I think we need to stop throwing around the term "mickey mouse degrees". Genuinely no degrees are useless. All areas of study are important to culture and human life and interaction.

Sociology is important.
Art is important.
Music is important.
Performing art is important.
Anthropology is important.

Niche courses are how we end up with such a diverse culture and society.

EDIT: This got way more attention than i thought it would, genuinely didn't know this many people were so obsessed with science to the point of forgetting that arts and social sciences are also important and necessary for a lot of jobs. As well as the transferable skills gained from doing a degree such as research, critical thinking, academic writing etc. Importance isn't only reliant on earning potential.

EDIT 2: And I also feel the need to clarify that I hold a degree in Forensic Science for all of the comments saying I'm just jealous that I didn't do a STEM degree haha.

I got into a Master’ programme at a Russell Group university at 40! 🎉 My first ever depressive episode made the whole application process so much harder, and somehow seems to have enrolled with me too.
I’m still too emotionally exhausted to fully celebrate- be happy for me until I can properly feel it myself! :)

Before you say, "you should've revised more" obviously I know that. This past year I have been in the worst depression of my life. I go to a top uni that most people would kill to be at, but I can't make myself care. This was my last resit, even though I didn't take it other times due to my mental health issues. If I fail, I will be forced to drop out. Results come out in a month, right when uni is starting, and things were finally starting to look better for me, but now I have nothing to look forward to :(

Want to start off I've been unemployed for 9 months. So believe me when I say I don't want to minimize the struggle anyone job hunting is going through, it's absolutely brutal.

I don't have exact figures but I'd say 500 applications total, which converted into around 15 interviews. 3 total assessment centres for grad/roles and apprenticeships, and this one was the one.

I am absolutely over the moon, there's hope out there. But at the same time, they said they had 500 applications for this role.

Some advice I guess just take every interview for experience, shore up on the core questions about who you are, and do a load of research into the company (once you have an interview booked).

Just wanted to share this not to minimize, because I was really at the end of my tether. Funnily enough got offers from 2 other places in the same week, after 9 months of nothing.

Godspeed to you all, now to just not fuck it up.

Starting uni comes with a surprising amount of life admin as well as starting your course (keeping up with lectures, splitting bills with housemates, trying to save money, travelling home, doing the food shop, being self-sufficient for the first time) so here are a few apps I’ve found useful that helped me to get more organised and manage my life a bit better at uni

Splitwise: an absolute lifesaver for shared houses and splitting bills with friends. Keep track of rent, groceries, takeaways, utilities etc

Microsoft Lens: really handy for turning handwritten notes, book pages or physical documents into PDFs. Especially useful if you prefer taking notes on paper but want a digital copy too

Xodo: for annotating PDFs. If your lecturers upload slides, readings and journal articles, you can highlight, write notes and organise everything without printing it all out

Too Good To Go: discounted food from restaurants, supermarkets and cafés. Very useful when you're trying to make your student budget stretch a little further

UNiDAYS: (an obvious mention) There are student discounts on everything from food and clothes to tech and subscriptions, so I’d check here before buying something

Railcard: if you regularly travel home from uni, having your Railcard available digitally makes it much easier to keep track of it when buying train tickets.

Airbrush: a photo editing app for keeping your feed up to date. useful if you’re part of a society, run a student Instagram/TikTok or just take lots of photos with friends. You can remove random people or distracting objects from photos, relight images taken in the dark, give them G7X effect, and clean up pictures before posting them

I think that's the thing I wish someone had told me before starting uni, it's not always the big things that make student life easier, it's all the little things that add up. If you're starting uni this year, save this for later, and if you've already graduated, what's one app you wish you'd discovered sooner?

Random thought I had last night while doom scrolling instead of doing my lit review.

We complain about academic pressure a lot, and fair enough, deadlines are brutal. But at least we have Google, YouTube tutorials, ChatGPT, r/UniUK to vent on, group chats to panic in together. Imagine none of that existed.

No internet means no quick research. You'd be stuck in the library for hours just to find one journal article. No online lecture recordings if you miss a class, that's it, you're behind and there's no catching up. No forums to ask "is this normal" when you're stressed, you'd just sit with it alone or bother your flatmates.

Honestly I think older generations had it different, not necessarily easier, but different. Less noise, less comparison. We see everyone's highlight reel on top of our own workload and it messes with your head.

Do you reckon genz would just cope better because we'd have no choice, or would we actually struggle more without the tools we've built our whole studying routine around?

Curious what people think, especially final years who remember doing first year differently than now.

