tracked in life

My roommates constantly surprise me with new thoughts to keep my mind occupied. It can happen at the most random times too. Contrary to the idea that higher education opens doors to greater opportunities, we suggest that it leads not to greater but to different paths, and possibly limiting ones career choices. Even though one has attained a level of education high from a decently known institution and probably has access to pursue many different avenues, the pressures coming from friends, family, and the greater social network and also the culture, the "air that we breath" does not support this free for all environment. Factoring the expectations that come attached with one seeking to attain a higher degree, I feel that one is also gathering cultural capital which invovles ingraining a set of values of what is appropiate and what is not. Maybe it comes from the family, who have probably invested a lot of resources to help the child reach the place where he is presently and expect high returns. Regardless perhaps there is this invisible tracking that so many of us are experiencing. Dustin mentioned last night that we never really get out of highschool. Are we tracked throughout life? Also, my memory is fading but was everyone tracked in our pre-college institutions? I remember that there were programs for the so called "smart" kids and then a number of outreach programs for the "at risk" population. I don't remember there being significant efforts to direct those who were at the middle performance level. They were the people who passed the classes, maybe with a C but they made it through and that was what mattered. If one then wants freedom from being tracked in life, then is the answer to be mediocre?