Is going to University still worth the money?

Firstly, if I have been lucky enough since I started this blog to have gathered any hardcore followers I profoundly apologise for my lack of activity in the past month... I will try and make up for it starting now...

Now then... As a student finishing my A Levels in 2007 I was, like many others, faced with the decision of whether to apply for University.  To me it wasn't much of a question, I was an intelligent guy with the prospect of great grades, no-one in my family had ever been, and every guest speaker I'd ever heard talked about it made quite clear the financial benefits an individual with a degree had over one without.  No brainer right?  The fact that I would be coming out after 3 years over 20K in debt wasn't much of a factor  - everyone is going to be in the same boat, you don't start paying it off until you earn 15K and that's no sort of wage for a graduate right, so the debt would be paid off in no time.

Fast forward 5 years, we are entering the final year before the majority of Universities will be raising the tuition fees nearly threefold to 9K a year.  Now I put myself back in the position I described earlier... Not a no brainer anymore.  Now let me just quickly say that this post is not intending to argue against the fee increases, nor is it looking at affluent individuals who are lucky enough to have their fees paid for.  I am asking the question as to whether or not the University experience and degree which you aim to leave with are worth the money.

Put it this way...  Someone who came out of University before the recession would have left University about 20K in debt and entered a relatively healthy job market with great prospects.  Whereas someone who comes out of University in 2015 will feed into a saturated job market with little opportunity for graduates (hopefully the situation will be better by then) and to make matters worse will be leaving with a debt more like 40K.  More debt but less chance of landing a well paid job.  Not a great equation.

The decision is surely made even more difficult if you are not the most academic person in the world and are applying for Universities not considered to be elite.  There is a big difference paying 40K for a 1st at Cambridge to a 2.2 at UEA.  Even with the fees at what they are now I'm not sure the benefits of paying to go to a low ranked University with poor predicted grades.  I think there are plenty of other paths for people to go down and that most people don't fully consider them because they have been told over and over again from various angles that a degree breeds success.  That is sadly not the case anymore.

Since I have entered the workplace, starting out as an unpaid intern, I have altered my stance on the benefit of a degree.  If you know what you want to do in your career or even simply which area or industry you would like to work in I would seriously urge you to consider going to work for companies for free to build both practical experience and industry contacts.  By the time your University contemporaries leave, you will most likely have 3 solid years of experience, paid work, hopefully permanent, and they will essentially have a piece of paper telling prospective employers that you know a lot or a little about a subject.

Of course I understand the 'extra-curricular' benefits of going to University.  The friends you make, the experiences you have, the self development you go through, as well as all the things that you can't begin to define or quantify.  But as we stand right now, I would give serious thought as to whether there aren't better options than University.  If I was 18 again I probably would pay the money and go but I am one person and each individual should really weigh up all their options when making a decision.

I'd be really interested to hear what you think?

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