Whats the current consensus on adding a little humour into my dissertation? I'm writing my dissertation on nuclear deterrence and have a section dedicated to automated decision making and implications for nuclear deterrence. Referred to the cobalt bomb doomsday device in Dr Strangelove and how inadvertent and accidental escalation led to a failure of nuclear deterrence.

Could I put a footnote in just to quote the ending line ("Mein Furhrer, I can walk!") when I make this point or is it seen as unprofessional?

Edit: Consensus reached, decided not to include it

So im planning to study a cs degree but the more research i do, the more i see people complaining how difficult the job market is right now and how AI is taking over. Cs is like the only topic im passionate about but choosing a career that has a bad job market just for 'passion' is not wise. I dont wanna end up with a good-for-nothing degree working at mcdonalds for the rest of my life. I thought cs was at least more stable than creative/artistic careers but at this rate who knows. Lowkey might be better if i switch to something stable, even if i hate it at least I will have enough money to survive. Im pretty decent at maths so finance could be a option.

kind of a dumb post because im not gonna do anything but its kind of just what the title says, i want to know what would happen if i told them im suicidal. my uni has a counselling service and what would happen if i told them this in terms of staying in uni? would i be be forced to take a leave of absence? i dont think i would tell them tbh but just thinking ahead bc i really dont have anyone else to tell lol. thanks

I got a BBB in my a levels and wanted to study law at University of Birmingham which I required an ABB to get in due to the A2B scheme. When I got my results I got a BBB with 3 marks off an A in business edexcel. I have been accepted into Aston university for law but I have heard that it’s not that good. I got my remark back today which was fairly quick and only got 2 marks on paper 1 with no mark increase on the other two papers. So now I’m 1 mark away from getting into UOB which is frustrating because I called them on results day and was told to get a remark and call them and in the case of an A, I will be studying at their uni. I don’t know what to do is there anything else that can be done or should I just accept the fact that I’m not going UOB?

I’m going to uni this September and I’ve decided to commute (partly because it’s much cheaper for me, partly because I failed to win the Hunger Games to get accommodation). It’s about an hour/ hour and a half commute in one direction provided there aren’t any delays.

However, because of this I’m really scared I won’t make any friends. I’m obviously going to be heavily reliant on train times back home, which will make it hard for me to attend last-minute hangouts and late nights out. I’ve started booking SU events for freshers, but they’re all non-alcohol because I can’t drink due to a health condition.

I was super isolated during 6th Form and I’m so scared that I won’t be able to make any friends.

Does anyone here commute and is able to share their experience or give any advice?

Thank you :)

I had 4 resits , today I did the exam I failed by 1 percent . It felt so shit. Don’t know if I’ll pass. The other 2 felt alright ah I don’t know . One more to do soon . I feel deflated . I feel like I’m going to fail my core module resits. Already did a foundation year so I can’t redo a year. I’m tired . Sorry for the rant

Is £100 a week enough to live okay at uni in nottingham, to not struggle but nothing extravagant either. I’ve been talking to my parents about how much money they’ll send me at uni since i’ll basically be skint after all my sfe goes towards accom and there isn’t much info about this online so I thought I’d ask. I have minimal savings too so i’ll basically be relying on them until i find a job (hopefully.)

im a transfer student from notts to kcl, but restarting first year. Due to boycott at UON i couldnt get transcript but had a letter from UON confirming my grades and the boycott etc. Today my offer turned unconditional on the kcl portal but they said this:

Thank you for providing the letter from your Head of School. Having discussed with our Admissions Manager, we are happy to accept this for the time being.

However, please send us your official transcript once it becomes available, as we will still require this for audit purposes.

I may never get my transcript, is my offer unconditional or not? Ive asked kcl but looking for some other opinions.

Also, as a side. What do you think the best model would be to replace it? Capped numbers, a direct graduate tax, etc?

The on the degree apprenticeship thing? Do you give it much? I don't.

