The U.S. education system has a unique structure. In order to pursue a career in certain fields—such as medicine, law or teaching—students have to go through a pre-professional program that prepares them for entrance into professional schools while they pursue an undergraduate degree. Some people think that requiring students to spend four years attaining a degree that barely contributes to their career development is a waste of time and argue that we should do what most other countries do: make medicine, law and teaching undergraduate courses so that students can graduate and start working at an earlier age. However, taking things slow has its benefits.

The primary benefit of pre-professional programs is that they alleviate the pressure put on high school students and incoming college freshmen. Areas such as law or medicine require students to be able to process intensive amounts of information in a relatively short amount of time, adapt to a unique method of learning and manage high workloads. For this reason, getting accepted into these professional institutions is extremely difficult and requires that you prove that you have an understanding of the nature of the profession and the capacity to overcome challenges. This process can put a lot of pressure on high school students applying for college if medical school is an undergraduate, rather than a graduate, program. For instance, in South Korea, high school students who are applying for law or medical school are required to be at the top of their class, have a high CSAT score, have ample amounts of extracurricular experience and experience a lot of competition due to the limited number of students medical schools recruit. The pre-professional system, which requires students to spend the first four years of adulthood pursuing an undergraduate degree, gives students enough time to prepare for the tough process ahead by helping them establish effective life and study habits.

The pre-professional programs give students time to learn the real world, which differs from the academic one. In academics, there is a clear structure, and most of the time, we get what we want as long as we put in the effort. In real life, there are many factors beyond our control, scenarios without clear-cut answers and lessons that we can only learn from engaging with our surroundings. If high-intensity professional curricula are provided to undergraduates as new adults, they are likely to miss out on opportunities to learn from life experiences because they are too busy studying. As a result, students are at risk of remaining immature into their late 20s. By taking the time to simply live their lives for the first four years of adulthood, students can develop skills that are necessary to live alongside others, learn how to take care of themselves and, most importantly, acquire the necessary wisdom to protect and advocate for themselves. These experiences are not something that others can teach you with a formula but instead are things that you must realize on your own.

Another benefit of the pre-professional program is that you do not have to make a major life decision right away. As we enter college, a lot of people are surprised that their original career aspirations are not what they thought and, consequently, are not the right path for them. It is also unlikely that 18-year-olds who are overwhelmed with college applications, only know small fragments about their future career and are under parental pressure will know exactly what they want to pursue. If degrees such as medicine, law or teaching are undergraduate courses, some people may realize that such fields are not for them until after they put in the hard work. Additionally, they will not be burdened by the sunk costs of the professional courses they have already taken or have to start from scratch if they decide they want to switch to a new career path. By requiring students to get an undergraduate degree by partaking in a pre-professional education program, students can take the time to get professional guidance in setting their career goals. They will also get the opportunity to consider whether the money and respect that doctors and lawyers get is worth the hard work they will have to put in for the next few years before making a career decision.

The fact that you were smart in high school does not guarantee that you will be successful in college and vice versa. Additionally, academic intelligence is not the only requirement to be successful in a career. Those who are intelligent can be horrible doctors, and those who are not so academically intelligent may be very good at their job by utilizing skills in other areas. For this reason, one’s performance in high school—where you were likely immature, unmotivated or over-influenced by external factors—should not be the sole determinant of what you will do with your life. Although it may seem like a waste of time to pursue a degree that you know you will not use in life, having the opportunity to live the first four years of adulthood in undergrad and taking the time to mature can be very beneficial in the long run.