Here we go.
As I said in my May Goals post, I wanted this month to finally be the month I wrote my post about University experience. To be quite honest, I’ve really been putting it off, because it’s kind of different to the sort of positive stuff I would like to write. BUT I read the lovely Erins post and it persuaded me to just go for it, so here we are.
I couldn’t really think of how to phrase and write this in order to break it up, so I thought I would do it in like a Pros and Cons list.
We’ll see how it goes as always.
I went to Uni in two different places. I did a Foundation Degree in Digital Media and decided to top it up to a full degree at University of the Arts London. I graduated last July in Production of Television and Live Events with a 2:1. (although I got a first in my dissertation/everything apart from one project, so annoying)
Pros:
- You meet so many amazing people.
Of course you do. Some of my best friends I met through Uni, and continue (as I always will) to meet up with them whilst I have some time when I’m in London. As I explained in my London post my first year I lived in a flat with someone I had previously never met before. However, in my 2nd and 3rd year I lived in a private halls, for people from all different Universities, in Tooting. This is where I started to meet so many people. I lived on a floor which housed 16 people, and as it was quite a large building there were so many people who were always around, it was great for socialising (not so great for getting any beauty sleep). This is where most of my memories of Uni are, from having two birthdays in a year to a big game of hide and seek in the halls corridors. You really do have the time of your life at Uni.
Of course you do. Some of my best friends I met through Uni, and continue (as I always will) to meet up with them whilst I have some time when I’m in London. As I explained in my London post my first year I lived in a flat with someone I had previously never met before. However, in my 2nd and 3rd year I lived in a private halls, for people from all different Universities, in Tooting. This is where I started to meet so many people. I lived on a floor which housed 16 people, and as it was quite a large building there were so many people who were always around, it was great for socialising (not so great for getting any beauty sleep). This is where most of my memories of Uni are, from having two birthdays in a year to a big game of hide and seek in the halls corridors. You really do have the time of your life at Uni.
- Student Discount!
FREE McDonalds burgers! 20% off loads of clothing shops. Cheaper Oysters! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS WHILST YOU CAN. I miss my student discount so much. It’s such a pain in t’arse now. I remember going in to McDonalds with someone and me getting a meal and then a free burger or free chips. Isn’t that just the dream?
- Independence
I really miss this too. The independence of eating what you want, when you want, how you want. Fantastic. Although not so fantastic for my waistline, oops. It was also whilst I was at Uni that I discovered I really love to cook. Love it. Especially not in a small kitchen thats shared with 15 others… My aim for my blog when I get my own place is to do some how to’s of my culinary skills, including my 5* Wedges. MMmmmmmmmM. I actually offer to go round to peoples houses and cook them dinner because I miss it so much. Love shoving stuff in the good old slow cooker and then having nothing to worry about for the day.
Cons:
- It’s expensive
- It’s expensive
Obvious one, although I always said I would never let the price of Uni stop me from going. I’m now in around £50,000 worth of debt just because I wanted to carry on in education. Do not let this stop you from going to Uni if it’s what you want. The loan will never effect you negatively, you pay it back at such a small rate and only when you’re earning over £21,000 a year and even then it’s done on a percentage of your pay. But I do often sit back and think, if I hadn’t gone to Uni, how much richer would I be right now? It’s when I start to think this that I want to slap myself in the face.
- It’s stressful
If I had a problem with high blood pressure, I would totally put it down to University. As it is, I have the other problem and have low blood pressure, so I can’t blame that on Uni, unfortunately. I feel like during the three years I was at Uni I actually gained about 50 years. It’s not even really the deadlines, I can handle deadlines. I work well under pressure (this is starting to sound like a CV), in fact, I find it hard to work without pressure as I can just go, ‘ah I’ll do it tomorrow’, but then suddenly I have a 5,000 word essay due tomorrow and I have written the title, and then I have to do it. It’s the relying on other people, working with other people and hoping that they will work as hard as you. It’s living with people you don’t get on with, because you have been shoved together and they’ve left the kitchen looking like there’s been an explosion in it. It’s when you’ve got the biggest deadline of your Foundation Degree tomorrow and you’ve just seen a mouse running across your room so end up pulling an all nighter in the common room and being woken up in the morning by the manager because you’ve fallen asleep. I could handle all the things I had expected from Uni, it’s the unexpected that stressed me out.
So, was it worth it?
This is a hard one, and an answer that has been stewing in my brain for a while now. I don’t think so. Don’t get me wrong, it’s been great, I’ve met people and experienced things that have been out of this world etc etc. But I haven’t really gained any work or experience since my degree that I couldn’t have got if I didn’t have my degree. When I left Sixth Form, it was implied to us that if we didn’t go to Uni, what were we gonna do with our lives? I know my degrees is considered one of the ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, and I don’t care about that or what other people think. On one hand I’m glad I chose a subject that I enjoyed, but on the other hand it was just such a waste. You learn creative type things on the job, which is why I’ve learn as much since finishing since I did whilst there. I kind of think that I should have thought about what kind of TV I’d like to get into, and done a subject based on that. For example, I really want to get in to Childrens TV, so I kind of wish I had done some sort of Childcare related TV. Although I did a lot of that in Lapland. ANYWAY, I digress.
In summary, I don’t regret University, but if I had the choice again, I wouldn’t go.
But if you want to go, you should do what is right for you. Go for the social experience! Just do it! And if you don’t think now is the right time, do it later. It’s never too late for Uni. Just think about it.
(disclaimer: I really was not trying to put anyone of Uni with this post, I’m worried it’s come out a bit negative? Sorry)
Have you gone to Uni? Are you thinking about it? Let me know below!
As always, feel free to email or tweet me if you want to chatter!
4 comments
I start uni in September, and I can't wait! I'll be studying Criminology and Froensics at Portsmouth, which basically means I'll be running around in a paper suit pretending to be CSI Pompey for three years :) I recently went down there for a visit, and I loved it :)
ReplyDeleteThe main cons for me about uni life are the fact I'm not a very social person, and the fact that I tend to eat like I'm living in a WW2 Anderson shelter (on tinned soup) so that probably not really good. :D
That sounds so interesting! And your in my neck of the woods in Pompey!!
DeleteYou'll find people who are like you at uni, and who knows it might unleash your inner Gordon Ramsey! (Uni sure did unleash my love for Gordon Ramsey.. different issue) I never knew how to cook before I went and now I love it and it's probably the main thing I miss from University!
Thanks for the comment and hope it all goes well :)
xxx
I understand where you're coming from with the work experience thing, and as someone who's only in her first year, I can't really make any comment about that, but I have to say that I'm lucky that I'm doing a course that offers a Discovery Year programme, which means we have to do a mandatory attachment year, equating to work experience.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm still looking forward to the rest of my university years. Thank you for sharing your perspective, Gemma!
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That;s really good that it does that! We had to do work experience but it was only a couple of weeks so it didn't really do that much use. I think Uni is great but doing work experience/getting work whilst you are there is really making the most of it!
DeleteGood, I really didn't want to dampen anyones Uni spirits! I still had a great time and met amazing people, but I think the course let me down :(
Thanks for the comment!
xxx