There’s no denying the fact that university is getting more and more expensive.
It’s not just the eye-watering tuition fees and the massive accompanying loans that you know you’ll have to pay back eventually, it’s spiralling rents too.
So is it worth it?
We spotted an article in the Guardian about the dawn of free online university courses. Admittedly, they’re not degree courses, but they are being offered by 11 top UK universities in an attempt to compete with elite education providers in the United States.
Perhaps studying online could offer a cheaper alternative for future students.
Would you consider swapping the lecture theatre for the sitting room? Sacrificing the thrills and spills of a shared house for three more years chez mum and dad? Forgetting about the delights of sunny afternoons in a beer garden, varsity games and Wednesday nights at the Union bar? Thought not…
Yes, it’s horribly expensive, but university is about more than just your course and distance learning could never replace the friendships made, shots drunk, parties crashed, lectures missed and housemates kissed.
All that has to be worth working through your summer hols, waiting tables part-time, getting your dream job at the end of it all and spending a decade or three paying for? Doesn’t it?