College & University Information Information Research

Tell a Friend about this Site

Student Moans and the Quarterlife Crisis


It's that time of year again when global issues take second place in the British media, to make space for the great 'A' level debate. Packed with case studies of "Laura achieved nine A grades and was still rejected from her first choice", you have to wonder how long students can maintain the will to study. It's not just the fact that companies and newspapers are debating whether students are actually getting more stupid ('A' levels are the new GCSEs apparently), students are debating themselves whether they are getting more stupid by even considering going to university in the first place.

Lazy British journalists are still reciting that the average graduate starting salary is still around £25,000. At Cashzilla, we're not entirely sure where they get this figure as most graduates start well below this - sometime as low as £12,000. that's not much money at all when you owe more that that in student debt.

But still as unimaginative schools and parents coax their kids into three (or more) years of vacant academia, it takes a gutsy 18 year old to take a long term approach to what they may wish to do with their life.

It is true that there will always be careers that demand a university education, but many young people get pushed on to the higher education conveyer belt, without any idea of what they're doing there. If there was a booming graduate jobs market at the end of the production market - vacant graduates would be fine.

But there are real concerns about how crowded the universities are becoming and how students are managing their finances. It is a phenomenal burden to allow students to borrow such significant amount of money and then watch them struggle for employment upon graduation. Even when they get a job, many find it doesn't meet the high expectations pumped into them at university. No wonder the "quarter life crisis" has become a lifestyle segment.

If you are a student, graduate or university virgin, you must read Damian Barr's article "Crying on the inside" from Times Online (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8123-1093294,00.html), it's a superb summary of life as a British twenty-something. On a slightly more practical, but just as constructive note, there is an abundance of advice and support available on the internet. Support for learning is a superb site (http://www.support4learning.org.uk/money/index.htm) and moneynet offers an excellent student finance guide (http://www.moneynet.co.uk/student-finance-guide/index.shtml), but don't get distracted by searching for additional loans and credit cards!

By all means go to university and have lots of fun, but bear in mind that the graduate market is hugely competitive ? and again ? t h e g r a d u a t e m a r k e t i s h u g e l y c o m p e t i t i v e. We would rather see young people take some time out to work, travel and gain experience before embarking on a hedonistic journey of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Yes you have the right to an education, but remember that education does not always lead to freedom, especially with the current price of a degree.

Rachel writes for the personal finance blog Cashzilla.

Rachel lives in Edinburgh (currently over-run with tourists) with Cat, blonde Andy and brunette Andy.


MORE RESOURCES:

SINDH TODAY

Presidency College is now a university
IBNLive.com
Kolkata: The West Bengal Assembly has passed a bill to upgrade the country's oldest college, Presidency College, to a university, fulfilling a the decades ...
Assembly clears Presidency varsity billTimes of India
Bill upgrading Presidency College to university passedEconomic Times
Kolkata: Presidency College to soon be a university?NDTV.com
Higher Education In India -Indian Express -domain-B
all 27 news articles »


King's College University staff set for strike ballot over job threat
West End Extra
STAFF at King's College University demonstrated outside Somerset House at the weekend over plans to axe jobs. Members of the University and ...

and more »


Washington U. rolls into Division III finals
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Washington University Bears made up for scoring a paltry 18 points in the first half by netting 22 in overtime, ...

and more »


Why are college students so hard to count in the Census?
Asbury Park Press
Until he took a statistics class on it this spring, Christian Reyes barely knew what the US Census was, ...

and more »


College, university presidents pledge to make 'Pathways' a priority
Indian Country Today
SEATTLE – American Indian/Alaska Native students have a lot of strength to draw from at home: Family, identity, ...

and more »


Polar Bears Dominate Singles Play in Win at Redlands
Bowdoin Athletics
REDLANDS, Calif. - The 16th-ranked Bowdoin College women's tennis team dominated singles play in a 7-2 win at 17th-ranked University of Redlands on Friday. ...

and more »


Johnston grad in line to be college chancellor
DesMoinesRegister.com
Platteville, Wis. - Dennis Shields, a 1973 graduate of Johnston High School and later Graceland College in Lamoni, has been recommended as the next ...

and more »


St. Norbert moves on to national final
Fox11online.com
LAKE PLACID, NY - Cody Keefer's goal with 39 seconds left pushed St. Norbert College into the NCAA Division III national championship game with a 4-3 win ...

and more »


Middlebury College vs Wesleyan University (Mar 20, 2010)
Wesleyan Connection
Lacrosse Box Score (Final) 2010 Wesleyan U. Women's Lacrosse #11 Middlebury College vs Wesleyan University (Mar 20, 2010 at Middletown, CT) Middlebury ...



TriCities.com

ETSU Quillen College of Medicine receives $9.1 Million Grant
TriCities.com
AP Graphics By Jackie Bailey Stimulus funds are going to help the East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine renovate one of its facilities ...

and more »

Google News



MaineBannerExchange

home | site map
© 2006