2020 has been such an unusual year and we are not even half way through it yet! So making plans for the next half of the year and beyond is all a bit of an unknown. How do you make a decision about whether to go to university or not when you don’t really know what you’re deciding?
Whether you have an offer of a university place for this September or not, August is going to be a time for decisions. Do you defer if your place is confirmed? Do you apply through clearing if you don’t have a place? What else could you do?
We take a look at the pros and cons of each option to hopefully help you work through the things you might want to consider.
The course you will be studying
Many universities are saying that a lot of tuition will be offered online next term and others will be offering a mixture of online and small group face to face lectures. For some courses, this will not have a huge impact on the quality of the teaching, but others of a more practical nature, this could change the essence of the course enormously. If your course can easily be transferred online, you might prefer to just get going, assuming that the pandemic won’t last for another 3 years and a more usual approach to tuition will resume at some point. But for those of you planning to study performing arts, or lab based subjects the decision will be very different.
What will the social life be like?
The university experience is not just about academic studies and the social side of going to university is also a very important consideration. With social distancing in place, Freshers is not going to be what it is usually, and many sports and societies will not be able to take place. Freshers fairs might be held virtually and there are currently suggestions that students might have to stay in “social bubbles” with people in the same study group, sharing accommodation with them too. People are very imaginative and no doubt new ways of socialising will be invented. Whether it is virtually or at a 2 metre distance your experience will still be very different from lockdown at home, which you could well be very fed up with by now!
Will you be able to stay in halls?
If social distancing is to be maintained, the number of students sharing halls might need to be limited or there will likely be strict guidelines in place. Certainly the usual “comings and goings” between different flats will most probably be limited so that students remain within their households. This is going to create a very different experience, but it does not mean that it can’t still be fun. Moving out from home and moving in with new people for the first time, cooking and shopping for yourself, and getting to know others, will still give you the independence that university gives you and although it won’t be quite what you were expecting, it will be a change from living at home.
The tuition fees
At the moment it looks as though universities will still be charging the same in tuition fees whether the courses are offered online or not. For some, this may be a major consideration if you feel that the online experience will not offer the same value for money and is, to some extent linked to the first point above about the subject you are studying. This is something you could potentially discuss with the relevant department within the university and find out how they are going to be ensuring students still get the best tuition. Perhaps ask to speak to some current students and get their view on whether it is still possible to get the support you will need and where they think it might fall down.
Additional costs
For many students, the student loans do not cover your costs. You get your tuition fees paid, but for most students the maintenance loans do not cover your living costs. If this is the case for you, you will either have to rely on your parents to top you up, or find a part time job. Under normal circumstances, there are plenty of student jobs to be found near universities, but you will need to think about the type of job you could look for and will there be opportunities. Will the bars and restaurants be open and if they are, will there be a reduced number of customers and so a reduced need for staff? If you think you are going to be in need of a part time job to cover your costs, do some research and thinking around what work you would be able to do and reassure yourself that it will be available in the current crisis. Could you earn some money online instead? The last thing you want is to run out of money.
What else could you do?
If you do decide not to go to university, what else would you do? The pros and cons of taking a gap year have changed in the light of the pandemic. Normally you might consider travelling, but that is not going to be easy. It will also be more challenging to find a useful job with a huge number of unemployed people also looking for work. However, there will be plenty of volunteering opportunities which can be a really valuable thing to do and really enhance your CV, as well as giving you a rewarding experience. Take some time now to think about what you could or would like to do and undertake a bit of research, looking for ideas. You could find a really interesting opportunity that makes you decide you would like to defer and have a more “usual” experience at university next year. What you don’t want to do though, is defer and spend a year at home, doing nothing.
What ever you decide, stick with your decision and try to make the most of it. A positive attitude can go a long way to enjoying your experience and whilst it might not be what you had in mind, you can be sure that eventually life will return to some kind of normality.
Sometimes change is good, just take the time to think it through for your own circumstances and make a decision that works for you.
