University - is it worth it?

[pips]

i'm doing my university application at the moment and i was just wondering what everyone here thought. as i'm presented with increasing numbers of barriers i'm beginning to wonder if it's all worth the bother. increased numbers of applicants, fuddy duddy courses etc. and not to mention top up fees (thanks for that, our lovely government, all of whom not only studied at uni for free but got paid to do so!).

so, is it still better to get a degree under your belt (along with the many thousands of other people) or should we just push ourselves out into the world of work and work our way up?

obviously, i'm inclined towards uni because i'm not ready for anything else, but i was just curious as to what others think.

[Jez]

I'm all for uni, despite the fact that it'll get me in debt for the next ten years. At the end of it you get a degree, and if you believe what the teachers tell you, university graduates get a higher salary on average than people who haven't been to uni. Plus there's the whole experience which I'm really looking forward to. And there's that little thing that going to university for three years delays the time when I actually have to get a job...

I've already applied, sent everything off, and I'm now waiting for an acknowledgement from UCAS.

[Cookiemonster]

A resounding yes from me, I'm having the time of my life up at uni, and have made some fantastic new friends. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

[pips]

yes, i'm in the same position, not quite there yet.

uni will be fun regardless, and what with top up fees i'm going to get in debt with style. some aspects of uni are a joke now though. how can the government expect for so many people to go? how can they not see that they're diluting the worth of degrees and saturating the system?

[jessia]

if there's something that you're interested in learning, or you're interested in learning whether there's something to learn for you out there, then i'm all for it.

is there something you want to do instead of uni?

[pips]

no, not at all. i have no idea what i'd do instead, but it's stressing me out (one girl in my year is on tranquilizers and has stomach ulsers (sp) because she's ~*pineapples*~ herself that much about oxford). i just find it hard to believe that they want to make everyone go through so many sleepless nights and worry.
that's another thing does anybody else think we should change the structure of the year a little bit, take the exams, get our results, and then apply? i don't know what to think really. it could be a good idea, but would it work?

[Cookiemonster]

That would work better in theory (for example, predicted grades not required), but there just wouldn't be enough time for everything.

[Ian]

I think that Uni is probably the answer for a lot of people. You should certainly consider what you could instead of Uni though. It annoys me how everyone at school just assumes that ALevels will automatically lead onto Uni and degree and job and career and etc. Yeah sure, its great to be qualified, but you don't have to go is what has to be remembered.

However, I'd advise you to go. Can't remember speaking to anyone who didn't think it was worth it. As for the money. Well... my mum is currently waiting 25 years to have her student debts written off by the Swedish government, perhaps you could do the same???

[Halfaperson]

There really is no definitive yes or no answer to whether Uni is a good idea, I can only speak from my personal opinion. I would say that if you have a good idea what you want study, have a realistic expectation of the workload for the particular course, and you have a good idea what you want to do after you graduate, then my advice would be to go for it. In other words, if you have a 'calling' to a particular career then no amount of financial constraints should put you off.
If, on the other hand, you decide to go to uni simply because of the pressure put on people to go, and all the scare stories about not being able to get a job if you don't get a degree, then please, don't force yourself into going.
I went to Newcastle to study law and became very disillusioned with the whole concept of University. To be honest, if your not an outgoing sort of person then Uni can be very difficult and lonely. I found myself among many people from wealthy, private school backgrounds whom I found difficult to get on with, and the lecture structure only offered about 9-10 teaching hours per week most of the time. At first, this sounds great, but unless you're tremendously self motivated, its difficult to keep up with the work load (especially in the more intensive courses)
Some of the people I know who went to University (and this is God's honest truth) are back working in the same summer jobs they left three years before, and some of these people got 2:1 business degrees! So don't worry and think that if you don't go to Uni its the end of the world. Go travelling instead, learn a language, live abroad for a while, find a career that you will enjoy, do some charity work, take up different sports. I'm trying to do all this now to make up for my dire Uni days! But everyone's experiences are different. The key is being happy and confident in what you're doing, everything else stems from that, whether you go to uni or not.

Ps I am aware its now October, so if you will have already decided this question months ago, I'm just putting down my opinion to see what people think.

[Qu Klaani]

Heck yes you should go to university...

I mean really, students wine on and on about the debt, but its feck all compared to loans they'll be taking in later life, and its pretty fecking cheap compared to what otheres pay. Anyway, university is teh awesome, that is all.

[jessia]

are you enjoying it Qu Klaani?

[All_That_Jazz]

I am really looking forward to college/uni next year...just to be able to learn for the sake of it, do research, be independent, party, etc. etc. It is so expensive, though. Most of the schools I'm applying to come out to be $40,000 per year with tuition and living costs. Of course I'm applying for scholarships/financial aid, but that's a lot of money.

And even applying costs money. $60 application fee per school for seven schools, plus $15 to have SAT scores sent to each of them, then another $15 for each ACT, and $9 per AP test per school, (I took three, and will have taken 4 after this year). Taking AP tests costs $70 each, IB tests are $200 each, and even the SAT costs $40 now. Oh, and SAT II's, which are about $18 each, and each score report costs another $15. I don't even want to add that up.

[writteninveggies]

But it's worth it, right? I mean, it's the next step in education. Sure, in an ideal world there would be another option where you could learn through only experience and...oh I dunno, I guess there are so many colleges out there you can't really make too many generalizations. But it's money for the sake of learning for the sake of living. What do I know, I'm still just a sophmore in high school. *grumblemumbleargue*

[Symon]

for the sake of learning for the sake of living

Money for the sake of learning, yes. But could you call sitting in lecture halls all day, dorm room, etc, etc, READING about all of this wonderful stuff...living?
I am not saying learning is not lviving, because I think it's definitely a part of it. I'm saying I wish we didn't have to spend 20+ years sitting on our asses to read about what others have experienced.

What can I say, I'm a kinesthetic learner.

[writteninveggies]

for the sake of learning for the sake of living

Money for the sake of learning, yes. But could you call sitting in lecture halls all day, dorm room, etc, etc, READING about all of this wonderful stuff...living?
I am not saying learning is not lviving, because I think it's definitely a part of it. I'm saying I wish we didn't have to spend 20+ years sitting on our asses to read about what others have experienced.

What can I say, I'm a kinesthetic learner.

Yes, I think that's living. Perhaps not the ideal form of living for many though, which is what I was saying. There should be other options where you can continue to be educated, but not in such a linear way. Because a lot of people don't learn well that way. What I was actually saying is that you pay the money for college so that you can learn, and you learn so that you can suceed in life. Which doesn't really make sense now that I look back, I was just trying to explain WHY we have to constantly learn...

[Symon]

There should be other options where you can continue to be educated, but not in such a linear way.

Marvelous! Bravo. I've been saying that for years! Heh, the Prime Minister is coming to my school tomorrow...I'll mention it in passing.

[Ian]

There should be other options where you can continue to be educated, but not in such a linear way.

Marvelous! Bravo. I've been saying that for years! Heh, the Prime Minister is coming to my school tomorrow...I'll mention it in passing.

Make sure you heckle him.

[Melancholy Man]

Rubbish, that was not heckling!

[Crazy Bear Mc.Gubbins]

University is fine by me because I view it as a decidedly cruel lesson in the art of humility. After two more years of living in my own personal cesspit I'll have learned to appreciate anything. Even government work =D

[Blossom]

I'd wouldn't go if i didn't feel i need the degree, i'd rather not spend all that money living in a dump for so long when i could instead use it to see the world. And it takes me three years to make friends anyway. I suspect i'll never even use my degree...