You might have heard over the last month the stat that more than 50% of all young people are now heading off to uni, proving it’s as popular a future pathway choice as ever. No real surprise there.
And in lots of ways, that’s a great thing. It finally meets the government target set nearly 20 years ago. More young people are coming out of education with higher level qualifications like HNC/Ds and foundation, undergrad and postgrad degrees. And like we’ve said before, stats show that graduates earn on average £10k a year more than their non-graduate counterparts. Also they’re less likely to face unemployment, too. So it’s looking pretty good. But it doesn’t mean there’s no downside to this steady increase in HE sign ups.
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Most people have some assumptions when it comes to uni, whether they have friends or family who have been before or not. And a lot of those will inevitably revolve around drinking.
Bargain basement uni bars, student clubbing nights with shots for £1, boozy society initiations, house/halls parties galore. It might seem like that’s all there is to the whole degree-earning business. Turns out, a whopping 79% of students are under the impression that ‘getting drunk is part of university culture’. Seems pretty inescapable. And although that’s not really true, and it’s perfectly doable to get through your uni years teetotal if that’s what floats your boat, the tide really does seem to be changing on the booze culture. Spending a semester abroad to study is an incredible opportunity that can change your life. It’s important to be aware of certain mistakes people make so that you can avoid them and make sure that your time abroad is as rewarding and exciting as it can be.
Procrastination can be a serious productivity killer. It can get you into all sorts of deadline troubles, leading to frantic keyboard tapping and energy drink fuelled all-nighters.
It’s not just you – besides the most diligent and proactive of us, we’re pretty much all in this together. Picture the High School Musical number, except none of us want to dance right now. Maybe later. So when the Independent reported on a uni student who blitzed through her dissertation project in a single night, mere hours before her deadline, we can’t say we weren’t a bit awe-struck. And incredibly stressed on her behalf. But still. Impressive. The sun’s (sort of) shining, but September is going to roll around quicker than you think. So if you’re moving away from home, start to consider who you might want to live with in the next academic year.
Going to uni for the first time? If you’re moving into halls as a fresher, no need to worry about picking a roommate. That’s all done for you. Granted, they may not be your dream roomie – most unis try to at least do some sort of compatibility matching when they lump people in together, but it’s rudimentary at best and no one expects everyone in a flat or hall to be besties. 90% of apprentices in England stayed on in employment after completing their qualification; 71% with the same employer (so says the Government). That's great news, but if you're considering degree-level apprenticeships at a college or a university (yes really), you'll need to know the realities of them. In short, they are just like level 3 (advanced) apprenticeships: quality of skills on offer, healthy balance between course/work, wage paid and no guarantee of a full-time job at the end of the course.
There's 3 other factors that are huge, which the company funding the apprenticeship will rarely mention, particularly for apprenticeships at degree level: the brutal level of competition, the ease of access from you geographically, and most importantly of all: your genuine level of passion for what they offer (a mix of your curiosity, attitude, what you want from life, and your motivation). Never heard of the Access to HE Diploma? It’s a Level 4 HND qualification specifically designed to help students who don’t have traditional qualifications like A Levels or Scottish Highers to get into university or other higher education.
If you’ve been raised on high quality cooking from the Michelin-star kitchen of mum and dad, the idea of going out into the world (and supermarket) on your own might be a scary one. With a little bit of planning and some help from your pals at Push, it really doesn’t have to be.
The diet of a student or young person living away from home doesn't need to be all about takeaways and meal deals. For one, that’s pretty damn expensive on the regular, even with student discount and Two for Tuesdays. It’s also not too kind on your insides. There are some great healthy living life hacks to stay fit and well-fed on a student budget, and it doesn’t involve getting the train home every weekend for a roast and a week’s worth of frozen meals. La La Land! Wait…
For lots of people, an offer for a place at Oxbridge (either Oxford University of Cambridge University), two of the most highly esteemed educational institutions in the world, would be reason to be up shouting from the rooftops. But here at Push, we’re the first to say that there is no “perfect” university, no uni is the “best”. Trust us, ignore the league tables. It’s all about what’s right for you as a person, how you learn, what type of city or town you’d like to live in, whether you care about sport societies or film societies or pole fitness, Doctor Who or Quidditch. Every university offers something different, and student Anoushka Mutanda Dougherty has found just that. Anoushka, interviewed by the BBC over her uni search and applications, was offered a place at Cambridge University to study History. One of the biggest steps when you’re leaving home to go to university is deciding what to take with you. You may find you need to go out and buy a load of new items for your new life! It can feel overwhelming when you’re moving away from home for an extended period of time but there’s definitely no need to panic. With careful planning, you can make sure you’ve got all the essential items you need for your new life! Our ultimate university packing list is here to get you started.
