“Up to 30,000 applicants could be turned away from universities this summer following a surge from mature students attempting to escape the recession.”
But given that a degree is now often not enough to get entry level graduate positions, is it really worth forking out £20,000 to pay your way through a university education?
Will a succession of internships be more beneficial? Sadly for those unable to find a university this summer, most internships only advertise for recent-graduates. Catch 22. Only those already indebted to the tune of thousands are allowed to undertake unpaid work for months and months.
With graduates earning around £150,000 more in their lifetime than their peers without, it does not seem that monstrous – more like a good return on your investment
The real value of university to me was the friends and contacts I made, it also offered access to career opportunities (department events, company visits etc) that would be been inaccessible otherwise.
University taught me how to “learn”, the content didnt really matter (and is of no real use to me in industry). But now if im writing a report or compiling data, the basic skills I picked up frantically scribbing away the night before hand-in come into play.