Anybody else regretting and feeling bad about encouraging their kids to go to uni?

I'm not sure that's the case. Some courses offer very little tutoring and independent living can be gained through other means, such as travelling and working.

VPs are earning vast salaries 400k p.a. getting bums on seats through lower academic entrance qualifications, then not supporting the students who are struggling academically and fail 1st year...they simply let them repeat the year which equals more fees (aka debt).

The worldwide reputation of UK universities is declining due to weaker standards.

No I don’t regret them going at all. My dd is thriving post grad and has a job that was unachievable without a degree ( and you could say it was more an arts based degree)
not once do I regret letting them have freedom to choose, I never forced it either way and both DDs ( one still at uni) made their own informed decisions

I don’t think parents should encourage or discourage anything; it’s up to the kids to make their own decisions and do their own research. Parents are way too involved nowadays

Yes depends on what they want to do. A lot of them expand their social lives at uni though and even meet their life partners. We are fortunate in that we were able to pay for both kids’ degrees but if they had debt I might think otherwise.

We also have an obsession in this country with the 40 % of young people who can get into University. They are the ones largely who are academic enough to go to University and will still, despite the debt and, whatever university they go to, earn more than non graduates. If 1% manage to get onto a degree apprenticeship programme, then the others probably should be able to access higher education through University. What we should be more concerned with are the 60% of young people's who do not have the chance of going to be University. They are the ones who are more likely to be unemployed and suffer mental ill health. They are there ones who need to be helped to access apprenticeships, whether that is in trades or other career paths, as well as accessing non graduate level learning through apprenticeships and/ or FE, but again, the apprenticeship opportunities in the trades are few and far between, and far outstripped by demand. Telling someone who wants to do a music degree that they should do a plumbing apprenticeship does not help those who don't have the opportunity, grades or desire to go to University ( the majority of YP) . It gives additional opportunities to those who already have options, even if it is forcing them to do something they don't want to do, and makes competition even more fierce for those without opportunities.

No we did discuss degree apprenticeships for what he’s studying but both thought a degree was better.

What is the alternative?
Apprenticeship ideal but few and far between.

While a graduate and non graduate may start off on similar salary, no degree likely means very limited career progression.

Getting that first job can be difficult, but once graduate has some work experience, in many jobs they will usually be selected over non graduates.

Keeping loan amounts to a minimum is definitely advisable. Help from Mom and Dad where possible, part time jobs, summer jobs, accommodation choices, etc. Local uni where they stay at home & commute saves an absolute fortune. Study abroad can also be an option for cheaper college education.

In the US many parents start saving for college costs when their children are born. Maybe that is the way forward? Little and often for duration of 18 years. Not easy during COL crisis I know. £50 a month over 18 years is almost £11k before factoring in interest.

I would always encourage 3rd level education so long the academic ability is there. Ideally a degree that will result in a job! But I am also a big believer in following your passion and trying to make a go of it.

Not everyone wants to undertake a degree apprenticeship as they tend to be too limited in their subject range. Equally, the career alignment makes it a different experience.

I have no sympathy for those who chose to get themselves thousands in debt who judged me for being 16 and pregnant and acted like they were better than me.
and are now working for the same pay as me but thousands in debt.

It wouldn’t occur to me that my DC won’t go to university as so many careers require a minimum of a 2.1 from Oxbridge/RG. Why close off a whole swathe of career options.

So no. We will probably just suck up the fees, the same way as we did the school fee VAT.

I do feel immensely sorry for those kids that will be saddled with a load of debt from a substandard university and end up earning a pittance in a role for which they didn’t need a university education though.

The Inns of Court offer some financial support for the most promising but it's very, very competitive. Debt can be huge.

It's not just a question of eg passing the Law Conversion and Barristers' Course and you'll get a pupillage. Competition is horrendous for pupillage. A relative got an Outstanding on the Bar Course (over 80% average on all 12 exams) and a prize, plus excellent work experience but it still took 2 years to get pupillage. Some chambers may get hundreds of applicants.

The job is not for the faint hearted. You need plenty of self belief and hard work so working well into the night, weekends etc as needed. The opposition barristers are going to be attacking your work every day, of course! It's a very small world so your reputation is everything.

I believe many barristers leave the self employed Bar in the first 5 years.

Yeah apprenticeships, particularly degree ones, are rare as hens’ teeth. Friend’s ultra-capable, stellar academic and with relevant work experience daughter got nowhere even after trying 18 months. Now off to uni.