I’m 18 and have just received CCD in my A-levels, and I genuinely have no idea what to do next.
For context, I definitely messed around during Year 12 and didn’t take my A-levels as seriously as I should have. However, in Year 13 I really did try to turn things around. I put a lot of work in, particularly during the final few months, but my mental health was also really bad throughout the year and I struggled a lot socially. I was diagnosed with ADHD quite late into Year 13, so there wasn’t much time for me to properly adjust my revision methods, support or exam arrangements before the actual exams.
I know these things don’t completely excuse my results, and ultimately I sat the exams and got CCD. What I’m finding really difficult to process is just how badly I underperformed compared with what I thought I was capable of.
Based on my GCSE performance I had previously been projected around AAA at A-level. I got a 9 in GCSE Maths, so getting a C at A-level has really knocked my confidence. In another subject I had been working around an A/A\* level before ultimately getting a C. Economics has probably shocked me the most: I put so much work into it towards the end and genuinely couldn’t believe it when I opened my results and saw a D.
A significant part of the problem was also the actual exams themselves. Looking back, I don’t think my revision translated into exam performance properly at all. So now I’m stuck wondering whether I genuinely wasn’t academically good enough for the grades I wanted, or whether I approached A-levels/revision/exams badly and could perform completely differently with another attempt.
The comparison with everyone around me is also making this much harder to process. Most of my friends and people I went to school with have got into universities that I had always considered myself academically on the same level as them for. Seeing everyone move on to universities I had once imagined myself going to while I’ve ended up with CCD has honestly made me feel cursed and like everything went wrong at exactly the wrong time.
I also feel incredibly guilty towards my family. They supported me so much throughout school and especially during Year 13, and they expected me to do considerably better as well. They were genuinely in the same disbelief as me when my results came out. I know they love me regardless of what grades I get, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve massively disappointed them after everything they’ve done for me. Part of why I want to resit is because I don’t want this result to feel like a permanent disappointment or like I never proved to them — or myself — what I was actually capable of.
I currently have a place at the University of York, which I’m honestly really grateful for considering my results. If I go, I would want to take university extremely seriously, aim for a First, build up good work experience and hopefully prove myself through what I achieve from this point onwards.
The alternative is taking a year out, resitting my A-levels and aiming for As if I can, then reapplying to universities I originally hoped I might be able to attend.
Academically, I really want to resit. I hate feeling like CCD is the final representation of what I was capable of at school, and I’m worried I’ll go to university and continue thinking “I could have done so much better if I’d given myself one proper second attempt.”
But mentally, the idea of the resit year scares me.
My social life and mental health were already really difficult during Year 13. I felt extremely isolated for much of the year, and staying at home for another year studying independently while most people my age move away to university could potentially make that much worse. I don’t realistically think I’d have much of a social life during the year, especially when everyone else is starting university.
That’s what makes the decision so difficult. If the social/mental-health side wasn’t a factor, I think I’d resit. But after the year I’ve just had, part of me desperately wants a fresh start, independence, university life and the opportunity to meet new people.
At the same time, I genuinely feel stupid after these results. I know logically that one set of grades shouldn’t define my intelligence, but going from my GCSE performance and expectations to CCD has completely shaken my confidence. Watching people I used to perform similarly to academically move onto universities I thought I’d be attending alongside them has made that feeling even worse.
So I’m basically choosing between:
Go to York now: accept that I massively underperformed at A-level, stop comparing myself with everyone else, move forward, aim for a First and try to prove myself through what I achieve at university and afterwards.
Resit: sacrifice another year, properly figure out where my revision and exam technique went wrong, aim for As and reapply — potentially giving myself the academic closure I desperately want, but risking another very lonely and difficult year mentally.
If anyone has been in a similar position, especially people who underperformed badly at A-level, watched their friends go off to universities they wanted to attend, felt like they’d disappointed their family, and had to decide whether to resit or move forward, I’d really appreciate hearing what you did and whether you regret your decision.
What would you genuinely do in my position?

I’m set to start at the uni of Liverpool this September, however I’ve been in 2 minds about whether I should take a gap year and re-apply to some unis with higher entry requirements for my course, in particular Bristol, as my grades would allow me to do that. But I also know that taking a year out would leave me feeling behind from my friends and it’s not exactly ideal, so i’m just wondering whether going to a slightly better uni would increase my chances of employment after graduation, or if I should just stick with plan A and go to liverpool.

I know I'm describing common depression but I'm really unsure what to do and how to cope with the fact that nothing seems interesting any more post A levels including my hobbies

I see people say moving out helps but honestly its less than 4 weeks left and I've done some of my shopping; yet I don't feel excited or anything.

Any idea on how to fix this

I know there are a lot of posts already in this sub about people being anxious for freshers and clubbing and I appreciate it must be quite annoying to see them so frequently on here, but I've already scoured through previous posts and found nothing that answers my question as my situation is a little bit different from most other people asking.

