Back to School Basics: Is Uni Right for You?

For many people, leaving school and then heading straight into university is what's expected of them. Their transition between the different educational institutions is regarded as a rite of passage in some families, but the truth is that university is not for everyone. For a lot of school leavers, that thought doesn't even cross their mind and they follow the path that they have been working towards for the last few years of school. That is, until they finally get to university and find themselves thinking: is this right for me?

It's hard to discover whether or not university is the right path to take until you're there, spending huge sums of money and realising that you hate it. You hate your course, you hate your living accommodations, and you hate where you're studying. Once you come to that realisation, the difficult decision of whether or not to stick it out arises and if you choose to withdraw, then you face many questions and the occasional snide 'oh, you dropped out of university' comment from people. It is possible for some people to figure out whether or not university is for them before this situation comes up, and this article will offer tips on how Mibbians who are still in school can potentially prevent the above situation from happening to them.

What Are You Aiming For?

First of all, think about what you're aiming for. What career do you hope to enter into once you have finished university? If you don't quite know or are still trying to find out what appeals to you most, then university might not be your best choice straight out of school. It's ideal to only study for a degree when you know where you want to head once you have graduated so that the money you’ve spent isn't wasted. It wouldn't be a good idea to study for three years, have migraine-worthy debt only to then graduate and not know what you're doing with your life and end up working at a job where your degree is worthless.

Is Now the Right Time?

On top of that, you should also consider whether now is the right time. Most students start university at eighteen, but that's quite a young age. You might not be ready to leave home and dive head-first into the independence that university dumps on you, even if you've been craving it since your early teen years. Mentally, you might not be ready to go, and many students try and find a place that's as far as way from home as possible in order to create more independence. This would not be ideal if you struggled in high school, and even if you look at the closer institutions to your family home, it still might not be appropriate for you. You might need to wait a year or two or even a little longer before you feel that you're ready, physically and mentally, to take the big step and go to university. Ultimately, not going straight out of school might make you realise that university actually is not right for you, and you were only going because that's what was expected as the next step to take in life. And that is perfectly okay!

Let's Talk About It

Another tip would be to talk out your wants and options with someone who isn't pushing you to go to university. So if your mum is dead-set on you going to university, speak to you dad, if both your parents expect you to go, try someone at school. If you're really stuck for someone to talk to, there are always people on Mibba that would be happy to talk it out with you. Talking about something makes it more real, and the more real it seems the more likely you are to fully understand the situation. Just thinking about going to university might sound okay, but when you talk about it out loud and picture it actually happening it could become daunting, and you might realise that you're actually not that sure whether it's what you really want to do. Part of it could be nerves, that is true, but if you constantly find yourself thinking about the bad things that could happen and wishing that you could change your mind, it might be a sign that you're not quite ready to go. It's better to acknowledge that feeling rather than allow it to be buried deep until you're there and it turns out as disastrous as you thought it would be.

Sometimes you don't know whether something is for you until you try it out, but it's always best to try and suss it out beforehand, especially when it comes to something as expensive as university. Getting into debt for something that you really don't want to do is a horrible feeling, especially if it was preventable. Always think about your options before heading into something that is as life-changing as university.

Special thanks to losing control and sindie synclayre for editing.