What can you do with £9000?

First of all, why hasn’t Harry written a blog since the end of August?

a) Third Year is difficult

b) Third Year is difficult

c) I’m lazy

d) Third Year is difficult

Good, glad that’s dealt with. Moving on…

Dreary afternoons in the library spent weeping over my dissertation has led me to wonder what else I could be doing with my £9000 a year. So, I did a little research, and found some pretty interesting alternatives. Here are my top 5:

You could take 26 baths a day or flush 450,000 toilets*

It costs £700.80 to bath twice a day for a whole year. Not feeling like a degree? Then you could run 25.68 baths a day instead. Or instead flush it (literally) down the toilet…450,000 times.

*I didn’t say this list would be useful.

Buy a really expensive drink

A bar in London is selling a cocktail, called the ‘Gigi’ for £8,888. Screw 9am lectures, you could have a combination of vintage champagne and an ultra-rare Armagnac brandy that pre-dates the Boer War.

A waterproof pool table

Ever been swimming, and thought, “this water is really missing the facility to be able play pool”? Well you could use your well-borrowed money to buy a waterproof pool table, solving a problem you never knew you had.

Buy a massive gumball machine

Ever wanted a bubble gum machine that was as tall as you? Me neither. But for your tuition fees you could have 3! Money well spent I say.

A Gold Lego Brick

No Lego set is complete without a 14K solid gold Lego brick. For $14,499.99 you could have one. Now I know this is more than a years worth of loan but you got to save up for some things.

Bet that degree seems wasted now…

 

 

Is ‘Clearing’ a second chance or a flawed gamble?

Last Thursday afternoon, after initial A-Level results had been released, a record 41,000 university places via clearing were advertised on the UCAS website – in comparison with 37,000 in 2015. This corresponds with a record number of 64,000 students who found their place at university last year through the clearing, almost a 70% increase from 10 years ago.

Clearing gives students a second opportunity for those who missed out on their initial five choices. It means that most can continue their ambition of studying at university, and save many from a sense of failure having not obtained the grades they needed. However, with thousands applying for a limited amount of places, many of them are already taken by lunchtime on results day leaving very little time for a decision. It is rare that the clearing options are a close match to your original choice, making it quite a sizeable gamble.

Many students are now finding their university places via clearing, with many sidestepping the initial process and being placed directly through clearing. 3,600 students have currently been placed like this, compared with 1,200 in 2012. With all these statistics in mind, UCAS is now considering altering the university entry system. The problem with the clearing process, is that despite increasing numbers of students now being accepted into a university, a lot of these choices are made in the heat of the moment and mean that many students end up unhappy with their choice and drop out.

Half of 18 year olds that miss out on their chosen places, re-apply a year later with a 90% success rate. This raises the question of whether the clearing process is an effective way of getting students into university? With a year to reconsider their options, students are perhaps more likely to be happy with their choice of university and course. Having not been through the clearing process, I cannot comment on how unhappy or happy students are that have been through the process. However, a working party council set up by the Academic Registrars Council has recommended that changes being made to the system should include the ability to reactivate previous offers, but more importantly be given more time to consider their options after having seen their A-Level grades.

Student Mental Health – an Epidemic?

For most, university represents the best years of a person’s life. However, for many, university is a mental pressure cooker in which the stresses of being away from home exaggerate financial, relationship and academic issues. In December of 2015, a survey by the National Union of Students (NUS) found that the majority of students (78%) had suffered from mental health problems at university, a third of which said they had suicidal thoughts and over half (54%) admitting they did not seek support. Anthony Seldon, vice-chancellor at the University of Buckingham and a mental-health campaigner, has said: “Britain has a near epidemic of mental health problems among its students.”

These thoughts have followed from a recent survey carried out by the Architect’s Journal found that more than a quarter of students studying architecture at university are being treated or have been previously treated for mental health problems. With architecture being a seven year course, anxiety over increasing debts and heavy workloads that frequently require all-nighters, were sourced by undergraduates as the causes for these mental health issues.

These rather provoking figures are leading to some important questions being asked. Are universities doing enough to help with those students suffering from mental health issues? Are the huge student loans contributing to this increase in mental health issues?

