Lots of students prefer an apprenticeship to Uni. If they qualify for the full loans, a 3 year degree sees nearly £60k of debt…and that’s without the interest that starts accruing from the day the loans are started. And then they have to job hunt.
An apprenticeship means a degree is achieved, work experience achieved, usually a job guaranteed or very likely, salary earned…and no debt.
You can see why degree apprenticeships on schemes like the CS are like hens teeth. Usually they are much harder to get places on in terms of applications per place than the most competitive degrees because of all the benefits. And they don’t tend to go to weaker candidates, but applicants who have the pick of top unis too.
I think it’s great the this lad has been brave and accepted the place, even though it means a definite move into a zone he’s not so comfortable with…whilst staying on the reserve list for other places. You never know who might stop out come results day. Some of those place holders may well be holding Oxbridge places or other top uni places (like this lad) and when results come out,choose to go for uni instead.
It’s a hard choice - because uni is the norm for academic youngsters and it’s the norm for their families. Going for the degree apprenticeship is counter-cultural. It doesn’t offer the same well-trodden path of moving out i to Halls and being part of a massive student community. It doesn’t involve being part if the standard middle class late teen experience and one where parents can say their kid has gone to X and everyone knows what that is. Instead, it involves not getting that student experience which people are so nostalgic about. It can involve moving to a new area and having g to find private accommodation where you don’t know anyone. It involves going to work and being g with a range of ages. It often involves a lot of hard work and academic study at the same time. It’s not for the faint-hearted. But for the right peooke, it is amazing and the benefits listed at the top are huge.
Anyine who has got a degree apprenticeship like this CS one, has usually applied for a good few. They have gone through multiple application processes, such as aptitude tests, online interview, group tests and live interviews. And they have done these multiple times…the kid of things 21 year olds do when seeking their grad jobs. Often they’ve beaten thousands to get the place. So you can see these are highly sought after and uni just not quite the same. Added to this, lots of people who get these places, whilst academically high achievers, just aren’t so interested in theoretical academic study. They’d rather dosimeter g applied.
My thought is why don’t more apply for degree apprenticeships rather than straight degrees? Why are so many so keen to go for the standard uni experience?
In the end, there aren’t enough degree apprenticeships available and it’s already incredibly tough to get one. So it’s actually lucky for those who want them that more haven’t realised the positives.
OP’s son sounds like a very mature and sensible lad. Having gone through the difficult process to get a place, he knew that what he was holding was gold dust. When it was taken away and he was then offered another place, he knew that was gold dust too, even though not where he wanted to be. Sounds to me like he’s done everything right. He expressed a desire to stay on the reserve list for places closer to home. He’s found out he’s top of the list. But he’s also been brave enough to accept the gold dust he’s been offered and follow his dream for a degree apprenticeship and not to for his back-up option of Warwick. No dount if he went to Warwick he could enjoy it. But he’d have that debt. And it’s a massive massive barrier for lots of people. And he doesn’t need to take it on as he’s got a degree apprenticeship place.