Uni is just over-sold and disappointing

[Greedybilly]

My lovely 19 year old has just finished Yr 1 of uni ( when did the courses end at Easter? What happened to term 3?)
She was unlucky with her flatmates who were awful to her and her course mates mostly commute.
Part time jobs are none existent and she's done umpteen trial cafe shifts only to be ghosted.
She had such high hopes and seems like a shadow of her former self. It does all feel like a massively over marketed business.
Anyone got any words of wisdom/happy endings??
Gutted for her and angry at all the hype and nonsense.

Well said OP.
There are some truly grim posters on these threads sometimes.
I hope your DD finds next year much better! 💐

Genuine question. What did I say that was so terrible?
I said I sympathised with her daughter and offered some suggestions of where she could find support.
The OP wanted a university bashing thread despite her daughter’s issues having nothing to do with the university itself. Why is it ‘grim’ to point that out?

@Spongblobsparepants I am sorry that you aren’t happy with your course. Where possible, multiple lectures are scheduled on one day, particularly where students are travelling from around a city to get in, because of travel expenses and also part time jobs - students are more likely to come in for several lectures on one day than for those same lectures spread over the week.

Oh bless her 💔💔

This is so sad and I’m shocked that there are ‘mean girls’ at uni.
I thought they would have all matured by then.

She is paying a lot of money to be there and it’s so sad that she’s had such a crap first year.

Hopefully she will have a great summer and better couple of years there.

While not everything is the universities fault it's obvious that the university experience is now very difficult and the value provided by many universities is falling

There are many cases where attendance at lecture is so poor because many students don't see the point because lecturers just read off slides and this affects the student experience. Having more and more students beint commuter students also impacts the experience and we all know many universities are cutting programs and services while they struggle to survive.

There are many cases where attendance at lecture is so poor because many students don't see the point because lecturers just read off slides and this affects the student experience.

Possibly. But also the number of students with part time jobs and the option of watching lectures either live or online on catch up also contribute to low attendance.

There are many cases where attendance at lecture is so poor because many students don't see the point because lecturers just read off slides and this affects the student experience.
The OPs daughter is engaged with her course and is enjoying it so this isn’t relevant in the situation.
And it’s far too simplistic to say that students don’t engage because staff just read from slides. The focus on NSS means it’s quite hard to get away with that these days.
Engage can be low for a number of reasons. The biggest change is that some students see themselves as consumers and expect to be given their degree because they’ve ’bought’ it. This consumer approach to higher education has completely changed the dynamic of universities.

Having more and more students beint commuter students also impacts the experience and we all know many universities are cutting programs and services while they struggle to survive.
What do you think universities should do about the number of commuter students? CoL is the big driver here.
And yes, universities are cutting courses and staff because the fees paid by students don’t cover the cost of running degree programmes!

@HighLadyofTheNightCourt Gently, 💐 You seem to have taken this thread as a personal insult.

Universities have their problems at the moment. They're in the news a lot (negatively) and sometimes we do have to say "ok, my sector isn't well received right now".

I had to do this in 2024 as my sector was all over the news. It doesn't mean that every thread about my sector is a "bashing thread".

It's a discussion. 💐

If this is a discussion, then talking about universities in the context of “rampant capitalism” and being focussed on money making is provocative language in such a discussion, and it’s not unreasonable to respond as such.

Having worked in student recruitment, I don't disagree. It was all about the money - Open Day briefings included being reminded that every potential student we converted meant £30k to the uni.

The op said she started this thread to bash universities 🤷‍♀️ She literally said that was her intention.

Pretty much all of my responses have been factual not emotionally driven. How is that taking it personally? I’d love an example of how I’ve taken this personally or how it makes me ‘grim’ according to another poster.

The OP was very rude to me for simply pointing out that the issues were not the universities fault. I also highlighted ways in which the university could still support her but those bits were ignored.

@Greedybilly really sorry for your DD and agree it’s over hyped massively! I think way more students have a not great experience but don’t talk about it, esp considering the amount of ££ involved and lack of job prospects for so many. The Uni staff and lecturers seem to be in their own little bubble - when the whole world has changed, uni teaching styles seem to have moved backward. There very little sharing of academic knowledge and more self study and googling/AI to understand the content the dish out than anything else!

Mine also finishing year one - ‘lectures’ finished before Easter, month off at Xmas after starting at end of September and a few hours a week of ‘teaching’ and that’s being generous! My DD is commuting thankfully as the course has mainly rich overseas students who stick together which is a nightmare for making friends and even worse for group work. She really regrets going but wants to see through the 3 years and will leave with a generic business degree that is honestly unfit for purpose in a business setting.

It is about money in the way that without fee income we close. But if you’ve worked at a university you’ll know that the fees don’t even cover the cost of running an UG degree programme. That £30k also had to pay your wages as well as for all the other professional services staff.
Universities are not awash with money. The sector is on its knees financially.

Awwwwww @Greedybilly
my friends DD had a terrible first year - fell out with flatmates and had no other friends.
she also moved into a random flat share in year two and has really bonded with a couple of girls in her house.
through them she has got a much wider circle of friends.
she was coming home almost weekly in the first year - I think she came home once in second year!
don’t worry- there’s plenty of time to turn it around.

