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but then I had a fairly shit/dull time at school, and an amazing time at uni. I wouldn't do what i do now without having been (although I didn't need any univeristy qualifications to do my job), and to be honest i'd probably be a pretty different person. I dunno if I'd be 'better' or 'worse' but I kinda like who I am, and who my friends are, so I'm glad I went.

But I know plenty folks from back home who didn't go, and the level of happiness/contentedness/whatever amongst those friends is probably fairly equal to that amongst my uni friends. Although they do tend to have different priorites (generally, the job itself tends to be important for my uni friends, whereas those that didn't/haven't go/gone tend to view work as just something to get through before the evening/weekend. MASS GENERALISATION, but i think you take my point)

*INSERT "THIS ISN'T FUNNY, I REALLY NEED A NEW JOB" MOAN HERE*

I've been thinking about going recently, but not passionately enough to do it.

Just now I'm in a fairly dull job, earning enough to let me do a lot of fun stuff. Alternatively, I could be in university, up to my eyes in debt, and trying to stay awake through fairly dull lectures and essays. I used to think that if I went to uni then I'd probably make more friends, but I've realised that's bollocks.

So, y'know, I dunno...

Unpleasant

if i studied as well id start slowly dying inside

Neither of my parents went to university and they've done pretty well for themselves.

I didn't have the chance when I was younger. Now I'm 30 I still have pangs of wanting to go and do something that would interest me, it's taking that leap I guess, oh and money being another huge factor! You're still young, mull it over for a few more years.

the money and the fact that the job i want to do does not require university means that it's not necessary at all for me. however, after staying with my friend in halls a few times i do kind of wish i could experience the social side of it, it seems like a lot of fun (bar the getting massively wankered thing, but i can skip that). i wouldn't say it's worth it for the work and the money though. i'm glad about my decision.

depends what you wanna do, you might hit a career ceiling without going but sometimes I think it is only go-gettery types that benefit from it. Probably best to stay a way until you work out what you want to do, then you can pick a course that aims towards a goal rather than just automatically going through uni as it seems the thing to do. Some of my friends went to uni a bit latter on and it blatantly seems the better way round to do it, you can casualy work for a few years having fun, save/spend money, then when people who went to uni are getting their souls destroyed by the prospect of full time work forever you get to go off to uni for a few years, you'll come out of it with work experience under your belt a qualification relevant to what you want to do and hopefully be in a strong position to get a job, you also get alot more financial help if you are older

but i don't think that's exactly to do with the university thing itself; i was pretty discontent where i was before and this was really just the most convenient option for me to fully get away and be somewhere new and meet people and do stuff. if you're happy where you are right now, stay where you are. you've got loads of time to think about it. definitely don't be concerned about the idea of being a bit older in terms of social stuff - quite a few of the friends i've made here are early 20s and they're way cooler and more interesting than most of the 17/18 year olds

i'd stick with that instead of being a broke class skipping drunkard

i think i'd rather just live in the same place and have a good wage though to be honest

i'll have been at uni 1 1/2 years at christmas, and i have learned absolutely nothing new since starting, and im stupidly skint (and obviously in debt to the government too)

I'll be reapplying for next september for sure. Not just for career prospects, you meet interesting people, and its kind of like an important chapter in your life that you might regret missing out on later in life. I made some good friends in the 2 and a bit months at uni, and I definitely don't regret going, even though I hated my course.
ps. im not studenty at all. Traffic cones dont particularly interest me.

i help manage a singer/band after doing 2 years of internships at different record labels and feel that if i went to university it wouldnt have been very useful and would have to do the work experience after anyways.
On the other hand my girlfriend is at university and when i visit her i do get a bit jealous of the care-free-ness of it all and the living away from home as well.
On the other hand....if you skip uni and start trying to work in the area you want to end up in then you will most likely meet lots of likeminded friends anyway.
so no, i dont regret it. also, its a waste of money if youre only there to delay any decision making

but I suppose the most important bit of it for me was leaving home, going to a big city and making loads of friends (who I still see regularly 8 years on). That's the bit that really helps you grow up, so if you've got that anyway you might not need uni. I did enjoy the academic side. I'm earning good money, and my degree definitely helped me get my job, but I have friends who didn't go to uni who are earning the same or more. And there's no difference 'academically' between my friends who did and didn't go, we're all ubernerds really.

if you genuinely want to go for more than just the social life/not knowing what else to do. I graduated this year and already owe £19,000 (there'll be another three years of interest on that by the time I start paying it back). Also, I got a 1st and am now a waitress. A degree isn't necessarily helpful to your job prospects.