Fear of missing out by not going to uni

I’m in my second year of college and I’ve decided I am not going to apply for university and instead I have been looking for apprenticeships. I think I’ve made the right decision by this as there were no courses I wanted to take in uni and I didn’t want to just go for the sake of it and be left with an absurd amount of debt and a degree I have no interest in. But I am already starting to get fomo since all of my friends are going and have been talking about their plans for it. I went for a night out on one of the student nights in a city and now I can’t help but think I am going to be missing out on a major part of life. I definitely feel like I would love the social part of university, but I know it isn’t for me. I feel like I’m falling behind everyone else, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to make new friends/ have a social life if I am going into full time work.
If anyone has had a similar experience/ currently going through a similar thing please can I have some advice on how to deal with this thought. Thank you!!

Reply 1

Brownies1234

10

Original post by rolling-teller

I’m in my second year of college and I’ve decided I am not going to apply for university and instead I have been looking for apprenticeships. I think I’ve made the right decision by this as there were no courses I wanted to take in uni and I didn’t want to just go for the sake of it and be left with an absurd amount of debt and a degree I have no interest in. But I am already starting to get fomo since all of my friends are going and have been talking about their plans for it. I went for a night out on one of the student nights in a city and now I can’t help but think I am going to be missing out on a major part of life. I definitely feel like I would love the social part of university, but I know it isn’t for me. I feel like I’m falling behind everyone else, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to make new friends/ have a social life if I am going into full time work.
If anyone has had a similar experience/ currently going through a similar thing please can I have some advice on how to deal with this thought. Thank you!!

Your feelings about this are absolutely valid - I am also planning to pursue an apprenticeship instead of uni and completely get it! It's true that the workload will be quite a lot for an apprenticeship vs uni since you'll be working and studying at the same time so you may fall out of touch with some existing friends but the ones that are good enough and care enough to stick around will! The way I choose to think about it is that even though you may not have uni friends, you'll make friends in the workplace and be able to socialise and go to work events (and meet up outside of work) with your colleagues/other apprentices - and if you do choose to work there then you will still get to see all your friends on a daily basis after completing the apprenticeship, unlike with uni where you may not keep in touch with your friends after the years there.

Here's a direct part of a linkedin post from a current degree apprentice (about myths about apprenticeships) that really reassured me a while ago:
"1. Degree apprentices have no social life 🥂 This is a big one. “University is the best time of your life; you don’t want to miss out!”. But as a degree apprentice, you'll get plenty of opportunities to socialise. You’ll attend firm-wide events, department socials, team dinners and informal networking events. Most firms also have societies and clubs you can join. And of course, you’ll build relationships with other apprentices in your cohort."

I hope this helps! :smile:

Reply 2

bluegray

14

Original post by rolling-teller

I’m in my second year of college and I’ve decided I am not going to apply for university and instead I have been looking for apprenticeships. I think I’ve made the right decision by this as there were no courses I wanted to take in uni and I didn’t want to just go for the sake of it and be left with an absurd amount of debt and a degree I have no interest in. But I am already starting to get fomo since all of my friends are going and have been talking about their plans for it. I went for a night out on one of the student nights in a city and now I can’t help but think I am going to be missing out on a major part of life. I definitely feel like I would love the social part of university, but I know it isn’t for me. I feel like I’m falling behind everyone else, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to make new friends/ have a social life if I am going into full time work.
If anyone has had a similar experience/ currently going through a similar thing please can I have some advice on how to deal with this thought. Thank you!!

i was in the same position last year but starting a degree apprenticeship was the best decision i've made because honestly i would have regretted going to uni. It is true that you probably won't be going out every night like a student might but you can still live the student life on weekends. You will still have loads of friends bc you'll get uni friends (from the degree part) and then workplace friends aswell. Can't speak for all companies but some do still offer social life activities and groups. I know at my place there are graduates that try to organises night out experiences for apprentices (haven't been so don't know how good they are). With all your friends talking about uni it does feel a bit like your missing out on the convo now but honestly there's really no point to going to uni for the sake of it. Also there are still houseshare opportunities for apprentices that are moving so in that aspect you can still live the student social life with housemates. Good luck with whichever you decide

Reply 3

Underscore_or

9

Try to apply with an apprenticeship that’s with a university within your area , you might have access to uni societies that you can join and meet new people etc . You can also join the uni Facebook groups , go to the uni library and connect with other students and connect with your current year or above students that are studying similar subjects as your apprenticeship. You can easily be included in freshers week etc . When I was in first year uni there were quite a lot of ppl might age that were in a a lot of freshers / parties and clubs we weren’t studying in my specific uni but still enjoyed the “uni life “

Reply 4

Underscore_or

9

Original post by Underscore_or

Try to apply with an apprenticeship that’s with a university within your area , you might have access to uni societies that you can join and meet new people etc . You can also join the uni Facebook groups , go to the uni library and connect with other students and connect with your current year or above students that are studying similar subjects as your apprenticeship. You can easily be included in freshers week etc . When I was in first year uni there were quite a lot of ppl might age that were in a a lot of freshers / parties and clubs we weren’t studying in my specific uni but still enjoyed the “uni life “

And join student halls maybe in your first year if your planning moving out

Fear of missing out by not going to uni

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