Thousands of pounds in debt, a worse for wear liver and the impending doom of finding a real life job…are we really that surprised university drop-out rates are on the rise?

Thousands of pounds in debt, a worse for wear liver and the impending doom of finding a real life job…is it such a shock that university drop-out rates are on the rise?

Walking through the remains of last night’s pepperoni pizza, half-empty pint glasses and a thick coating of green mould on the kitchen counters, Max finally addressed the gnawing feeling in his stomach…university life was not for him. But what now?

by Grace Dembowicz

On average, one in ten UK undergraduates drop out of university. In 2017, 324,530 first year students enrolled into universities, after the academic year was over, 6.3% of those dropped out. According to data supplied by online open data organisation, Higher Education Data and Analysis (HESA), computing degrees have the highest drop-out rates at 10.7% followed by advertising at 7.7%. So why are an increasing number of our university students leaving higher education?

Mental health plagues young people in university. Feelings of social, financial and academic pressure can lead to anxiety, depression and thoughts of self-harm. Just under 43% of students reported experiencing anxiety during their degree in 2018. Conversations around mental health are increasing, but there is still a long way to go.

This was certainly the case for 22 year-old Physics student, Max who dropped out of Exeter University after completing his second year. After experiencing depression and anxiety for the first time, Max struggled with the social element of university: ‘’I got in with the wrong crowd early on, going out too often and feeling pressured in prioritising an unhealthy social life’’. After coming to terms with his unhappiness, Max describes how his mental and physical health plummeted to ‘’rock bottom’’. By the end of the second year he had gained three stone, was diagnosed with depression and financially broke. ‘’I was in a toxic social situation and had completely lost my passion for the course…my anxiety was such that I was unable to take any exams’’. Mental health was at the core of Max’s decision to walk away from his degree, a decision that he feels no regret: ‘’I was in a terrible situation, I’m still not completely recovered, but I’m convinced that where I am now is far better than where I would have been’’.

On average, students who complete their university degree leave with £36,000 debt. In 2015, a survey found that eight out of ten students worked part-time during their degree to help pay for living expenses such as: accommodation, food and household bills.

For Max, one of the positive consequences of ending his time at university was becoming financially stable which he describes as a ‘’massive step forward from where I was’’. For Harriet*, a French and German student who dropped out of Reading University at the beginning of her Year Abroad back in 2017, becoming financially stable was a huge motivation for the next stage of her life. After securing a job as an air hostess, this new found income was ