To be disappointed that my ds has decided not to go to uni.

Because not everyone wants to live abroad. Some people want a simple life and to settle down and have a family. People aren't the same

Degree Apprenticeships are amazing. DS completed his last year, he also worked for a couple of years before applying and that was what helped him get a place. I assume everyone had stellar A levels that applied. They are comparable to getting a place at Oxbridge, possibly harder. Took weeks of interviews and tests. Typically 95% of applicants to UG courses receive a place though it may not be first choice. Degree apprenticeships have an application success rate of 1% to 2%.

Leave him to it, he needs to work out what he wants to do. I went to Univeristy as a mature student. I had spent years wanting to be a nurse, I lasted 5 years, making decisions when you are 18 is exceptionally hard. DH was head of a University dept until last year and I worked in higher education for close to 30 years.

If you got a degree 20 to 30 years ago the world was your oyster, you could actually be a bit shit at stuff really and still do ok, it’s not now. I feel very sorry for young people these days.

I understand your disappointment, but voted YABU because it has to be his decision.

We expected our son to go to uni - he went, but it was not for him, he did very little work and he got a basic Pass. I still don’t know why as he’s exceptionally bright.

But my point is that there’s no point in a young person going just because other people want them to, if they’re not motivated themselves.

Business management isn't the best degree to choose in this climate.

Thinking about it, I think I may be tainted by having a successful career that I hate and makes me really quite sad/stressed. 😂

Another who agrees it could be a smart move.
DOI- I went all the way when fees were paid and I had a grant. Now I'm a professional who also works in uni sector.

I would be happy if my kids said they were staying local to do vocational training of some sort.
I'm really not sure higher education is worth it any more.

Encouraging her son to quit his job that i assume he enjoys to do an apprenticeship is stupid. He's an adult its his life. He's working full time wants to start a life with his girlfriend what's wrong with that aslong as hes happy

I know I saw a thread not too long. Ago that I didn't comment on, it was a woman bragging about how her two young adult children had afforded houses in their early twenties.And how to do it.

It was meant to be inspirational amd aspirational. Her children had managed to do it only by remaining in the small town somewhere rural in the north of england by moving in with partners, they've been with since they were teenagers and buying a very small property.

Far from being aspirational and an inspiration, I found that so depressing. To be with someone since my teens move with them at twenty two and buy a house in the town.I grew up in and never leaving. All the money at a young age, from a low earning job going on mortgage and bills.

I don't agree that it's depressing to say he shouldn't go to uni.Though the debts out of control and there is an unemployment crisis, he should think a little bit more.If he's not sure about it. He shouldn't rush to settle down a by a house though.

God this is a depressing thread.

Why is the only aspiration for our young people to buy a house at a really young age and settle down?

What about doing a study abroad year in another country and having an international experience? Living and studying in another country? Working for an international organisation on placement? Doing an internship for the UN? These are all the opportunities that I see the students in my uni have? We are now back in Erasmus so young people will have some amazing chances to study all over the place. We also have students from 170 countries at our university so a great way to mix with so many other nationalities.

I sometimes think that Brexit has made the U.K. such a depressing inward looking country that no longer values education or any kind of internationalisation.

‘As a man’? Do tell.

This. I actually find beimg in the real world and actually working in a job with a range of different age people shapes a person better.

My daughter was offered places at both Exeter and Durham for business management. We thought both courses looked excellent and also covered things like economics and statistics.

Realistically, as a man, this "opportunity" of doing university later will never crop up. Life will get more expensive, with rent or mortgage around it. There will be no off button.

I missed the full time in the OP.

Education is not only about earning potential; it is also about becoming a more informed, capable, and thoughtful person.

Maybe in theory. There are plenty of people with a degree that are absolute knobheads that aren't thoughtful or capable at all!!

My dd has just turned 20 didn't go to uni works full time own her own home and is very happy. If she was at uni and didn't want to be there what would she gain from that.
I agree, Theres no point being there if you font want to be there. Both my boys were 22 when they got a mortgage ( 3 years apart in age). We also live in the north.

He has a full time job

From what I have seen degree apprenticeships are really rare. And then things like electricians, plumbers etc are around but there not for everyone. My friends son is starting one at 16yrs as an electrician, I'm really pleased for them all but 16yrs is very young to decide thats what you want to do for the next four years,

Also, people talk about graduates being unemployed but not the mass of school leavers who don't get jobs or get dead end job that aren't going in anywhere.

So, what's Plan B (and also a Plan C). Does he intend on doing something at a local college or apprenticeship?

Make it clear he doesn't get to doss around.

North. Its her and her boyfriends house. Mortgage is cheaper then rent

Is there no halfway house. He doesnt go off to uni and stays with his girlfriend and keeps working in the pub but finds a course related to the hospitality industry that gives him a career path? There must be hospitality management courses, even if he moves to a hotel or bigger brewery? He will struggle doing a degree his hearts not in but this might be better for him.

I understand why you feel a degree (paid for) might open up many more opportunities down the line for him though, but its far from guaranteed these days. I also have a bit of sympathy for the giving it up for a girl, who realistically at 19 may not be his girlfriend in 4 years time anyway.

Could he do a part time degree? Is there a local uni? He could ask his employer if he could do an apprenticeship but he'd probably be stuck in hospitality management which might be a bit restrictive.

If he’s decided not to go under pressure from his gf it’s obviously not good.

But apart from that, what would his long term plan after uni have been? Most people I know who studied business management did so because they had a family business waiting for them to ultimately take over. If that’s not his case, what other career path did he envisage?

He could do an apprenticeship or start from the bottom in a business and work his way up. He could study business management later in order to stir his career in the right direction. Even with his tuition covered, he’d still have living costs. Is this degree the best investment for him right now?

As long as he doesn’t waste his time partying all night and sleeping all day, it might not be such a bad decision.

Also - there aren’t hundreds and hundreds of apprenticeships flying about! This is a bit of a myth too!

But employers still want graduates. There is still a ‘milk round’ - we still have a massive graduate fair at our university every year with hundreds of large employers wanting to recruit graduates into grad schemes.

Brexit hasnt helped any of the economic issues. And European countries still have publicly funded education systems that encourage an educated population. It’s like a race to the bottom in the U.K.

Persuade your son to consider an apprenticeship?

Business management is a very general degree.