.
 
It's awesome, trust me.

£35,000 pounds of debt.
3 years of unemployment.
A hell of a lot of stress. 
Bad nights out with people who think vomitting is the sign of a good night out.
Idiots all around you.

A job outside of mcdonalds?

The only cons I see is that you'll have debt and little free time. Other than that, if you want a nice future, go to college. 

You get access to the library which I might add, is the perfect place to eat crisps (or chips for some of you.)
 
That aside, it can be interesting depending on the college and what subjects you intend to study and you can meet interesting people.

Plenty of girls. Also learning sometimes takes place.

" £35,000 pounds of debt. 3 years of unemployment. A hell of a lot of stress.  Bad nights out with people who think vomitting is the sign of a good night out. Idiots all around you. "

It can be the best time of your life, but it depends entirely on wether or not you're going to be paying for it, whether you're going to be working along side classes, whether you're going to be crashing with you're parents... It's worth it ether way (it doesn't sound like you've got a trade or skills set after highschool, so college is probably the best choice).

What do you want to do with your life? If you think you are going to need a university degree to get the job you want, then you should go to university. If you want to do something that doesn't need a degree, like say carpentry, some other trade, or a non-academic career then a degree might not be worth the trouble. A degree really is a means to an end, in most cases (unless you want it to be "educated" and get a degree for the sake of an education), so if you have something in mind that you want to do, like say becoming a video game designer, than getting a degree in that is a good idea.  
 
Of course, not everyone knows what they want to do, and really the best way to find out what you want to do is by trying it. Do you live near a university and know someone who goes there? If you do, see if you can go with them to some of there classes and see if you like the atmosphere,. Have them show you around campus and things like that. Also, most universities do things like this already. Maybe it would be a good idea to check that out.  Also, check out what some other options other than university are. See what kind of jobs are out there that you might want to do if you don't got to university. If one interests you, see if you can find a way to try it out, try and volunteer at some places.  
 
As a lot of people have said, university is a place where you can meet a lot of people, try new things, learn something you enjoy, and learn to be on you own. Though it isn't for everyone, and, though some people might lead you to believe otherwise, it doesn't guarantee a good job or a job period. Really, if you have something in mind that you want to do, you should do that, whether it involves going to university or not.  If you are undecided on what to do than maybe university is not the best option, as if you are not focused on what you want to do you could end up wasting time and money being there, but you may also find what you are really passionate about. It all depends. So, my advice is to try somethings out see what you would like to do, and go form there.

I went right as soon as i graduated high school and i wish i had waited. Mainly because my mom died while i was gone so i wish i had been able to spend the last few years she was alive with her, but also because while i was there i just felt burnt out and tired of learning after 13 years of school. I like to think if i had waited a few years, got some part time job and saved up my money so i didn't need to get a student loan not only would i not have this massive debt over me, but i might have actually did better and learned at the school. You may be different but for me the biggest thing is being able to leave college without any debt, which is a major help with whatever you do after.

" Lots of sexual fun.  You will be getting laid every weekend and half the time no one will remember it.  If you're a virgin now, get ready for some serious fun!   "

" £35,000 pounds of debt. 3 years of unemployment. A hell of a lot of stress.  Bad nights out with people who think vomitting is the sign of a good night out.Idiots all around you. "

Well, I'm finishing my first semester as a university college student. Can't say I've regretted starting :) Just read regularly, and it's gonna be a blast.
 
If you don't like drinking, that's not a problem. People usually respect that. They're idiots if they don't :P

Pros: Possibility of money in teh future (Just because you have a degree doesn't men you'll be rich)
           Partays
           Sexy time
           Knowledge!
 
Cons: 3 hours of sleep
             A social life? What's that?

" One thing that didn't worry me though is the debt (UK) here's why, you get a loan that covers your degree and another that you get to live on, this should be enough to get by if your extremely strict with budget, but seriously no-one is. "

bachelors degree is the new highschool diploma
if you dont have one, enjoy sitting in the basement and burdening your family with your existence

With the way the world is today you basically need at least some form of college education.  There are no negatives other than the obvious issue of money, as other users have mentioned.

Pros: You'll get lots of sex. And booze.
 
Cons: You'll be in college.

hundreds of thousands of dollars more than non-degree owning people over the course of your lifetime?

Positives:
Women.
Women.
Women.
Women.
WOMEN.
Parties if you're into that thing, cool people to meet, your professors for the most part don't treat you like a baby (as they would in high school).
Oh and WOMEN.
 
Negatives: Expensive as hell (unless you're going to a community college), have fun staying up until 4-5am most days of the week, it's still school so good luck having fun in your classes (unless you REALLY like your subject), and contrary to popular belief, getting laid isn't as simple as just having a penis.

Pros:
You're not going to be stuck with a sweat shop job with no benefits. (Depends on the degree/major. lol art/english/religious studies)
Parties
 
Cons:
Buttloads of debt 
Juggling college and a job
 
Like @MC_Izawasaid.A college degree is a expected thing nowadays. You can survive without one but you'll be a lot better off with one.

I'm going! Master's for me, hopefully...

At this point in time, not going would be career suicide. There's already strict enough competition to get jobs for people with degrees, let alone people without them.

