‘So, what uni are you going to?’ It’s a question sixth form students are often asked. But for me, the answer is: ‘I’m not’. Despite being the only one in my year group to say this, I know it is the best decision for me. People have warned me that I will regret not having a degree, and fellow students have expressed mingled shock and pity, reminding me that I am forfeiting ‘the best three years of my life’ and the glorified ‘uni experience’. I’m not convinced.
My decision was not one I made overnight. It began as a flicker of doubt, and grew after months of sitting through hours of talks on the UCAS process and the various aspects of ‘uni life’. I began to feel a little cornered, and also began wondering if university was really the be-all and end-all we sixth formers seemed to imagine. What were we really going to get out of it?
When Tony Blair said he wanted half of young people to attend university, it was in the name of ‘education, education, education.’
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