In the world we live in, it’s increasingly more valuable to be as internationally minded as you possibly can.
And no, we don’t mean that you should be mixing up your weekly tikka masala order, and would be better off getting the occasional Chinese or Italian takeaway instead. Being internationally minded - where you’re open to different cultural behaviours and attitudes, and can embrace new ideas from beyond your bubble - is a crucial and invaluable attribute. If you try to put your finger on the education background of someone in a senior position in the government, chances are a few things would spring to mind.
Private school education, for starters. An Oxbridge degree would be no surprise. That’s what we’d all expect, right? Well, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner’s background might come as a bit of a shock to you. When everyone is telling you to make a choice on your future in school or college, it can feel like the most stressful time in the world. If you live to the average age of 81.5 years (in the UK), you'll make about 850,000,000 choices in that time...
As we like to say at Push, higher education isn’t for everyone. Different people have different strengths and this means different routes to their ideal careers.
Neither of my parents took academic routes into their jobs; In fact I was the very first member of my family to go to university. This may be the same for you and I agree, at first it may seem quite daunting, but you shouldn’t worry... We’re lucky that mental health awareness is ever improving, and the stigmas and taboos are slowly being lifted. But that doesn’t mean we live in a perfect mental health utopia, so it’s important to look out for yourself and plan ahead if uni’s in the cards for you.
One of the most important things to do if you suffer with your mental health is to look out for universities who have a strong support network for students and their mental health issues. It might be shocking to know, but 4 out of 5 people between the ages of 18 and 21 know someone who has experienced a mental health problem. A quarter of all people in the same age group are worried about the mental health of someone their age.
And, according to the NUS, among students, it’s an even more critical issue. 63% of university counselling services have reported an increase in psychological distress among students. If you’ve just started uni, chances are the fresher events are still coming at you thick and fast. Your student union will make sure that the fun events keep coming throughout the year, but make the most of this exciting time, when your studies aren’t proving too stressful and there’s lots to do.
Summer is well underway – we’ve broken into August now. You’ve had a heatwave (or six), you’ve had a long time to relax with the long academic year behind you now. Now’s the time to wipe the Mr. Whippy from your mouth and get yourself back into gear.
With not much more than a month left before schools and colleges start up again, you’re running out of time to make the most of your remaining freedom. Take it from us: if you’re thinking of heading to uni, the best investment of your time is to visit as many as you can in the upcoming weeks. These can be local unis if that’s the area you want to stay in, or they can be further afield. Once results are in on Thursday, you have four options — two if you got the grades you wanted, and two if you didn't:
If you got the grades you wanted: Thumbs up, round of applause, pat on the back, etc. Your two options are: You might have heard in the news lately that lots of people are talking about a thing called “unconditional offers”. In terms of UCAS applications, this means a university you have applied for has read your application and decided they like you enough to offer you a place right away, no matter the grades you get at the end of the year.
Beware though, the word “unconditional” might be misleading. In this sense, an unconditional offer might be (ironically) on the condition that you make the university in question your firm choice, essentially ditching all of your other options. If you’re the type to like a sure-bet, who maybe doesn’t perform their best under exam stress and who would really be happier all-round to know they have a guaranteed university place waiting for them, this could be a really great thing. But it is absolutely not the best option for everyone. Listen to us when we say: do not feel pressured into making a university your firm choice. By anyone. Do you know your bops from your balls? Or your CATS from your CUKAS?
Heading into the world of higher education can be like learning a new language – there's more jargon than you can shake a soc at. That's why we've created this handy glossary of all the weird and wonderful terms academics like to use. Let Push be your guide. You'll need us. Honestly, it's a jungle out there. Think you’ve missed the boat if you don’t head straight from college to uni? These days, that can’t be any further from the case. The stereotypical student may be late teens, early 20s, but the world of higher education is opening up more and more to mature students from all ages.
Studying abroad isn’t for everyone.
For one? It ain’t cheap. There are lots of options to help with the cost, but one way or another you’ll have to be saving your pennies in the summer up to your time away. You’ll really regret it if you don’t. It’s also not easy, and requires a lot of dedication. The process is a little smoother if you want to study in Europe, but places like North America and Asia have strict visa regulations, and that almost certainly means making the trek to London to visit an embassy. Not much fun, there. Are you a budding musician, singer or songwriter? Thinking the uni route is the one for you, but you’re not sure how useful an academic course would be in such a hands on, experience-based industry?
Well, Manchester Met might have the dream course for you. As a nation of young people raised on social media and the spotlight surrounding its many “influencers”, it’s no wonder that social celebs have made household names for themselves. They’re trusted. And they know it. So it’s no wonder that social media celebs have come under fire over the past few weeks because of some shady ad endorsements.
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