Does anyone regret Uni choices and wish they went somewhere 'better'?

Please keep anon, I don't want to be ********* for this!

Well I do. I wish I'd applied to Oxbridge and maybe the good London Uni's. Don't get me wrong the Uni I'm going to is quite good-I'm not looking for praise or confirmation of its goodness or anything, I'm just bummed that I didn't apply for the best and internationally renowned universities. But then again I hear Oxbridge is dull, does anyone else wish they'd strove higher?
Now I feel bad because my school is constantly praising the people who got into 'better' uni's and the rest of us plebs are just supposed to listen to the teachers fawning all over the Chosen Ones.

Reply 1

letsallpaintthetownred

4

Hmm I've only just finished my GCSEs, but at my school literally half my year are aiming for oxbridge when only a handful will make it. According to what I've read for certain subjects some unis are miles ahead of Oxbridge but are yet to be appreciated.

Make the most of what you have, you never know, in 20 years time your uni could be top 5 and you can boast about it :smile:

Reply 2

Coy Girl

10

I think what I regret is more not checking that the course was what I wanted, and that the university and subject was right for me, rather than wishing I had gone somewhere 'better'. It's not the best feeling when you think you've probably spent three years doing the wrong degree. I wouldn't worry too much about prestige, it's not the be all and end all.

Reply 3

Wyrd14

9

No. The university I attended as an undergrad was exactly right for me at the time. Only one girl from my school got into Oxford: she graduated with a 2:2 and gave up on her dream of being an academic. I think she's working as a librarian now.

Reply 4

timetokill

13

Well, im relatively happy where I am, but I know now 2 years down the line that I could have gone somewhere much more renowned both in the UK and internationally based on the grades I got. (assuming I got the offers in the first place that is)

When I was applying for University I knew nothing about it, I was doing my application a week before the deadline because my college was forcing me to (It was compulsorary at my college) and before then I had no interest in going to uni at all. No one else in my family had ever been, so like I said I knew nothing about it and just applied for unis pretty much at random in the end.

I Applied for 2 unis which arent ranked very highly at all (think 60s 70s on most league tables) 2 that are kind of mid ranking OK unis, and then Leicester (not DMU) which is very good, good or OK depending on who you ask. I ended up going to Leicester, but with my grades had I known anything about unis id have made more of an informed choice and maybe gone somewhere else. Not oxbridge because Ive never had any desire to go there at all, but perhaps UCL or somewhere like that.

Reply 5

letsallpaintthetownred

4

Wyrd14

No. The university I attended as an undergrad was exactly right for me at the time. Only one girl from my school got into Oxford: she graduated with a 2:2 and gave up on her dream of being an academic. I think she's working as a librarian now.

Woah poor girl.
Anyhows my dad says when he hires people a degree begins to become irrelevent once they've started to gain experience, going to Oxford will not make you excel at a particular job.

Reply 6

serrellen

11

I understand about this, not that it was a problem I had but I very very nearly didn't apply to either of Cambridge or LSE and it ended up with one as my firm and one my insurance. I think general fear of rejection can push people into under-achieving in the universities they apply to unless they have someone at home or school or a friend or whatever reminding them that they are good enough, really!

But don't linger on it. Because you also don't need a top 10 university degree to do most things and it is in no way some magical "key" that will guarantee a rosy future.

Reply 7

ttx

13

timetokill

I ended up going to Leicester, but with my grades had I known anything about unis id have made more of an informed choice and maybe gone somewhere else. Not oxbridge because Ive never had any desire to go there at all, but perhaps UCL or somewhere like that.

If you could go back in time, how would you convince your former self that it was worth looking into unis more ?

Reply 8

emmie19

12

Anonymous

Please keep anon, I don't want to be ********* for this!

Well I do. I wish I'd applied to Oxbridge and maybe the good London Uni's. Don't get me wrong the Uni I'm going to is quite good-I'm not looking for praise or confirmation of its goodness or anything, I'm just bummed that I didn't apply for the best and internationally renowned universities. But then again I hear Oxbridge is dull, does anyone else wish they'd strove higher?
Now I feel bad because my school is constantly praising the people who got into 'better' uni's and the rest of us plebs are just supposed to listen to the teachers fawning all over the Chosen Ones.

