Do you think we should start university later than 18?

[WeCanBeHeronsJustForOneDay]

I appreciate there are mature students and not everyone goes at 18 - gap years etc etc but I just wondered whether we should make the starting age later in general?

It’s quite hard to get an idea of what work and jobs actually entail until you do them full time. And so many people just pick a subject they were good at at school with no clear plan of the future. Do you think students would get more out of it if en masse they waited a couple of years? Or do you think it works best straight after school?

I don't work in the field of my first degree and neither does my DH but both of us regard the time we spent studying them as very valuable.
We both learned to think and debate more effectively, developed more international mindsets and acquired life long interests.
We left our first degrees much more rounded people better able to cope with the world of work successfully.
Not all learning needs to be vocational.

There were 6 boys and 6 girls in my uni accommodation. All of the girls were ready or university at 18 and all graduated as expected with good degrees. Only one of the boys made it through his entire degree, the rest crashed and burned either in the first or second year (including my now DH who was one of them, bless him). All of the boys are now in their late 30s and have done either well or very well for themselves.

I think all of them would have benefitted from going to uni closer to 21 than 18. They just weren't ready to take care of themselves and take responsibility for their learning at that age. But a few years down the line they were flying ahead (while their wives were putting their careers on hold having babies, but that's another story).

I think a gap year and experience in the real world certainly helps.

Personally I’m thinking of applying for uni next year, when I’ll be 32- so more mature students would make me feel less out of place!
It is a lot to ask of young people, many of whom aren’t really prepared.