University

[ChrisRedfield1994]

As I write this, I am awaiting offers from my five choices of universities: Warwick, Kent, Leicester and two other lesser ones serving as my backups. I have always seen it mandatory to go to a good university to read (read: the fancy term for study) Law in order to fulfil my aspiration to become a corporate solicitor.

That, however, isn't the case for everyone. Some lack the grades (honestly, I don't see why admittance should be based on exams: a lot of factors influence how well you do such as the particular school you're at, family issues, medical complications etc) whereas some just don't want to go as it is not for them. I say that both categories have perfect reasons as the former may be deterred due to the stigma of not getting 18 A*s or a 4.0GPA (is that the highest? I can never understand the GPA system) and the latter know that the academic pressures are not always eased by the social activities available.

What I'm curious about is simply this: are you a graduate/studying at university currently or have you chosen to forgo university? The poll will be simply to sate my curiosity about either answer. If you chose to forgo it, are your reasons similar to the ones that I've detailed or are they more personal/different to the aforementioned reasons?

I do hope that this thread isn't too creepy! I'm simply curious!

EDIT: I've realised how horribly I've phrased the poll question! If you are currently studying at university then feel free to contribute! I narrowed the question so badly that the results would be skewed!

 

[Hel]

I just graduated last week, and I think it was a big waste of time. So this is "an institution that teaches you to think for yourself", right? My a$$, "an institution that teaches you to copy and cite what others have thought before you" sounds more like it. The only thing I really learned there is that university is not for me. And now that I'm looking for a proper job after finishing it, they all require a specific training rather than my degree... Yeah, as I said, I should have done something else. In my next human life perhaps.

 

[La Femme Fatale]

I graduated from McMaster University back in 2011 with an honours BA in political science and labour studies. I wouldn't say it was a waste of time at all - I feel that I've grown the most in my political convictions and values from being a student. And I've learned how to be a critical thinker - which I don't think I'd be had I skipped it.

That said - it hasn't been a huge help scoring me a job. I'm sure the fact that I can stick it on my CV helped - but I had to go back to college to do a post-grad in Public Relations to learn real, applicable job skills. And it's because I went to college that I now have a good job. A huge part of that is the emphasis in networking in college.

Being able to effectively network, I think, is one of the most helpful skills you can learn.

 

[WeskerWanter]

I received a B.S. in physics and will be graduating in May with a master's in electro-optics. My original plan was to get a Ph.D. in experimental physics, and I had two different offers for corresponding Ph.D. programs, but I realized that a master's degree is more appropriate for what I want to do with my career. The degrees have most definitely been helpful in me receiving employment.

 

[AgentZero]

I've been giving college a lot of though recently. The more I think about, the more of a waste of time it seems to me. Now that is an opinion I make for myself only. The careers I wan't to persue, (Primarily Music. Though I do wan't write and be an auto technician until music gets going.) I feel going to a 4 year school is stress and time that you can't waste in life. Again, that's for me. Obviously if you want to go into a science or math field, a university would probably be beneficial. As for me, I want to get an associates degree in automotive repair, but work on music for the most part.

 

[Jen]

I'm currently in my final year of university, studying for a BA in Forensic Accounting. I actually want to be a writer, but I decided that I would get a degree so that I had something to fall back on if I didn't achieve this goal.

My experience of university has been mixed, but the majority of my problems have come from the lack of good organisation at my uni. For instance, university failed to let the student loans company know that I would be attending university this year, so there are issues with my finances. They also emailed me at the end of August to tell me that as part of this year I had to complete a work experience module, and that it had to be completed by October. Due to the lack of time left to complete the experience, I didn't have time to find paid work and so I decided to volunteer full time for five weeks. Turns out that after I had completed the experience, they told us they had sent the emails out by mistake. There have been several things over the years that have really made me lose faith in my university and their admin department.

Having said that, I am glad that I completed the voluntary work, and I'm still volunteering there now, so I'll have something that looks good on my CV.

I actually love university life itself, though. I love being a student and I've met so many great people that I know will be friends for life. I find most of the content of my course interesting, especially since there are some law aspects, and the good thing about my course is that it actually has modules on employability, so it does go some way towards setting me up for life beyond university. I'm hoping that having both a degree and voluntary experience on my CV will go some way towards getting me a job, so fingers crossed, attending university will have been worth it in the long run.

 

[Steve]

Open University student here, presently studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.

It's great fun and I've met some amazing people (which is everybody that I've mingled with at the day classes, really!), but it is a bit tricky trying to balance work, family and studying.

I have plans to pursue a Master's degree in something English-y if I have any sanity left over after the course is finished.

Initially enrolled because why the heck not.

11/10 it's okay -IGN