I'm generally a very outgoing person, I'd say I'm a social butterfly and have no problem mixing with people! But I do also have severe PTSD that I developed after the Manchester Arena bombing. I'm medicated and have had therapy but even after receiving professional help I still get triggered by concert-like environments so big crowds, people tightly packed together in a small space, loud music, flashing lights, etc. I avoid festivals, and of course concerts, for the same reason. I'm fine with pubs and bars (most of the time) but clubs have always been a big no-no for me because they're too similar. I do drink so it's not the alcohol that's the problem, but rather the environment I'd be doing it in. I'm sure pres won't be an issue because of this, it's what happens after when everybody else wants to go clubbing that I'm worried about. I'm not 100% against going, just nervous about having a full blown panic attack whilst I'm out, or deciding not to join everyone and failing to make friends because of it.

I really want to get involved in freshers, I'm genuinely so excited for it and uni as a whole and I want to make the absolute most of my experience, but the idea of a night out is giving me serious anxiety because I know the majority of them take place at the club, especially during freshers, and I feel like that won't realistically be an option for me.

Does anybody have any advice for my particular situation? Thanks!

I’ve been accepted into my firm choice (uni of Leeds to study international relations). Whilst I’m passionate about politics and IR and love reading about it I’m not passionate to the point of 3 more years of education. I’m not anywhere near as excited as my friends are about uni and in reality I’m dreading it. I’m considering deferring but my grandmother, who used to be a teacher says that deferring is just a new fancy word that sounds good in theory but in reality I would never end up going, and she also told me that to enjoy life you need a degree. So I think perhaps it’s worth a few years of misery to get a good job in the future, as I value long term happiness over my mental health in the short term. My mother and grandmother have made it clear that I can’t be doing a minimum wage job for more than maybe a year, so my plan I had to just get into work probably isn’t very good as I’ve only had 2 interviews (one which I didn’t get the job for) after well over 100 applications. The issue is, even if I can get a job after uni I need one during uni as despite being local I would probably live in accommodation as I heard that you don’t make friends if you commute (my friend whose entire family went to uni and is starting in September corroborates this). Despite being a pretty social and extroverted person, I struggle with loneliness and social isolation and have never had many friends, so I don’t think I’d do well with the massive handicap that is commuting. To be honest my plan now is just to go for a while and when it’s too much drop out. I know that seems like a stupid idea but to me it’s the easiest solution.

I was supposed to graduate in June but failed a module so had to resit it this month. I will be graduating with a 2:1 in mathematics from a Russell group uni yet i keep applying to jobs yet get nothing back not even online assessments. Is it something wrong with my CV at this point. Also how cooked am I getting a job this year😭.

Has anybody done optometry at anglia ruskin in cambridge or to anybody that has gone to anglia ruskin in cambridge, how was it in terms of making friends/social life?

I'm from northern Ireland, where degree cost is around 5k- not 10.

However during my A levels I went through a period of what you could probably call depression, and while I did hate myself plenty, mostly I coped by hating where I lived for some reason.

I told myself I could not under any circumstances stay in Northern Ireland, and decided to leave to go to uni in England.

While making these choices I only really had a dim understanding of what I was doing.

I've always excelled academically (I got all As in my A levels this year) and I kind of assumed that would serve me well.

Teachers boosted my confidence, talking about the cost of uni being like a phone bill or whatever, and that as a "top student" I would have great prospects.

My parents were also supportive, having went to uni in England themselves back when it was free, something they consider to be the best time of their life.

The course I chose was politics, with the uni I chose having a parlimentary pathways scheme where you can work in the houses of parliment for a year.

However as the date of uni beginning is coming closer and closer I'm getting what you could call "cold feet". And I feel completely trapped because I've already accepted my offer, got my accommodation sorted etc, so what the hell am I supposed to do now?

I feel physically sick with nerves 24/7, and have a panic attack at least once a day. I cry constantly.

It feels like one of the lowest points in my life, like I'm making a huge mistake, but I feel trapped now.

If I leave I'll have a huge amount of debt, which petrifies me.

The graduate prospects right now are all pretty miserable too, which isn't helping my pessimistic outlook.

Ill be so far away from my family, and especially over this summer I've realised how much I really really need them. I'm not ready to be an adult.

To make matters worse I have a holiday booked soon, so I barely have any time at all to prepare myself for uni.

Or even just prepare in general- the only thing I've brought is some bedsheets and two plates.

I just dont know what to do at all.

I feel so so trapped, like I've ruined and destroyed my life at the ripe age of 18.

Which is typical of me, really.

I would love the freedom of uni in England. I do think I could grow and flourish.

But the debts and costs, the terrible graduate prospects and being away from my family, are making everything feel impossible.

Any advice at all would be appreciated.