To ask if you went to uni did you regret it ?

[Lardlizard]

Yabu if you don’t regret
Yanbu if you do

I loved uni. I was a mature student and discovered I was still really academic. I worked my arse off and got a high first in a vocational degree. However I do regret the friends I had there. I met my uni friends in the first week and we were all really close until halfway through the third year when my "best" uni friend turned on me and the rest understandably didn't want to get involved but it all fell apart and we don't speak now. It affected my mental health for a long time sadly.

I loved my time at university. But, I had always been studious and I traveled & worked for 2 years before going to university. So I already got some of the partying & novelty of independent living out of my system before I went and was probably more focused on my studies than most of my peers. I then went on to do a postgraduate degree and work in academia now, so career-wise it was also worth it.

Huge debt and huge waste of time. Fucked up my mental health. Very much regret going to university. Have never used my degree. It’s a very very expensive piece of paper.

It worked out in that I got a job. But I regret it because I hate the job, hate the whole field actually. It was also a terrible experience, I didn't make a single friend and I was so lonely and embarrassed.

Academic learning just doesn’t suit me, I’m far more practical. But I had no idea what university was actually FOR or what other options were out there as no one else in my family went and my school was very “go to uni or die unemployed” without actually explaining how you got the best from it.

I do think this is such an issue these days, it's all very single track focus on uni. I think we dearly need some more apprenticeships/on the job learning and training.

I think there's so much pressure on teens these days, not only to perform well in exams, but to make decisions about what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

Fascinating replies, especially where people ended up doing useless Mickey Mouse degree courses. This is the best but if advice new entrants can be given. Pick your course carefully, make it count. There is a reason STEM graduates are so highly valued.

Best time of my life. My education before that had been rubbish. Being with other people who were excited about ideas and who would stay up half the night discussing them was a luxury I never thought I'd get.

My degree subjects were not ones which improved my career prospects. I worked all through my uni years and left with a lot of debt.

But the experience made me the person I am.

I do know that many others had a different experience, and I don't think people should go unless they particularly want to or need to.

Nope. But I am old enough to have gone in the days of no tuition fees and actual maintenance grants. If I had £50k of debt for the privilege I might well feel differently.

I'm going to elaborate on my YABU

At uni I got a degree which set me up for a decent career and travel, I met my DH, I got pregnant in my second year and had my darling son (best thing that ever happened to me in my whole life), I made long term friends, I learnt valuable life skills and it gave me the opportunity to escape from the town I grew up in.

It's shaped my life in all the very best possible ways.

I don’t regret it at all as I got a good job out of it and essentially became an adult. My life skills were crap before I went and I learnt a lot in that department also.

Would I go again? Probably not now it’s so expensive - id been looking at apprenticeships or most like a degree apprenticeship if I still wanted to go to university.

Absolutely do not. It opened the door to where I am today and got me out of a toxic household

Never regretted it, but I worked hard and was determined to make the most of it. Went to a RG Uni, got a 1st in my UG and a Distinction in my Masters, got into good CS jobs which my degrees have really helped with. Also had an amazing time at Uni, met amazing people, grew up, and challenges myself. I am still paying off the loans though!

No regret, but I did my first degree in the late 80's early 90's. So a grant and fees were paid. It was a STEM degree followed by a masters, it gave me the chance of a cracking job which I loved. I have since then moved country and done two more degrees and another masters, one was a hobby and the other I had always wanted to do.
Without doing any of these degrees I wouldn't have the skills I have now which are necessary for my work, pretty much everyone I work with is at a minimum Bachelors qualified.
My DC are planning on going, we're lucky because our fees are very small here ( 2K a year) , and we can support the DC without the need of loans. Just hope it stays this way !

No regrets at all although I could have worked harder.

I went to a good university and did an arts degree. I absolutely bloody hated it.

Many, many years later I know myself well enough to look back and see that I was never going to like that sort of environment (I’m very, very introverted) but at the time I felt huge pressure to fit in and pretty much felt I had no choice.

I wish I had had the courage to tell someone how unhappy I was. I wish I had explored other learning models - like the Open University (I have subsequently done a few other degrees remotely with the OU and others and LOVED it - I enjoy learning/studying, just get very stressed being around other people all the time).

