University or apprenticeship?

Is the apprenticeship something you would enjoy? What level is the apprenticeship? And what are the prospects and earning potential once you've qualified compared to what you could realistically expect if you stick with your degree?

Ok so if you think you will enjoy this and are happy that it's a decent career put your application in and see what happens. What have you got to lose? It'll be a while before the interview and by that time you will have had a bit more time to decide whether the university you are going to is for you or not.
I agree with you about the financial and work experience advantages of an apprenticeship as long as you think the longer term prospects are comparable.
Good luck.

Hey guys. I need some advice. So I have been at university for a week and I love the city and the course but for some reason I don’t feel happy and sometimes hate it. I think about coming home everyday and I really miss my hometown. I can’t see myself lasting the year here at university.
Furthermore I have found an apprenticeship in my home town and if I go for this then I can live at home and earn good money as the salary is like £25,000. What do you all think though? The deadline for applying for this apprenticeship is the 3rd October.

I'd deffo go for it.
You get to go back to your hometown which you are missing. You get to earn money whilst working towards a qualification. Your employer pays for the qualification. No student debt. Gain experience. Get to work your way up in future.

Hey. So I ended up deciding to stay at uni till Christmas to see how it goes because I felt in my gut feeling to stay on. So far I am mostly happy with my decision. I don’t miss my hometown as much now. However there are still a few cons. My so called mates at uni (only 2/3) seem really nice but the majority of the time I speak to them is only about uni work and it feels like I am being taken advantage of in that aspect. And I failed one of my uni assignments (I tried my best) so now I am wondering if I made the right decision by waiting till Christmas. (However I got 60 percent on the other so I am happy in that sense). Just have to go give it 3 weeks and then go with my gut feeling,

There are pros and cons with most things in life. Probably if you went down another route there would be too.
Are there any sports or other activities you are interested in and could get involved with at the university? That might be a good way to make friends.

That is true. I have a feeling that had I dropped out of university that I would have had some regret. For example, I would have had to move back in with my parents which I do not want.
To answer your question, I honestly don’t know what is available since I really have not looked into the activities and sports available but there would be things I like if available (such as Badminton).

I think if you make the effort to get involved then it'll pay dividends for you.

I will definitely try and get involved and make more friends because my so called mates at uni, we only speak when it’s to do with the work.

I did my degree as an apprentice, but uni student union and societies were still the highlight for me. You’re missing out big time!

I did hiking and salsa long term because they were super social, but they had badminton and most sports.

They usually have “give it a go’s” (GIAG’s) at the start of the academic years. It’s a good time to try lots of new things and see what you enjoy.

Did u get free time to do some of the uni stuff as well during ur apprenticeship?

I went to uni 1 day a week, so if uni wasn’t open (training day or school holidays) I got that day as a uni revision day at work. They also gave me some additional revision hours near exam time.

Aside from that, the majority of assignment work was done evenings and weekends.
I did the society social stuff on evenings or weekends too.

ahh that coool. Soo do u recommend degree apprenticeships over standard UNi?

You sound basically homesick and using that to justify your other decisions. Moving back home might sound comforting but ultimately you are avoiding taking responsibility for yourself. You will always regret not going to university and getting a degree even if you did manage to create a life by means of an apprenticeship. To a large degree apprenticeship are for those who might struggle in academic environments and this is reflected in the entry requirements. If you have worked hard to achieve good A level results it is perhaps wasting all that achievement and hard work to not celebrate going on into more academic study. Give uni more time at least an academic year. If after that you still feel despondent then apply for apprenticeships next November.

I wouldn't say degree apprenticeships are for ppl who struggle in academia but it for people who see the benefit of working and studying.

Yeah it’s not true at all, I finished mine with 4 academic publications.

For me, a degree apprenticeship meant I had more access to industry professionals, worked on real world problems that had meaningful impact, personal and more frequent mentoring, modern equipment, and fully licensed software.

Saying that, I was lucky to get a very good employer.