by C » Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:52 pm
I voted for 'In Some Cases.' I myself am at Uni. Although I am only a year in I know that, for myself, University is most definititely not a waste of my time!!! I have learnt so much over the year and I believe that Uni has changed me as a person! I remember when I first started Uni I thought maybe I was too stupid to be there - getting good grades on assignments and lab reports was a massive boost to my ego.
Also, I got to meet a wide variety of people. There are plenty of people at Uni who are not 'cool' and who enjoy studying like I do; there's a good cross section. Although still a bit of a loner at heart I have made some new friends and am particularly close to those in my tutor group. One of the people I've made friends with is a boy; I've actually never been friends with a boy before! There are quite a few boys at Uni who seem like nice people; I have had bad experiences with boys in the past and at uni I've seen that not all boys are like that; I have become less narrow minded.
Most importantly, I am working hard and enjoying my work. The lectures are interesting and tutors at Uni are a lot more understanding of my dyspraxia than teachers were at school and college. My course (psychology) does not require me to spend a lot of time actually attending lectures and so is a great chance for me to work on my assignments and use my child care qualification in getting child care part time jobs during the week when not in lectures. Psychology is interesting and I do hope to use the qualification in some way when I leave Uni. However even if I don't use it I will have gained a lot out of the Uni experience.
I'll be honest and say that psychology is also the sort of course that lots of people don't use when people finish Uni. I admit that I worry about finding a job sometimes when I've finished the degree and about paying off the loan. I do not live in but I think lots of people do go to Uni simply to have a good time and don't make it their aim to do lots of work but their aim to meet people and have fun. I would argue though, that even this is not simply a waste of time...after Uni comes (hopefully for most people) full time employment and starting a family...Uni is perhaps the main opportunity for some people to have a good time. And if people don't work hard enough then they soon get thrown off when they fail their end of year exams...
In some cases people end up regretting going to Uni because off the pressure of living away from home/choosing the wrong course/the loan etc. That's why in some cases Uni can, indeed, be a waster of time. However at University people often make long lasting friendships, perhaps long lasting girlfriends/boyfriends, learn a lot, have a good time etc. so I think in most cases Uni is not a waste of time.