With the recent news that some universities are increasing their tuition fees for the first time since they trebled, the stress and strain over financial security will only develop further and consequently increase the amount of students suffering from mental health issues. On top of this, as of this month, maintenance grants have now become maintenance loans for those poorer students. Jane Duncan, president of the Royal Institute of British Architecture, has said: “I am concerned that the combination of tuition fees, rising student debt and the necessity for many students to take on paid work outside study can trigger or exacerbate mental health problems.” The rising debt for students is becoming a major issue in the UK. Not only is it preventing some prospective students joining university in the first place, but for those who are there, the extra stress that is being added by debt worries is potentially causing a rise in mental health issues.

Questions have been raised over whether the institutions are providing suitable services to help combat the risk of mental health issues, and support those who are suffering from these problems. However, what must be asked is whether the stresses that are leading to the rise of mental health problems are being caused by the institutions themselves, and the high prices of university. With university inevitably only becoming more expensive in the near future for all students, it appears that this “epidemic” will only get worse. It is up to the universities themselves to prevent these mental health problems, rather than exert more effort into services that support students with issues.

Brexit – What it means for students

Unless you have been living under a rock and you think that Brexit is a type of cereal, you’ll have noticed there was a ‘little’ referendum earlier this week. Most students, whom this blog is aimed at, (75% in fact) voted for the UK to remain in the European Union. But it wasn’t enough. The resentment and tensions that have split the country in the past few days have been unprecedented, and there are many people who feel cheated by the result. Young students feel let down by the older generation – the over 65s especially, 60% of which voted leave. The backlash on social media has been extraordinary. Anger from the remainers at the result. Anger from leavers who feel that frustrated remainers are being sore losers. Anger from leavers at policy u-turns already from the leave camp. Anger at those who voted out but didn’t actually think it would happen. Tensions through the country are at fever pitch, and this is quite honestly a rather scary and worrying time for the UK.

What does this decision mean for students and the higher education sector in general? The vast majority of higher education receives a considerable amount of funding through EU institutions and, quite understandably, this will place pressures on universities and concern students who may lose financial support through the cancellation of this funding. Last Monday, the heads of 103 universities issued a letter expressing their concerns over Brexit, cautioning voters that the power of universities over communities should not be underestimated. The signatories added; “Every year, universities generate over £73 billion for the UK economy – £3.7bn of which is generated by students from EU countries, while supporting nearly 380,000 jobs. Strong universities benefit the British people – creating employable graduates and cutting-edge research discoveries that improve lives”. Following the result, NUS President Megan Dunn has written to David Cameron seeking his assurance that students and the younger generation would be thoroughly consulted “in any decisions made, not just older generations”. Dunn added; “This result will have vast, wide-ranging implications for students and their futures. The voice of students and young people must be heard and represented as critical decisions are now made as to how we move forward. We know that this decision will affect young people more than any other, and it would be wrong that older generations dominate discussions and decisions.” Dunn mirrors the atmosphere among most students. There is a genuine fear, not just for their places in higher education, but their future careers. This is where frustrations lie. I am in no way suggesting that the older generation should not be allowed to vote, democracy is a wonderful treasure. However, what I will say is that there should have been a bigger sense of responsibility among the older generation. Yes, it is their country as much as ours but they are creating a future in which we have to live in.

A study carried out before the referendum, identified that leaving the EU would lead half of employers to reduce the amount of graduates they hire. The study cited that the reason of downsizing would be due to the impact on the economy, the general uncertainty and a lower pool of EU graduates able to apply for jobs. Whilst it was found that a minority of employers would employ more British graduates to compensate for fewer EU graduates, the majority would pay for work permits to maintain the current level of EU graduates, or reduce their operations in the UK. Lucrezia Reichlin, economics professor at London Business School and former head of research at the European Central Bank says “the real question is what happens five years from now, after the loss of access to the single market. There might be a gain from taking control of immigration, but jobs will be threatened when companies find it harder to export to Europe. Ironically, the people who voted for Brexit will probably be the biggest losers”.

Catherine Barnard, a professor in European Union law at the University of Cambridge says: “Since we project that Brexit would lead to a decline in economic activity, we naturally expect that Brexit would lead to job loss too.” She estimates that around 550,000 jobs will be lost by 2020. Steve Coulter, who teaches political economy at the European Institute of the London School of Economics, agrees: “Brexit would lead to a fall in growth, jobs and investment in almost all scenarios.”

