In academic writing, a thesis statement, also known as controlling idea, is a sentence that identifies the main idea or central purpose of the text, which usually appears in the essays, reports or research papers’ introductory paragraph.
Such thesis statement is not a mere statement of fact, but an idea, a claim, or an interpretation, which may be disputed by others.
In this sense, one example of a thesis statement about going back to school may be as follow:
Although some people may have reasons for finding a job right after finish high school, much of them get used to earning money, forgetting the fact that, by going back to school and perusing a professional degree in a college, they could have access to better jobs and thus, to better life quality.