So, results are down and university places are up. How vital do you think a university education is to your future prospects? I spent about as long as possible at Uni (by the time I'd done postgrad stuff) but then I studied at a time when there were no fees to pay (other than for the postgrad stuff). I couldn't be doing the job now (that I love) without my time there, but when I was at school I had no strong feelings about what I wanted to do and applied for uni because it wasn't that costly, other people were doing it and it seemed to be the thing to do. I'm sure I changed (for the positive) in many ways at university, so there were benefits other than education, but at that time (early to mid 90s) it was a no brainer.

Is that the case now though?
Can anybody reasonably expect to recoup the money they expend studying (in an average job)?
Is time spent at university better spent acquiring a vocational qualification and getting into the job market early?