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University is for the elite..
What do you think?
In your opinion, should general attitudes to higher/further education change?
In your opinion, should general attitudes to higher/further education change?
Scroll to see replies
pinkypants
What do you think?
In your opinion, should general attitudes to higher/further education change?
In your opinion, should general attitudes to higher/further education change?
I think you should stick around here and listen to some of the **** spoken on this forum. You'll soon rid yourself of any foolish notions linking elitism (of mind anyway) with a university education.
Reply 2
Ha!! University is for the elite?! No i think elite universities are for the elite. one of my good friends is going to university with one D at A-level and about 5 poor GCSEs. Kids these days have the perception that going to any university will increase their earnings in the future - however anyone with some sense will realise that this is just an unfounded myth. i am at the LSE doing a worthwhile degree, so I can earn a lot of money, but doing a useless degree at a useless university is just a waste of time and money.
it makes much more sense if you do not excel academically to go into trades, for example plumbing or building, because you can end up making a mint doing those with no brains in your head.
I blame the Government for their "we want 50% of the population to be university educated" proposal, and i criticise the pay-as-you-learn system in 6th forms - they are just encouraging kids to stay in education doing no work, just to earn money off the Government.
sorry for the rant
, ollie.
it makes much more sense if you do not excel academically to go into trades, for example plumbing or building, because you can end up making a mint doing those with no brains in your head.
I blame the Government for their "we want 50% of the population to be university educated" proposal, and i criticise the pay-as-you-learn system in 6th forms - they are just encouraging kids to stay in education doing no work, just to earn money off the Government.
sorry for the rant
, ollie.
ollie - i agree 100%
sort of - i don't think kids always go to uni for the extra money at the end, some of them are pressured in to it or go to follow their friends
also, people often don't know what to do when they finish A-levels because of limited work experience - university is an obvious next step
make it a 97% aggree
sort of - i don't think kids always go to uni for the extra money at the end, some of them are pressured in to it or go to follow their friends
also, people often don't know what to do when they finish A-levels because of limited work experience - university is an obvious next step
make it a 97% aggree
Reply 6
I am inclined to agree with Ollie. Academic ability is one trait on which elitism should be accepted to a degree. People who come away from school with a D, an E and a fail (for example) should not expect to walk into a place at University. People who are not especially academic are not destined to be failures - look at the likes of Bill Gates or Richard Branson. The way in which the government is pushing people through Uni as though it's going to cure all the ills in society is crazy. The policy is more likely to make failures of people who would otherwise have gone into a job somewhere else. A degree is only worth as much as the effort and ability put into it.
A further issue which doesn't help is the impression that white-collar jobs are unavailable to people without a degree. This is utter rubbish, if you leave school with two very low passes at A Level but have charisma and "people-skills" (which a lot of people leaving with 6 A grades might not have) there will always be the need in the work-market for people like you. Equality is all very well, but the government should realise that not everyone is equal in the same things. I can write an essay and make a clear argument better than your average mechanic, but I'd be pretty useless at fixing a broken-down car. Both skills are important, but when I am stuck on some dodgy B-road at 4 am one morning I might well wish I had the latter.
A further issue which doesn't help is the impression that white-collar jobs are unavailable to people without a degree. This is utter rubbish, if you leave school with two very low passes at A Level but have charisma and "people-skills" (which a lot of people leaving with 6 A grades might not have) there will always be the need in the work-market for people like you. Equality is all very well, but the government should realise that not everyone is equal in the same things. I can write an essay and make a clear argument better than your average mechanic, but I'd be pretty useless at fixing a broken-down car. Both skills are important, but when I am stuck on some dodgy B-road at 4 am one morning I might well wish I had the latter.
Universities are severely becoming increasingly cash strapped. It would be much better to shut down the bottom ten underperforming 'universities' [for lack of a better word for these places 
] and rechannel the otherwise wasted money to improve the other unis as a whole.
That and get rid of the useless degrees nowadays that seem to be appearing.
] and rechannel the otherwise wasted money to improve the other unis as a whole.That and get rid of the useless degrees nowadays that seem to be appearing.
Howard
I think you should stick around here and listen to some of the **** spoken on this forum. You'll soon rid yourself of any foolish notions linking elitism (of mind anyway) with a university education.
Yeah..especially from a supposed "Oxford grad" who can't spell ehhhhhhhhhhh Howard...ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Oh yeah, you still have to hook me up with good jobs that pay well without working long hours!
SlyPie
lol ridiculous.
GOOD universities are for the elite--the academic elite that is.
Practically everyone has access to university; many just don't take advantage of it.
GOOD universities are for the elite--the academic elite that is.
Practically everyone has access to university; many just don't take advantage of it.
Also, the money released from closing say, the bottom 10 unis could be used to increased bursaries and financial assistance for low-income students wanting to go to the better unis
I think that university should be only for academically bright people rather than the current situation in which in trying to force 50% of people into higher education which is devaluing all degrees.
I also think too many people go to university to enjoy themselves and see work as something that merely gets in the way of their intentions.
