University or Travel?

I'm 22 and have applied to go to university this year (I've received the offers i wanted). I've done the generic 3 months of traveling last year and am really torn between spending 4 years in study or doing 2 years in Australia and the surrounding area (Maybe longer). It's mainly the money that it'll cost to go to uni that's keeping me undecided. I was just looking for an outsiders perspective on the whole situation?

firstly it all depends on what future career prospects you have in mind. If you do have ambitious plans then it is probably best to go to university as you can always travel after finishing your degree , take gaps between each year of your degree or in some cases even travel as part of your degree as if you end up being 30 years old by the time you finally finish your degree employers will want to know why you are so old yet have never actually had a formal full time job- if you can justify how travelling boosted your employability and career then you'll be okay. However research does suggest that students who have travelled (mainly as part of their degree) do have higher employability rates. Regarding money if you are in the UK you can just take out a student loan and you pay it back interest free in the smallest amounts that you hardly notice it

What are you wanting to do career-wise?

Ultimately i would like to be running my own business, i'm not 100% sure what in yet but it will be within the Digital sector. I'm feeling that Uni would be a massive aid to that obviously but as a i said travel is constantly on my mind and i know it will be when i'm at university also (if i go)

Thank you for putting this into a different perspective, very helpful! If i go i will be studying Digital Media which is a degree i can bring with me all over the world, so the way you're putting it makes me think that Uni is a win-win situation. It's just the scary fact that ill have to dedicate that amount of time to it and like you said, ill be almost 30 by the time i'm done. Also how do you go about paying a loan back interest free? I thought the loan accrued interest from the get go?

im currently a student now and as far as I'm aware the actual uni course fees are interest free (currently £9250 a year) and you dont start paying it back until you're in a full time job earning over £21000 a year so if you never in your lifetime have a wage of this you never have to pay it back! also the loan is written off once you reach 50 no matter how much or little of it you've paid back. There is another type of loan which I also have called a maintenance loan which can cover your accommodation and living fees while you're at university. The amount you get depends on your parents income if you live with them or your own income (you can work this out of the student finance website calculator ). This does have interest applied to it but i think its literally like 2/3% so not much at all and the same applies that you dont start paying it back until you are earning £21000. Also if you become unemployed or your wage drops below this amount you stop paying off the loan again so its a win win situation. Then in terms of how you actual pay it back it will automatically be deducted from your wage when you get a full time job before you receive it as its linked to your national insurance number so when you get your pay slip you will see how much has been deducted from the student loans company. i think you pay back 9% of your monthly earnings or something you can find out more from the student finance website. Obviously if you want to pay of more of it though you can just contact them and arrange this.

I would travel, people go to university at all ages, if you travel after uni for a long time then an employer might think you’re not ready or not serious about your career.

Imo it’d be better to travel before you start your education and career, or you could get swept up in that and regret not traveling while you were young etc. But really either way will work, it’s up to you on which one you want to do more. Both can wait, so follow your heart.

That's my worry, i would definitely miss the fact that i'm not traveling. I also feel that even though i'm 22 i need to start making a step towards a serious career for my future, and if i go traveling for two years (or more) and then come back home, ill be back where i am now. It's just difficult to make the decision! My brain says get a career and my heart says travel *sigh*

I'm 22 and have applied to go to university this year (I've received the offers i wanted). I've done the generic 3 months of traveling last year and am really torn between spending 4 years in study or doing 2 years in Australia and the surrounding area (Maybe longer). It's mainly the money that it'll cost to go to uni that's keeping me undecided. I was just looking for an outsiders perspective on the whole situation?

I'm 24 and having the same problem. I'm due to start uni this September, I'll actually be turning 25 when I start.
I've just got back from a year in Australia and it was the best time of my life. I was working there so not such a big gap on my CV which helps.
Anyway so part of me is like ok I need to get my sh*t together and focus on career, but another part is like I wanna go and do my second year now before it's too late. I'll be at uni for 4 years. I don't even know if I would travel after. So it feels like this is the final of my youth! Oh the pressure... lol
I mean this is a great problem to have. Uni or travel. What a privilege!
I guess I'm kind of talking to myself here trying to decide but I just can't and it's driving me crazy.

One thing I will say is that uni will always be here. My best friend is 33 and just started her uni course. People have a change of career at any point in their life, it happens.
What won't always be here is our youth and freedom from responsibity.
Who knows when we'll be married and tied down.
It's easy to feel like you gotta have a career at a certain age because that's what everyone else is doing.
But also, one of my friends died this year and that really gave me a perspective on what's truly important in life. And comparing yourself to others isn't one of them.
We're probably never going to feel 100% ready to commit to uni because life doesn't work that way, you just take the plunge.

So I would love to know what you decide on doing! Please let me know
I'm going crazy thinking about this myself and it would be nice to speak to someone else!

All the best xx

I'm 24 and having the same problem. I'm due to start uni this September, I'll actually be turning 25 when I start.
I've just got back from a year in Australia and it was the best time of my life. I was working there so not such a big gap on my CV which helps.
Anyway so part of me is like ok I need to get my sh*t together and focus on career, but another part is like I wanna go and do my second year now before it's too late. I'll be at uni for 4 years. I don't even know if I would travel after. So it feels like this is the final of my youth! Oh the pressure... lol
I mean this is a great problem to have. Uni or travel. What a privilege!
I guess I'm kind of talking to myself here trying to decide but I just can't and it's driving me crazy.

One thing I will say is that uni will always be here. My best friend is 33 and just started her uni course. People have a change of career at any point in their life, it happens.
What won't always be here is our youth and freedom from responsibity.
Who knows when we'll be married and tied down.
It's easy to feel like you gotta have a career at a certain age because that's what everyone else is doing.
But also, one of my friends died this year and that really gave me a perspective on what's truly important in life. And comparing yourself to others isn't one of them.
We're probably never going to feel 100% ready to commit to uni because life doesn't work that way, you just take the plunge.

So I would love to know what you decide on doing! Please let me know
I'm going crazy thinking about this myself and it would be nice to speak to someone else!

All the best xx