Should I Go To University?

[Samuel Garcia]

Got finals coming up in a few weeks so I'm preparing  for them. I just wonder is it worth going university. Some advice I have got is go to university only if your career requires it or needs a state license such as studying Medicine, Engineering, Law etc. I don't intend to do any of those though. I applied for developmental economics because I thought I could make a real difference to the world with this but I have kind of lost passion this year.

What I really got fed up with is the work during this final year of high school. I feel like the things I learnt were not useful in life and I don't want to spend the next 3 or 4 years doing work which feels a little useless to my life. The cost for university and accommodation is putting me off too a little. In the UK it is about £9000 (about $13000) for each year and a few grand extra for accommodation. The government give loan to cover the £9000 but I would rather not have to be in debt since I feel I might lose motivation during the year.

Any advice? Would the life purpose course be useful as I haven't purchased it? Thanks

Edited June 6, 2016 by Samuel Garcia

[key]

Honest short answer. 

No, you shouldn't go. Your life has the potential to be way more fulfilling without it.

[Samuel Garcia]

@Kenya Why? Did you go to university?

[key]

@Samuel Garcia

No I didn't go to university, but you've already outlined quite a few distasteful qualities of going for yourself.

Dont want to waste time on something that's not your life passion?

Dont want to indebted yourself to a government system?

Dont want to have a major path of your life laid out for you to walk right into, essentially trapping yourself for a few years?

Dont go to university. Pursue life, actualize yourself.

Although there is always another side to every story, it may be more beneficial in the end and you might end up going anyways, but from what I've picked up I don't think that's the case.

I've heard from many Leo's life purpose course is great, it can give the tools to build something foundational.

best wishes

[jes]

21 hours ago, Samuel Garcia said:

Got finals coming up in a few weeks so I'm preparing  for them. I just wonder is it worth going university. Some advice I have got is go to university only if your career requires it or needs a state license such as studying Medicine, Engineering, Law etc. I don't intend to do any of those though. I applied for developmental economics because I thought I could make a real difference to the world with this but I have kind of lost passion this year.

What I really got fed up with is the work during this final year of high school. I feel like the things I learnt were not useful in life and I don't want to spend the next 3 or 4 years doing work which feels a little useless to my life. The cost for university and accommodation is putting me off too a little. In the UK it is about £9000 (about $13000) for each year and a few grand extra for accommodation. The government give loan to cover the £9000 but I would rather not have to be in debt since I feel I might lose motivation during the year.

Any advice? Would the life purpose course be useful as I haven't purchased it? Thanks

Hi , focus on your exam right now , after that take some break to clearly think how to proceed with your life , don't rush in some decision specially if its career ,life purpose , I went university and I passed with flying colors , I am studying further to get masters , for me to get into university was negative motivation , but not my masters , in search of my purpose , I keep on going , no matter what , now when i study its not for grades its for knowledge, so i study extra books , which may or may not be related to my field, but i feel well developed , One more thing, don't get attachment with just one idea eg.economics etc , be open and see , in one of Leo's video he mentioned that , taste , so after exam, go out and taste whatever comes your way ,and do meditation to have clear mind to see what you actually want, truly speaking i am not against university or higher education 

All the best

[Samuel Garcia]

@jes Thanks a lot. I find that dedicating life to university is a little off putting. The universities say you should spend up to 6 to 8 hours a day studying your course but I just don't like getting tied down doing work which I would have little passion for. It is a little risky I think if I go. In the UK you kind of have to choose one and stick with it. I'm not sure how it works in other countries.

One major thing which is making me want to go to university is the fact you meet a lot of people. I think this is actually the main factor for me to go to university since I have struggled to find friends which I can establish a deep connection with. A lot of people say there are so many different people you meet at university and the friends you meet there become your life long friends. I just imagine establishing deep connections which last decades -- it really pushes me to go. But we must remember in the end we go to university to get a degree.  

Edited June 6, 2016 by Samuel Garcia

[Saarah]

@Samuel Garcia you're right, the only time you need to go to university is if it's a field you can't get into without it.

I heard someone say something very interesting which is that university was built during the times when information wasn't as easily accessible. Today we have all kinds of books and courses and information we can take to build and develop a skill to use without it costing as much as uni. If you had £27000 (the minimum uni payment needed for uni for three years) to invest in that sort of material rather than uni, I believe the value you'd receive would be 100 if not thousands fold. It's definitely a rip-off. Because at uni the skills you learn are hardly relevant or applicable and so much time is wasted on testing and random unimportant details of that kind, your energies are best invested into making something that counts. 

the mentality that uni and academics today breeds is to go through textbook repetitive learning and get a 9-5, and you don't even have to be that good at your job because it's only about the hours you put in and not your performance.

In the 4 hour work week book, Tim mentions how you could do some of the things you have to do in a 9-5 in like a couple hours and achieve much better results, but your wage would probably decrease because your employer would not be happy that you were not in the office doing something during those 9-5 hours. These days jobs are about hours not performance and that is a massive waste of time.

Another issue with uni is, at this time of life when you're young, you can't really have had much experience of the world meaning most of us haven't figured out our passion. This means for the meantime we need to focus on making money and yet have the freedom to also figure out our passion so we can work on that. I think uni makes you go into something and then it's deadlock, you're stuck in that field and because of debt you feel you need a 9-5. I think if you look up being a passive income entrepreneur, make your money for now and then you'll have freedom to figure out your passion.

The good thing about uni loans in uk is they don't affect anything and they get written off at a point, it doesn't really work in the same way as other debts do that are more problematic, but definitely paying them is such a waste of time and money. Only invest in something where the value exceeds the initial payment even if that value manifests some time in the future. Investing in education is good, but I'd prefer online courses that can generate much bigger results than uni for a much cheaper price. 

I've finished my first year of uni, and coming from first hand experience it is useless, my expectations were that because I was being taught by professionals in this field, I'd get so much value, but taking one example a lecturer just copy and pasted everything from a textbook I borrow free in the library onto a PowerPoint... Nice ??