" At this point in time, not going would be career suicide. There's already strict enough competition to get jobs for people with degrees, let alone people without them. "

Benefits 
 
- Life experience, will teach you time management, prioritization and how to handle stress.  
- Knowledge, both practical and theoretical 
- High level job opportunities such as medicine and law
 
Cons 
 
- Expensive   
- Will take a medium to large chunk out of your life (although, at late teens/early 20's what else are you doing?)
- If you aren't the top 5-10% then you're wasting your time 

Be smart about the education you choose. Look for what people in that field actually earn, and go to job fairs asking questions.
I got a 2-year college diploma about five years ago, and one month's salary from the resulting jobs was equal to one year's tuition.
 
Now I'm back in University finishing up my Bachelor's. Main reason is to change the kind of work I do (making big decisions instead of implementing them), and start working internationally. Japan won't give you a visa anymore without a degree.  And those job opportunities will get me up to high five-figures immediately.  Master's degree later will get me six.

" Lots of sexual fun.  You will be getting laid every weekend and half the time no one will remember it.  If you're a virgin now, get ready for some serious fun!   "

When you consider if university is right for you, you have to equally consider whether you're right for university. If you're going thinking that it's going to be like Van Wilder, don't go. If you're not a competitive type of person, don't go (that is, unless your dream job is social work or something). If you're not willing to do proper job research, don't go. Otherwise you'll just be wasting your time and money and something like what lilburtonboy suggested would be better for you. 

" @Everyones_A_Critic said:

" At this point in time, not going would be career suicide. There's already strict enough competition to get jobs for people with degrees, let alone people without them. "

That's simply not true. A lot of well paying jobs go to whoever is the best worker, regardless of education. A lot of factories pay more than double minimum wage starting pay without even a high school diploma. The whole "WE HAVE TO GO TO TEH COLLEGE" mentality is largely responsible for our shitty and now overcrowded universities.   "

Pros: Better Job, Girls, Parties, Better Education
Cons: Debt, A lot of money, prob. professors.

" Pros: It's pretty difficult to be able to do anything or get a decent job without a degree.  You can't even do overseas work without one.  Cons: You'll further "learn" about/how to do shit you don't care about.  You probably got enough of that in HS.  I personally think the disadvantages outweigh the benefits.   "

In all seriousness, there are some major cons to going to college.  Professors sometimes indoctrinate students with nonsense way too much.  Let us remember that professors are people too...which means they aren't all that smart to begin with necessarily.  Hopefully, students will use some of the common sense they are born with, balance that with that education, and hopefully come up with ideas of reasonable incredulity ((btw, don't end sentences (or clauses) in so many prepositions)).  University often makes people stupid.

" @KaosAngel said:

" Lots of sexual fun.  You will be getting laid every weekend and half the time no one will remember it.  If you're a virgin now, get ready for some serious fun!   "

I can assure you that this stereotype of college life is definitely not true.  

Go to college but for the love of god pick something job orientated and practicla. I originally did a degree in English and Philosophy in UCD and then spent a year (when in Ireland finding a job was pretty much the same as applying for one) being turned away from every paper or magazine around. Then I enrolled in a journalism course here which I'm still on and through work experience am swimming in opportunities in a time when half of the country is on the dole.
 
Go to college, have fun but don't forget what you're there for. A drop out or other non degree holder will not be getting work beyond menial minimum wage. If you have the opportunity to not end up like this take it or you will regret it for the rest of your life.

It's only a con if you're there when you don't really want to. Some people just go to university because they figure it's the next thing to do. It's not for everyone and that's how you get people wasting years of their lives.

" @Everyones_A_Critic said:

" At this point in time, not going would be career suicide. There's already strict enough competition to get jobs for people with degrees, let alone people without them. "

That's simply not true. A lot of well paying jobs go to whoever is the best worker, regardless of education. A lot of factories pay more than double minimum wage starting pay without even a high school diploma. The whole "WE HAVE TO GO TO TEH COLLEGE" mentality is largely responsible for our shitty and now overcrowded universities.   "

never been to college/ university.
During high school I couldn't decide what i wanted to study and also i didn't feel i wanted to get a full time job yet, so what i did was, moving to Japan :) 
Living in a foreign country gives you alot of experience and you also learn alot about yourself, it doesnt really costs so much either,  you could probably get away with 10.000 dollars for 1 year, even less if you have a part time job.
Myself, i was first going to stay for 1 year but have been here for 2 years now, gotten engaged, speaks 3 languages and have several job offers.

Granted this is a generalization but most of the jobs you can land without going to college suck. College is fun, you meet some people, you learn some stuff, and then you get a nice job.
 
Sounds like a no-brainer to me.

" Lots of sexual fun.  You will be getting laid every weekend and half the time no one will remember it.  If you're a virgin now, get ready for some serious fun!   "

" Pros:
Parties"

" Positives: Women. Women. Women. Women. WOMEN. Parties if you're into that thing, cool people to meet, your professors for the most part don't treat you like a baby (as they would in high school). Oh and WOMEN.  Negatives: Expensive as hell (unless you're going to a community college), have fun staying up until 4-5am most days of the week, it's still school so good luck having fun in your classes (unless you REALLY like your subject), and contrary to popular belief, getting laid isn't as simple as just having a penis. "

" Pros: You'll get lots of sex. And booze.  Cons: You'll be in college. "

"Partays            Sexy time"

" Plenty of girls. Also learning sometimes takes place. "

"Lots of great nights out. "