OP - 1st year for DD was an anti climax. Her flat mates weren't mean, just disengaged. She's an extrovert and was frequently lonely despite her best efforts. Year 2 was much better - friendly housemates, she got involved with some very sociable societies, joined the gym. So tell your DD not to give up hope!

DD has just completed her 3rd year at a European University (she doesn't do languages - the classes were in English). Had a great time - lots of travelling. Maybe your DD could consider this especially as we are re-joining Erasmus so funding should be available.

Jobs for students are very hard to find - would she consider volunteering?

All the best to her.

I think a lot of the experience is luck unfortunately. I was a bit overwhelmed in y1 but it did improve. Ultimately I think I’m better suited to living in a family (more hygienic!) environment. Something that might help her feel less trapped in the bubble could be if she gets a part time job (understand this has also been hard) or even volunteering for a bit?

I agree with those who say that we are likely to see a shift (over a period of years) to kids going to their local universities (which may involve fairly lengthy commutes for some) and that in itself will change the market so that there is less of a hierarchy amongst UK universities. The fees/rent/maintenance/lack of graduate jobs situation is not sustainable. Kids are far better off from a career perspective getting a degree apprenticeship if they can (although they are like gold dust) but then they miss out a bit on the "living away" side of things. However I have family with nieces and a nephew at university in Australia and they have a great time since they have more disposable income as a result of living at home, have the support network of family, and still make masses of friends and socialise widely (I accept it is of course far easier if you are from a city and not some tiny place in the countryside).

Things are very different at UK universities now to the way they were in the 90s. Kids stay in their rooms on their phones and expect things to be handed to them on a plate. Socialising is more difficult for them since they don't have the social skills they should have as a result of having grown up with phones in their hands (plus it costs a fortune to buy a bloody drink). They also expect everyone to change their behaviours to suit them. A lot of them are simply not ready to live with others. They can also get a shock to the system when finding themselves in a cohort of high performers rather than a broad mix of academic abilities as there were in schools. They push for online content since it allows them to stay in their rooms and they don't attend in person lectures.

My DC is at a university where they are potentially closing one of the student bars on campus because it doesn't get used enough..I mean WTF?! Interestingly the parents are horrified and the students are "meh".

Universities do make a massive loss but spend WAY too much on student services/welfare/exit payments/pensions (particularly if they have support staff in the LGPS) /sickness.

I may have missed it, but I wonder if OP’s DD asked to change flat. There will always be a few spaces from those who drop out or who also want to move room.

OP my DD is also a fresher and unlike your DD has had a blast.
Not all of her friends have though - a bad housing experience in the first year can really ruin the experience.
A couple have made plans for sharing with different people next year and like your DD are enjoying their courses so hopefully they will have a better time next year!

I think when you look at the bigger picture, it’s a certainty that Univeristy life won’t suit everyone.

Living independently as a teen and learning to get along with housemates who don’t love you unconditionally like your family does is a massive hurdle for some, where others thrive at that and would feel suffocated living with their parents still.

The alternatives to University include travel, apprenticeships or full time work and again some (or all) of these don’t appeal to teens; indeed I’m sure some go to uni to postpone full time work, and that’s a legitimate choice (if they can afford to).

But your DD is doing well at her course and obtaining an education which will hopefully help her in the future. She’s also learning a valuable life-lesson; sometimes adulting is hard, it’s boring, expensive and people can be arseholes, but that’s the same for lots of adults, not just those attending university.

In some respects your daughter's first year experience mirrors mine. For my second year I was lucky enough to spot a notice looking for flatmates from a couple of girls in my year whom I knew and chatted to occasionally, and went in with them and two others who were strangers. My second and third years were SO much better, and in fact some years later my best friends include the original two flatmates and the circle of people I got to know through them. So there is hope, and I do hope things get better for your DD.

Noted - however, the students you were speaking to were mostly going to go somewhere to uni, with the associated £30k tuition costs.

Your job was largely to inform/persuade them of the merits of your uni and courses over others, with features like module choices and guaranteed first year accommodation or whatever.

The only money a university makes is from international students. It actually loses money from home students. So don’t think universities are rolling around in the money they get from the £9 and a bit k a year, they are really not!

Not all universities are created equal. I do think a lot of universities are not great for the student experience (but you're right, of course they sell themselves as if they are).
My DP works in one of these and while it serves the local community brilliantly, it wouldn't be a good place to move to and study at, for someone coming from away and hoping for the "experience".
We've encouraged both of our DC to choose somewhere they really want to live in i.e. interesting town/cities with a distinct culture, quite different from home). We've looked for universities with a long-established good quality student experience for those moving into the area. The friends thing is down to luck but I think these other two factors I mention are probably just as important as choosing one course over another. My two chose very different locations but they've both had a great time and enjoyed their time living away.

@MooFroo There’s plenty of info about which unis recruit heavily from abroad. It’s not that difficult to work out which ones. Commuting is not going to help with making friends as there’s no communal living. Many dc make friends via their halls. Take this away and dc need to rely on course friends and they does not always work.

I cannot work out why the ops DD didn’t ask to move halls. This is normal if you find your flatmates not to your liking. Usually a quiet dc in a party flat is the reason.

Op - what is dd doing next year in terms of house share? This is important isn’t it.