They could have waited forever for an apprenticeship that never happened

Then they wouldn’t have either degree or apprenticeship and would be getting older

So they might then have gone to uni feeling a bit odd being not of the usual peer group

Or lost the drive and ambition to go

And the further STEM education never happened

So many what ifs you can drive yourself nuts

@Gh0ststory they are at uni, they will have debt, can you help them pay the debt down? Even just a bit.

How do they feel about the debt? Have you talked to them?

Here, one child wants to do something you need specific qualifications for and if apprenticeships are available at all they’d be like gold dust so Uni it is. Another doesn’t know what she wants to do or study yet. The last one is too young to think about it yet, but if things don’t change I will not encourage uni, it will just be an option among others. I am more concerned about AI and the changes that will bring.

DD is doing a vocational degree with practically guaranteed employment on a decent wage at the end. For complicated reasons (100% not wealth - that is for sure) she will come out with slightly less student loan debt than your average punter and a decent chance of paying it off quickly/ overpaying if she decides that makes sense.

My boy is younger and suspect will be out the door as fast as a hare out of a trap when uni days come around. But he also wants to do a fairly vocational course.

im less bothered about them accruing debt for degrees that are likely to lead directly into jobs. Otherwise, it’s a huge shame but, well, it is what it is unfortunately.

It’s a sort of ‘semi debt’ isn’t it? Not real in the sense it has to be paid back come hell or high water. If youre incapacitated no-one is chasing you down and getting a bailif warrant. But does take a chunk of your income each month, plus affects affordability calculations for rent and mortgage, etc.

I had a postgraduate personal loan. Now THAT was a bloody millstone around my neck for years.

DD1 did an art degree and is employed as an artist, very specialised work that she needed the degree for. It was all she ever wanted to do so I think it was worth it (although obviously I too am very worried about the repayments etc)

But were your borrowing on the region of the £70k approx that current students will potentially owe?

I'm struggling with this because we live in Wales, which I think is still plan 2. Degree apprenticeships are non-existent where we live though, and DD is more of a humanities person anyway. We have no savings so she will have to borrow the whole lot, including living costs. DS Is bright but less likely to want to go to uni.

I feel like it's going to be better for DD to go, have the education and experience and then get a modestly paid job to keep repayments manageable. At least this way, she'll hopefully have a decent work/life balance. It helps that my own background is working class, so our lifestyles are fairly low-key anyway.

I'll encourage them both to at least look into uni alongside work-based routes.

My degree was total BS (odd degree but a BSc) the degreee itself was a waste of time but it gave me the opportunity to work in America for a year on half uni costs, getting paid a decent wage, free accommodation and meals, and chauffeur driven. It also gave me something unique and interesting to talk about in interviews post uni that a lot of other graudated didn’t have. I ended up retraining in a fully funded “proper” specialism and think my proven ability to study helped secure that job as the courses was, not only fully funded, but I was also given full private accomodation, meals, travel and additional food costs.

in short, my degree was a waste of time from an education and learning point of view. But it did give me access to opportunities I otherwise would not have had which landed me an excellent career with a substantial salary (I had my student loan fully paid off after my second course in less than 5 years)

@CuriousKangaroo 3 DC at uni here and all have complained about the quality of the education, lack of support, small amount of in person teaching time and nothing that equips them for the world of work in current times!

The biggest skills and learning are in communications and the opportunities that seem to work best for the most confident kids. Sadly I think there’s a higher number of uni students who are just doing OK and are too embarrassed to tell anyone otherwise!

My DS dropped other half way and is thankfully thriving in a job where he was hired for his attitude rather then academic qualifications and didn’t need a degree. His friends from uni are mainly in part time retail jobs or looking for work - very few have got graduate jobs after uni.

Nope. Both mine are working in their chosen field which they would not be doing without their degree, so no regrets here.

The L7 apprenticeships are being defunded because employers were using their levy to train older, existing staff with degrees rather than using the money to take on younger people just starting out. There is no point talking about apprenticeships if employers are not willing to take them on. It's not just employers fault. The economy is dead but neither is that the fault of young people who have been consistently let down when it comes to post 16 educational options.

Why cant we do anything properly in this country. Other countries seem to manage to give their young people quality training.

I agree @CuriousKangaroo, but someone has always had to bear the costs of higher education.

Please look at the option of a graduate apprenticeship. If I had my time again this is something I would have explored