I also think too many people go to university to enjoy themselves and see work as something that merely gets in the way of their intentions.
Reply 12
im not the sharpest tool in the shed, by all accounts. I come from a low income area in an industrial town where few people go to uni. I'll be the first in my family to go. The university im going to isnt top of the leagues, and the course im doing is considered to be 'mickey mouse' by the self professed academia. i wouldnt be categorised as your 'elite' in any respect.
I worked damned hard to get where i am, I got ABBC at A level, and i have every right to reap the rewards.
I worked damned hard to get where i am, I got ABBC at A level, and i have every right to reap the rewards.
Reply 14
Remmy
im not the sharpest tool in the shed, by all accounts. I come from a low income area in an industrial town where few people go to uni. I'll be the first in my family to go. The university im going to isnt top of the leagues, and the course im doing is considered to be 'mickey mouse' by the self professed academia. i wouldnt be categorised as your 'elite' in any respect.
I worked damned hard to get where i am, I got ABBC at A level, and i have every right to reap the rewards.
I worked damned hard to get where i am, I got ABBC at A level, and i have every right to reap the rewards.
Getting ABB (and a C in a fourth A Level) is WELL above average and I don't think people here who are contesting the amount of people going to Uni are talking about situations like yours. What subject and Uni is it? (If you want to say).
Reply 15
JonnyB
I wouldn't necessarily agree with that.
Yes, I was going to mention that. People who aren't doing academic subjects or working for a law firm don't lack a brain.
There are different types of intelligence. Besides when I worked in a bookstore we used to sell huge textbooks for plumbers and electricians and I assure you, someone without a brain would have difficulty memorising and applying all that material.Reply 16
I have no problem saying. Liverpool John Moores doing Media and Culture Studies
Im a bit annoyed that because im not doing history or english etc at oxford or cambridge, apparently I wont have a job at the end of it. Because im going to LJMU is the hard work for nothing?
edit: your last post sounded so condescending
unintentional i know lol
Im a bit annoyed that because im not doing history or english etc at oxford or cambridge, apparently I wont have a job at the end of it. Because im going to LJMU is the hard work for nothing?
edit: your last post sounded so condescending
unintentional i know lolReply 17
I felt that people viewed college as a more "elite" thing in the UK than in the US. In the US, when people say they couldn't afford to go to college we know they just don't want to go. There is financial aid, there are community colleges that award lower degrees, etc. You don't even need to have taken the SATs to get into these community colleges--they are basically grades 13 and 14 (US school ends at grade 12) but at least you can gain some skills. And there are universities that will take an 800 SAT score (out of 1600...sorry don't know the new scale since they changed it).
I go to Stanford, and nearly all of my friends (including myself) have part-time jobs. Most of these are relaxed on campus jobs in offices, but still...it is considered normal to work for extra income as a student. I actually don't need the money, but I prefer not to ask my parents for $$ so I have a job. At the equivalent universities in the UK (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, etc.) barely anyone works! I was at Oxford for 6 months and with the exception of the few students who worked in the Magdalen bar there was almost no employment. That makes it more elite because a poorer student who needs to work will have a hard time doing so. The lecturers aren't trying to accommodate you if you need to work during the week. In the US, there is a form of federal financial aid called work-study that actually requires students to work as part of the plan, so the universities have to be understanding.
So in terms of social class and income level...I think top universities in the UK are more elite than top universities in the US. Which is funny given how much cheaper it is to attend university in the UK on paper.
I go to Stanford, and nearly all of my friends (including myself) have part-time jobs. Most of these are relaxed on campus jobs in offices, but still...it is considered normal to work for extra income as a student. I actually don't need the money, but I prefer not to ask my parents for $$ so I have a job. At the equivalent universities in the UK (Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, etc.) barely anyone works! I was at Oxford for 6 months and with the exception of the few students who worked in the Magdalen bar there was almost no employment. That makes it more elite because a poorer student who needs to work will have a hard time doing so. The lecturers aren't trying to accommodate you if you need to work during the week. In the US, there is a form of federal financial aid called work-study that actually requires students to work as part of the plan, so the universities have to be understanding.
So in terms of social class and income level...I think top universities in the UK are more elite than top universities in the US. Which is funny given how much cheaper it is to attend university in the UK on paper.
Reply 18
Remmy
I have no problem saying. Liverpool John Moores doing Media and Culture Studies
Im a bit annoyed that because im not doing history or english etc at oxford or cambridge, apparently I wont have a job at the end of it. Because im going to LJMU is the hard work for nothing?
edit: your last post sounded so condescending unintentional i know lol
Im a bit annoyed that because im not doing history or english etc at oxford or cambridge, apparently I wont have a job at the end of it. Because im going to LJMU is the hard work for nothing?
edit: your last post sounded so condescending
unintentional i know lolThere you go, I'm a condescending git - might be going to a pretty good Uni but that's hardly going to stand me in good stead when a potential employer finds out about my condescending nature.
I'm not going to Oxford or Cambridge to study English or History by the way.
Reply 19
im generalising 
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