My only regret is that I wish I had taken a year out before I started university, to go travelling. I did a bit of travelling after uni but really wish I'd have done more!
I think schools are far too pressuring and put too much emphasis on the importance of the core subjects. I wish I'd have explored other options more instead of taking on a degree in a subject i was good at in school.
But when at the end of the day, there is no point regretting anything - the past is in the past.

I dont regret it per se. I enjoyed it, I needed a degree to apply for the graduate scheme I did after university and I met DH.

However, I did a humanities subject that whilst interesting was a colossal waste of time and money. The contact time was low, and if I had paid the fees charged today I would be bitterly disappointed (I only paid just over £1k per year).

University as a form of education is a very expensive way of doing things and I feel it's better suited to STEM where graduates are more likely to go on to a job that actually uses the degree material.

My own job now is one which 30 or 40 years ago you would have trained directly on the job and theres no reason why that shouldn't be the case now, I had to train for 3 years post uni any way and while a degree was required to join the program you didnt actually need it . I could absolutely have managed it straight from school and in fact there are school leavers programs available, I'd like to see those promoted & accepted more in the industry.

I loved it. I also did a Masters in America which was great fun. It was a time for growing up, independence, new friendships, relationships and partying. Oh and a bit of studying. It's not a degree associated with a vocation - politics - but actually I've used it in my career.

University as a form of education is a very expensive way of doing things and I feel it's better suited to STEM where graduates are more likely to go on to a job that actually uses the degree material.

Not just that but of course stem subjects are high contact time, both lectures and labs. The content, not merely the 'skills', are necessary to proceed to a lot of stem jobs and research.

Perhaps there's an argument that on the humanities side there should be more of something like the US 'liberal arts' with more taught courses available?

It was the making of me. I had a hard time at school and never found my tribe, uni was where I became ‘me’ and met the people who became my friends for life. There are things I’d change with hindsight (dump the long-distance boyfriend wayyy before end of second year, make more of the opportunities) but realistically it was the best thing I’ve ever done.

I don’t think everyone needs a uni experience but I firmly believe everyone needs an opportunity to spread their wings away from home in their late teens.

Dont regret it at all. Had a great time, learnt loads and couldn't have my career without it.

I went pre student loans but the above would still be true if I had, so I'd still recommend it to anyone who wants to work in my field.

"I regret that I didn’t seek help for my anxiety which ruined my university experience. I would hesitate if my kids wanted to go as it’s so expensive now."

I'm the same. I didn't do very well and had a lot of issues, both social and academic.

Overall, I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not. Obviously going has given me opportunities I wouldn't otherwise have had, but sometimes I think I'd just have been happier being a hairdresser or working in a shop or something.

I don't regret it.

I do regret going with my heart initially because I did 3 years of an architecture degree when I knew I wasn't cut out to complete it - didn't want to admit it was the wrong choice. But I met my DP on the course so I count it as happening for a reason.

I then went straight into a small former polytech university to do civil engineering. It was a great experience - all the better for being a hands on style of teaching. I graduated that with a first class degree. Did a post grad specialising in structural engineering and now I work for one of the big name companies in my industry. I have no regrets. And I also feel it's a perfect example for why going to the prestigious universities isn't the be all and end all. It didn't hold me back. I went straight into the job I wanted, with the company I wanted to work for.

I regret it. It cost me a lot of money and didn’t help me to get a job. At the time I didn’t understand that graduate jobs are mostly in cities and you probably need to relocate. Nobody told me it was pointless getting a degree if I wasn’t willing to move away to get a job - I naively thought I could stay at home and still find work.

While I don't regret it... I didn't have the best time.

I think I went into it with overly high expectations... My parents met at university, and had a whole gang of friends they were still close with 30 years later.
I struggled to make friends (which had never, ever been a problem before) and felt quite lonely and homesick a lot of the time.

I left uni with just 1 friend (who I am still in touch with, see regularly, and am very close with).

That being said, I do have a lot of good memories of that time in my life. It was where I "grew up", and I don't regret it.