Going to university might be becoming a thing of the past. The traditional flow of 18 and 19-year old traffic to city and town outposts across the land could be about to run straight down a cul de sac, thanks to tuition fee hikes. There was an air of inevitability surrounding Oxford University’s decision earlier this week to join a string of the country’s finest education institutions (including Cambridge, Imperial College London and Exeter) in committing to charging the full £9,000. And it won’t stop there. For decades, going to University has been synonymous with social mobility, career prospects and ‘growing up’. A generation of idealistic, beer-swilling, poster-buying, funny-cigarette smoking teens have been forced into a sharp intake of breath.
However, being the glass-half-full kinda roguish dandies that ever we are, we’ve decided to highlight why, wherever possible, you really should spend three years of life at University in the UK. And no, we aren’t just talking about freshers week…
Earnings
Crude as it is to go straight in with the pay dirt, the simple fact is that, even with extortionate tuition fees and loans for living costs, university graduates can still hope to earn comfortably more than those with just a secondary education across the course of a lifetime. ‘More’ being to the tune of £100k. You do the math(s).
Access All Areas
Inextricably linked to the greater earnings of graduates is the fact that the vast majority of higher skilled jobs are given to university graduates. Indeed, some professions are wholly dependent on the training acquired through a university degree. You might be able to start your own business without a business studies BA, but you won’t be allowed near an operating theatre without years of training in medicine. Ditto lawyers, vets and the like.
Social Networks
No we’re not talking about facebooking and tweeting, or spending time ‘friending’ people online. We mean real social networks. Many of your friends at university are likely to become people of influence who can refer you to a top job, help build up your business and help in many other ways over your lifetime. With over 70% of new hires stemming from personal recommendations, having effective connections puts you one step ahead of the pack. Oh, and you make some awesome friends too!
Life Skills
University has long been a rite of passage for turning spotty teenagers into fully-fledged human beings, confident, composed and mature. Of course, you could easily learn to cook, fend for yourself and build relationships in an adult environment without going to University. But there’s something quietly beautiful about throngs of young adults being thrown together in the same place to discover themselves and each other. Plus, on the way you’re likely to end up drinking way too much and having sex a lot. Like we said, all useful life skills.
Learn
Last but not least, at University you will learn. It might be about Biochemistry; it might be about how not to set fire to yourself with a Bunsen burner. It might be about Politics; it might be about how to write a passable 12,000 word dissertation in four and a half days. Whether indirectly or directly, university is all about learning, and there’s nowhere else that will give you quite the same opportunity.
