The university experience is becoming more and more typical as an expected part of development and a bridge to the scary adult world. With parents and the wider media touting the benefits of further education, there have always been sceptics condemning this modern day pilgrimage to obtain a degree. We may laugh at the drop shippers, or reputed sex traffickers (such as Andrew Tate), or the obvious beneficiaries of intergenerational wealth that proclaim their self-made success without the aid of university. Political debates and narratives about university education are becoming more and more pervasive. 

Do the pundits have a point? What are the things that make over one in three Irish students seriously question if it’s all actually worth it?  The anxieties surrounding the decision are shown through decreasing retention rates, as statistics across the board continue to show throughout the country.  A historic debate of vocational versus ‘intellectual’ education has been reinvigorated in a strangely political light. With a growing opinion of many Americans that college is not worth it, and with over a third of Irish graduates having some regret over their degree choice we must ask the question: should we all be here studying Marx or Freud, or how to make concrete?   

Conversely, a chaotic environment for students alongside a rising cost of living, does not make the commitment to college a wholly pleasant one. ‘The best years of your life’, does not and will not come and go without these challenges. Those doubts of if what you are studying is actually what you want to do, amidst an unbalanced and maybe strange, new environment, can begin to sound very rational. Furthermore, the freedom can be terrifying at times, alongside the genuine financial commitment and responsibility to your course, and potential future.

To start the year off, it is important to look into these daunting statistics, and statements of these apparent disbelievers, and discover what the issues are of those who have dropped out – or considered it.

“I dropped out of college because they were trying to brainwash me with feminism, Marxism, and critical race theory,” an Irish accent thundered on my FYP last year. The Tiktok went viral and many ridiculed its hefty accusations of ‘brainwashing’.

However, it captured a certain attitude that has been seen in discussions and criticism about academia and ‘liberal’ college campuses by right-wing and now moderate speakers. Whilst the Jordan Petersons of the world just sit and complain about it, this content creator, ‘UberBoiyo’ (yes, he likes Nietzsche), had pulled the plug on his formal third level education for political reasons. Are our institutions politically alienating or, at the very least, alienating?

Upon enquiring to ‘UberBoiyo’ if he was actually forced to buy the communist manifesto, I was met with a much more condemning response. It was one that is far more relatable and relevant, than uncovering that an arts seminar is actually MK-Ultra-level brainwashing.  Indeed, he did exclaim some disdain and noted the constraining and potentially anti-intellectual aspect of political correctness. But, during his time studying literature and music, his personal reason for dropping out centred around an over-reliance on the theoretical in his degree. The theoretical teaching approach imbued in his degree didn’t teach the practical skills he wanted to pursue – writing and creating. Therefore, he went on to find other avenues, projects and things that promoted self-development in a far more productive way. He also noted various instances of friends rushing into substance abuse, illuminating the chaotic environment creating increasing instances of such behaviour. What got me thinking, though, was that he expressed the relevance of nuance in assessing if college was worth it, not a need for a complete desertion.

For decades this has been up for discussion, and the debate between vocation and theory is one that is only more and more relevant in times where further education is nearly viewed as a necessity. This ideation and necessity to pursue a degree is certainly something that is promoted. However, vocational education and apprenticeships are just as lucrative. Broadening what is meant by a traditional education is essential to providing desired opportunities and career pathways.

However this lack of practical teaching often extends past what the course teaches, and the largest driving factor away from college is broadly a lack of balance or as studies report – “personal issues”. To look at the typical transition to college from the Leaving Cert, it’s undoubted why there is so much uncertainty of making the right decision. With plenty of criticism of second-level education for a lack of vocational training, university provides even less. The responsibility of managing your own time, social life, and attempting to take steps towards your future can be challenging and exhausting. Furthermore, the absence of support for mental health to manage these new challenges can cause further distress. The idea that your readings on international relations or the C++ on your assignment isn’t going to help you is terrifying. Meanwhile, you are also trying to feed and clothe yourself for once, and live with six other people who know about as little as you do.

Maybe you thought college would be a freeing experience from the monotonous routine of secondary school, but now your routine involves failing to attend three classes a day and eating porridge for three meals a day.  You wonder, how did I ever sit a leaving cert? This freedom is great, but I don’t think I deserve it. 

This imbalance of college life is the biggest pusher of dropping out. The chaos, while fun at times, doesn’t make university feel like a great big conscientious step into adulthood for many. Drawing a straight line between the sporadic ups and downs of nine months, to being whatever you envision in ten years’ time, can be quite the task. This stress and perhaps guilty obsession with unproductivity needs to be met with appreciation and understanding, and not a strange form of imposter syndrome which intensifies those doubts of if you should actually be here or not. 

As we endure these challenges, the role of college is something that continues to be politicised. Even now in the republican primaries, the reinvigoration of vocational classes is at the heart of many campaigns. More notably the policies and ideas of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have opened a plethora of ideas up for discussion about further education. It aims to do this by capping the numbers going into “useless arts degrees”.

It comes from an attempt to cut government spending on student loans, but also echoes doubts about the labour market being oversaturated with individuals with ‘low-value’ qualifications.

However, it disregards the freedom and flexibility university provides; that while living in the moment can be daunting and somewhat alienating, it is equally as emancipating. The capping won’t affect Russell Group and other top universities. The narrow criteria for a low-value degree echoes the strange attitudes towards certain pathways. Despite the anxieties of this oversaturated labour market or fear of ‘over-education’, a college education has still retained its financial benefits in the most recent data. Furthermore, this “low-value” idea of a degree is ironically the substance of what many Tory MPs studied, which makes this “outcome” based approach seem somewhat skewed. This also contradicts the trend of a degree pathway choice not being a solidifying factor in your employment or career goals.

However, as we critique the value of a degree, dropout rates and the disillusionment when it comes to committing to one, there are various issues students face as a collective. The issue of work-life balance, mental health, addiction, and financial problems all contribute to a chaotic experience. Whilst broadening a ‘good further education’ is essential to ensuring people have access to their most suited opportunities, we must also take a look at the current environment and treatment of students.

The housing situation in Dublin is less than favourable and long commuting hours faced by many students due the extremity of this expense might have some questioning: is it worth it? If these issues were solved, would the freeing and emancipatory expectation of university exceed what it offers currently? Would there be a need to bicker over the “value of an education” in the way we do, if students pursuing them were valued? We can contemplate the unimportance of a degree, but the complete disregard of students by the legislature has certainly added a barrage of stresses to the college experience. 

As we look at things from this angle, we begin to see a growing sea of problems students face for wanting an education. Loans, poor housing arrangements, and a lack of mental health and academic support from their colleges can continue to entrench us in our doubts about higher education. Therefore, seeing the self-made gurus on the other side, titling our pursuits as low value or useless in the current labour market, can make doubts turn into action.

Nevertheless, there is a need to not limit what we call a formal education. While I’m not saying we should run through fields of wheat all day, vocational pathways are extremely important educational tools that have been held to an inferior status than a standard degree. De-stigmatising more traditional and practical career routes is needed. Getting 625 points doesn’t mean you need to become a neuro-surgeon. Similarly, demeaning overly theoretical courses, or “useless arts degrees” is a pointless feat, as attempting to cater to an ever-changing labour market has proven, in many cases, difficult over time, with one in five ending up in radically different careers than their course of study. The confusing reasons why people go to university, their expectations, and the nuances of their goals is hard to reconcile with one unified message. Understanding the freedom you do have and realising the potential challenges this climate offers is integral in attempting to make decisions for your future.