Does it make parents look better' if their child goes to university?

silvercar

I think a parent who packs their child off to uni with grades EUU, is the one that looks bad.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

Dunroamin wrote: »

Many degrees aren't that much of a hard slog these days. I've had several clients who've worked full time hours throughout university and still gained perfectly respectable results.

You can no more generalise that no degrees are easy than you can that they all are.

I worked full time when doing mine, but it was a hard slog. I am wondering now whether I went to the wrong university and should have gone to the one that taught you how to do your research and write essays without doing any actual work.

Dunroamin

Frith wrote: »

I didn't do re-sits but I know people who did who got into my University. I presumed if you re-took all your A levels you just put those new results on the UCAS form and didn't mention the others??

In response to earlier comments on polytechnics, I did my first degree at a "good" university then my second at an old poly and the teaching was miles better at the poly and the course much better organised!

Just remembered an ex boyfriend of mine got into uni as a mature student with just an E at A level. Was perhaps not the most exciting uni or course in the world, though.

You have to put all your GCSE and A level results on the UCAS form, whether fails or not.

Teaching often was good at the Polys, that was their main (sometimes only) purpose in life, which it wasn't for the universities. It's a shame that we ever got rid of the division.

paulineb_2

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

My Mum pushed me into going to uni, to do a worthless degree that I didn't want to do, just so she could brag to the neighbours that I was at uni. When I got a full time job that I loved in the holidays and said to her I would rather stay working there than have to go back, she told me I either went back to uni or I could get out of the house. So I had to go back, I failed second year and had a nervous breakdown. She then pushed me to go and do my nurse training and again bragged to all the neighbours, again I had a breakdown as I was working over 70 hours a week, and again I failed. Luckily I got a job as an HCA so she could continue bragging that I had 'a nursing job' it doesn't look like I'm going to be ready to go back to uni for a long time as I'm off with work related stress at the minute but now shes trying to suggest that I go and do teaching!! I know she loves me but it's all about appearances with her and I do feel a little resentful that if she'd let me do the GNVQ and HND I wanted instead of forcing me to do A-Levels and a degree I didn't want to do because she doesn't believe in GNVQ's or HND's I might be a bit more settled...

I think after a nervous breakdown and being ill with work related stress at some point you have to have a serious conversation with your mum about living your life the way you want to, degree or not.

HNDs can actually be more challenging to pass in certain subjects.
I went to college and did an HND on leaving school, the pass mark for all subjects was 50 per cent and what we were learning certainly wasnt easier than first year degree level subjects. Whereas with my degree, our pass mark was 40 per cent. I found my degree much easier to get through than what I did of the HND, again, Im talking one specific subject, but just because they are easier to get into, doesnt mean they are easier to pass.

And what you need to do is move forward, anyway you can, resentment wont help, its your life, you need to make decisions about doing whatever makes you happy, the education can wait, your health comes first.

Dunroamin

Funky_Bold_Ribena wrote: »

I worked full time when doing mine, but it was a hard slog. I am wondering now whether I went to the wrong university and should have gone to the one that taught you how to do your research and write essays without doing any actual work.

You can hardly say that university was hard work if you managed to do a full time degree and a full time job simultaneously! Thank you for proving my point.

Researching and writing essays are two of the most important aspects of a university degree (certainly in Humanities ), they are the work that you go to university to do!

Alikay

Dunroamin wrote: »

Teaching often was good at the Polys, that was their main (sometimes only) purpose in life, which it wasn't for the universities. It's a shame that we ever got rid of the division.

They also ran tons of decent part-time evening and day-release courses which were fully supported by local employers so you could work full-time and progress your career in a relevant direction as opportunities opened up. Both DH and I had no idea what we wanted to do, or even what jobs there were out there as teenagers but we both ended up with good work-related qualifications via part time study at the local 'tech. The classes were rammed with mature students as our area has several large big-name employers and the courses were very highly regarded.

Sadly now that same college seems to offer mainly undergraduate full time degrees to students who don't get high enough grades for the better universities and there seem fewer opportunities to work and study simultaneously.

paulineb_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

You can hardly say that university was hard work if you managed to do a full time degree and a full time job simultaneously! Thank you for proving my point.

Researching and writing essays are two of the most important aspects of a university degree (certainly in Humanities ), they are the work that you go to university to do!

The thing is, some courses are flexible in that the contact time you have there is more minimal. When I did my postgrad in alcohol and drug studies, our hours in the university getting lectures were part time even though the course was full time, we were expected to do a lot of work at home and there was an online learning system where we could access support. The universities view was that many people who came on the course were already working (you could do either 4 or 8 modules, I did 8 and there were a lot of people who were social workers or addiction workers whose work paid for them to do the course but still expected them to work full time while doing it). I had 4 essays to submit between September and December, another 4 longer essays between January and March, a dissertation and a practice placement to do before I got the qualification.

I worked full time as well through that because I had to, there was no way I could have done that post grad without working.

And I worked harder for that than anything else Ive ever done in my life. I do think, given the resources online now, compared to when I did my first degree ie no internet, make it much easier to research, because so much valuable information is now placed on the internet.

I didnt have a pc until I did my second post grad, life would have been a lot harder without it.

As I said earlier, for an ordinary degree, you are generally looking at a 40 per cent pass mark and depending on what degree you are doing, that wont challenge some people too much. Other people will need to work harder on it.

A lot depends on ability as well.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

Dunroamin wrote: »

You can hardly say that university was hard work if you managed to do a full time degree and a full time job simultaneously! Thank you for proving my point.

Researching and writing essays are two of the most important aspects of a university degree (certainly in Humanities ), they are the work that you go to university to do!

Of course it was hard work! But I did my degree part time; not full time and my work full time. I had zero social life as I spent all my spare time in the library [hardly any research documents were downloadable via dial up back then].

I know researching and writing essays are the most important aspects and I know they are the work you go to university to do...I remember it well. That's my point...

paulineb_2

I worked full time nightshifts btw which in a lot of ways helped me, because I worked a 4 shifts on 4 shifts off pattern and the fact that I was at university only on certain days meant that I could work, sleep and study, but there were days I was at university and then almost straight onto a 12 hour shift.

My social life was almost zero also because working nights, that tends to go out the window anyway, it was a tough year, but I really wanted that qualification and I actually think working around my degree made me work harder, if Id been sitting at home with not much else to do, Id have put off studying I think, whereas I knew I had to be disciplined (and Im someone who has always found that a struggle when it comes to studying anything).

marisco_2

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

I know she loves me but it's all about appearances with her

Something tells me it wouldn't do her appearance any good, if the neighbours your mum was bragging to realised the pressure she put you under, led you to have two nervous breakdowns. To do that to you for her own self gratification isn't to show love to you.