With forecasts of fewer jobs and higher prices, the choice to vote leave becomes increasingly – and frustratingly – bizarre. There were of course compelling arguments from the leave camp over Brexit, but not concerning students and higher education. This has been a lose-lose situation for them. Even though a large majority of students voted to remain, it is clear that there are many in the 18-24 age bracket who were disillusioned over the situation and simply didn’t vote. From a students point of view, the EU referendum result is not a happy one. University funding is due to be affected, and the job market for graduates looks much bleaker. I am sure that this will increase and improve again, but by how much? Is it going to be by enough to justify the leave vote and years of job loss? I think not. Worrying times lie ahead.

 

The One Where I Blog Again

Oops. Hello again. I may have forgotten to write a blog for a couple of weeks…or a month…okay more like three months. I’d like to pretend that I am someone who can multitask, but lets cut to the chase. Exams are an inconvenient, yet necessary distraction away from far more entertaining past times (i.e. this blog and sleeping). Something had to give. Anyway, back now. This is just a short blog, one to kick things back off again.

Everyone imagines sharing a house at uni is the formula for week after week of wild house parties and sitting up with housemates until 5:00 AM discussing complete nonsense. Whilst this still happens to an extent, sharing a house actually consists of lazy students, a grubby home and conversations along the line of “What bin day is it tomorrow?”. But more importantly a student house is a hive of lies, deceit and petty theft. I’m referring to housemates using/stealing/keeping your things, mainly from the kitchen.

As humans we don’t have a problem with this because we dislike our fellow housemates, its just we are very protective over our stuff – even a teaspoon. Also because we are British and love to avoid any sort of confrontation, no one says anything about it at first, slowly letting it build up.  A teaspoon here, a mug there. If scientists and clever people marked on a graph where tensions boiled over, it would be when someone uses your milk. As a group of people, students are very protective over what is effectively cow juice.

Full blown arguments have been known to break out over the unauthorised use of milk. Some students try to solve the problem by sharing one big carton of milk. But this just causes more issues as some buy the milk more than others. I’ve talked about milk too much. Let’s move on.

After this there is inevitably a passive aggressive message sent to the group chat in which the aggrieved person ‘kindly’ asks for their plate to be returned and very unsubtly mentions the milk situation. No one actually answers the message, but sure enough the plate magically returns and nothing more is said. In the real world (i.e. not students), people would consider this a very dysfunctional environment to live in.

My point is, why must we live in this world of strange tensions over people borrowing our stuff? We have a agreed to share a house, I think within that agreement there is a shared knowledge that we can use each others stuff (as long as you wash it up, I hate when people don’t wash up my stuff). Peace, love, rubber gloves etc…

‘Gap Yaahs’ – Are they really worth it?

You haven’t got the grades? You’ve always wanted to travel? You’ve decided after a year of university studies that it isn’t for you? There are many reasons why students take gap years, but are they actually beneficial?

A gap year for many is a chance to travel and see the world, and develop as a person. For some it is a year to take a break from education, earn some money whilst others are spending, and to decide what they really want from their careers. For a smaller minority of people, gap years are forced decisions. Either their A Level grades haven’t been good enough or after a year of studying the relentless lectures and deadlines have been too much.

Gap years aren’t hugely practical, however. Financially they are obviously not cheap (if you’re travelling) and for those who plan to go to university afterwards, it may not be entirely wise. Also, deferring your entry to university may leave you out of the loop, not just in terms of your friendship group, but you will be a year behind some of your peers when looking for future employment; by taking a year out you may lack a vital years work experience. However, on the flip side, your year out gives you something that stand out on a CV. A year abroad, or volunteering is excellent to boost your resumé in such a competitive world for postgraduates.

There are excellent companies that provide gap year experiences. Real Gap Experience, for example, covers all ranges of gap year experiences, and i-to-i which offers opportunities to teach English, work with wildlife, volunteer with children and building projects in locations such as Australia, Costa Rica, China and Cambodia.

Gap years then, are very much a personal choice. It of course depends on money, your education situation and whether it is the best career choice for you. However, if these things are in the all-clear then a gap year is well worth taking. After all, what will you regret more? Not quite getting that first job straight away? Or missing out on a great experience?

 

Exactly.