Your thoughts on university

adindas

his_missus wrote: »

Claire21, I think there used to be an impression that if you went to uni it meant you were smarter, would get a better job, earn more money etc.

Believe it or not some people do a course at the university is aiming to get student loan which come with maintenance (for majority of students) as additional income for a few years. They will take a course which s/he knows very easy to complete. For some people they know or believe they will never pay it back.

his_missus wrote: »

I don't think a university education guarantees a better job/wage/lifestyle though.

Well definitely not, you see it everywhere some graduates are doing the work which do not need degrees at all. Receptionists, people working stacking items on the shelves, call center, secretary, PA, security some of them have degrees. I even meet quite a few people with Master's degree working in this sort of jobs. But some people get their career get boosted due to having degree for instance moving from cashier in supermarket become a manager.

But for people who aim at a better chance of better job security to get a better job/wage they will be studying for degree in STEM subject.
You will see for instance for people who graduate in Medicine, Dentistry, Engineering; to get income above average is a norm rather than an exception.

ViolaLass

susancs wrote: »

I Know it is off topic, but I am just curious as to whether many at your school who achieve a lower grade in GCSE maths go on to do well in A level Maths? I only ask as DD got a top grade in GCSE Maths, but has found A level physics maths challenging at times and her classmates who do A level Maths after getting the top GCSE grade, all say the Maths A level is so much harder (but supports Physics and chemistry A level well).

I haven't been at the school long enough to have the figures on my mind. Certainly those who get below an A at GCSE find A-level maths much tougher and are, I suspect, unlikely to get better than a C (terrible generalisation, and I know there will be at least 3 posters with stories to the contrary). That said, there are kids who DO get the A who also bomb at A-level.

What matters is whether you're prepared to put a serious amount of effort in. One of my students got, I believe, an A at GCSE and a C at AS but she has worked very hard this year and I am hopeful that she may get an A (at least a .

In fact, the key thing, more than the GCSE grade, is how good that student is at algebra. If your algebra is good, you've got a shot. If you never got to grips with it, you're in trouble. Comfort with algebra and GCSE grade tend to go hand in hand but don't have to. For example, some students memorise methods but don't really understand them. At A-level, that just doesn't cut it.

Having not taught other subjects, I can't comment on whether they are harder than maths or not at A-level but it would match comments that I've heard from students. I think it can be made even harder if it is approached as a bundle of information to be memorised rather than as a bundle of logic to be understood.

claire21

I keep seeing talk of STEM subjects so have looked that up, another thanks to this thread.

I'm a bit disappointed he's only doing double science now instead of triple (he did not do well in biology) .

RAS

The other complete odd-ball is Transport and Logistics. A very high percentage of the students have family or friends working in the field and it offers a lot of options.

Want to help a charity shift gear following a disaster or emergency? Forces role? Multi-nationals love you and you could always run your own business.

susancs

ViolaLass wrote: »

I haven't been at the school long enough to have the figures on my mind. Certainly those who get below an A at GCSE find A-level maths much tougher and are, I suspect, unlikely to get better than a C (terrible generalisation, and I know there will be at least 3 posters with stories to the contrary). That said, there are kids who DO get the A who also bomb at A-level.

What matters is whether you're prepared to put a serious amount of effort in. One of my students got, I believe, an A at GCSE and a C at AS but she has worked very hard this year and I am hopeful that she may get an A (at least a .

In fact, the key thing, more than the GCSE grade, is how good that student is at algebra. If your algebra is good, you've got a shot. If you never got to grips with it, you're in trouble. Comfort with algebra and GCSE grade tend to go hand in hand but don't have to. For example, some students memorise methods but don't really understand them. At A-level, that just doesn't cut it.

Having not taught other subjects, I can't comment on whether they are harder than maths or not at A-level but it would match comments that I've heard from students. I think it can be made even harder if it is approached as a bundle of information to be memorised rather than as a bundle of logic to be understood.

Thanks ViolaLass, you have really helped clarify the difference between GCSE and A level Maths for me. I think DD probably memorised methods rather than fully understanding the maths itself at GCSE level, as this is what she complains about in regard to A level physics i.e. understands theory and can do the maths as a stand alone exercise, but struggles at times with linking the two.

Lily-Rose_3

I don't think that going to uni has the same kind of special 'Je ne sais quoi' that it used to have. (say 1990s and further back.....) I mean, when I was at school in the late 70s/early 80s, only about 40 to 50 of the 250 or so school leavers would go to college, and only about 15 of them would go to uni. And frankly, it was the kids from the well-off and middle-class/upper middle-class families.

These days, it seems the world and his wife can get to go, and even as little as 3 or 4 years ago, certain universities were fussy about entrants, and only actually allowed people in, who had A and B grades in their A levels. Last year, when my daughter started uni, she got As and Bs, and got her uni of choice, but there were quite a few spaces left, and so they started offering places to people with Cs and Ds and even Es! She wondered why she bothered working so hard for her A grades now. Although she did get a generous bursary for the 2 A grade A levels she got.

All this said though: even though it is easier for people to go to uni, I still feel a great sense of pride when I say my daughter is at uni, and so does her dad (my DH.) And to be honest, only about 80 of the 300 or so kids that left my daughter's sixth form last summer went to uni.

Also, none of my 4 close friends grown children have gone. (8 in all.) My one friend claims her eldest (now 21) did not want to go. That's rubbish, as she told me 3 years ago that she got 'E's and 'U's in her A levels, and she didn't go as she failed to get the grades for ANY of the 5 choices. I think she forgot she said it. LOL.

Also, in the little middle class town that I live in; when someone asks me where my daughter is and I say she is at uni, they start coming out with loads of reasons and excuses why 'their' offspring didn't go. So it seems it 'is' a big deal to some. Otherwise, why do they feel the need to make excuses for their children not going?

Like I said, whether it's easy to get into uni or not, I am still very proud that my daughter is at university.

Lunar_Eclipse

I'm a few years younger than you OP, but I went to university, as did my dad. There was only one girl in my year at school who didn't go to university (private girls school.)

I don't think a tertiary education is essential (you can still work your way up), but it really depends what field you enter. I also think it's become harder to get into a top university (more competition) so in some ways, a top degree from a well respected uni has more ''wow" factor than ever before (I know lots of 12 A*, 3 A* kids who can't get in to Oxbridge.) Most kids who are privately educated will go to uni, so you will probably find it is the "norm" amongst your children's peers.

My children, 14 and 12, already speak of going to uni. Eldest wants to become a doctor, so knows she needs to complete a medicine degree. Youngest might pursue something more creative, so who knows what she will do, but I really think that's the deciding factor.

Degrees and universities aren't all created equally of course.

southoftheriver

I have two degrees, one of which is essential for my role. My boyfriend has two degrees but in non-vocational subjects. I knew what I wanted to be from such a young age that I knew it involved uni, but otherwise I wouldn't have gone.

I am the first person in my family to have gone to uni and I am proud. It was really tough to get through it and I worked my !!!! off! My sister is doing an apprenticeship. I am even prouder of her than I am of myself. She was pushed into going to uni when I knew she didn't want to. She found the strength to stand up for herself and do what was right. She isn't less clever than me but i'm more academic. And thats ok.

I don't mind what path my children take but I want them to achieve their potential in whatever they do.