So? I want to have a life too lol... my dad went to Warwick for Maths, but he worked harder then me :p:

Plus a 2.1 should be easier to gain :eek3:

Reply 9

sleed

Nope, I dont wish for a second that I applied to higher ranked unis. I dont think I could cope with the pressure. :| Its bad enough at the moment worrying that I'll get 3 B's and get in, let alone 3 A's!

Reply 10

timetokill

13

ttx

If you could go back in time, how would you convince your former self that it was worth looking into unis more ?

I dont know that I would tbh, im not sure that was where the issue was. I have never had any experience of University within my family, and I until quite recently never had a clue what I wanted to do career wise so it was never really an option id considered until it was forced upon me.

If anything, I wish that college had put more effort into encouraging us to research for ourselves and given us more information about the whole procedure and our options. It was the fact that I was going into the application process blind that I didnt take too much interest I think.

If id known everything I know now (ie all the stuff I picked up along the way that could have been taught/told to us) then id have been far more interested.

Reply 11

Apfel

12

I'm applying in a few months and I'm thinking of putting a lower ranking university as my firm instead of a 'prestigious' one (if I get offers from both.) Hopefully I won't regret this.

Reply 12

robocop1andahalf

18

Coy Girl

I think what I regret is more not checking that the course was what I wanted, and that the university and subject was right for me, rather than wishing I had gone somewhere 'better'. It's not the best feeling when you think you've probably spent three years doing the wrong degree. I wouldn't worry too much about prestige, it's not the be all and end all.

Yep, I relate. Where I went (Leicester) is pretty darn good in most subjects, especially laws and sciences and perhaps English and History but a bit non-existant in some areas such as langauages and I was stuck in a department that felt like dead wood with zero enthusiasm from most staff and students. I often find myself wishing I put more effort into my A-levels and took the uni applying more seriously and may have gone somewhere with a language department that actually was more credible.

Reply 13

La Esmerelda

17

Apfel

I'm applying in a few months and I'm thinking of putting a lower ranking university as my firm instead of a 'prestigious' one (if I get offers from both.) Hopefully I won't regret this.

what uni's are they?

Reply 14

Apfel

12

La Esmerelda

what uni's are they?

Swansea > Birmingham.

It's not exactly an amazing world class one, but it is a redbrick. :p:

Reply 15

miz_perfecto

yeh i think i could have gotten into city of london :angry:

dammmit

Reply 16

Missmeem

9

I dunno, i got offers from Reading and Newcastle but accepted Chester as my firm. I wasn't thinking about how high up in ranking they all were, I just fell in love with Chester and the Uni itself. :P So i don't regret it at all :biggrin:

Reply 17

*Miss A*

no i'm the opposite...i kinda wish i'd applied for lower unis cos it doesn't seem like i'll be making the grades for the ones i wanted..!

Reply 18

ChemistBoy

16

My school fawned over people with Oxbridge offers too, tbh I find it rather pathetic looking back on it. All the people I know who went to Oxford or Cambridge are still part of the same rat race as the rest of us - they don't live a charmed life on a higher plane or anything, they get stuck in miserable dead-end jobs too.

Reply 19

megaduck

7

timetokill

When I was applying for University I knew nothing about it, I was doing my application a week before the deadline because my college was forcing me to (It was compulsorary at my college) and before then I had no interest in going to uni at all. No one else in my family had ever been, so like I said I knew nothing about it and just applied for unis pretty much at random in the end.

Yeah this was pretty much my situation too, only back in the days when there were no league tables or anything and if you didn't know people 'in the know' you hadn't really got much of a clue which were the good ones. Happily I got lucky and ended up at Warwick, but I don't pretend it was because of deep and informed consideration!

Does anyone regret Uni choices and wish they went somewhere 'better'?

Related discussions

Articles for you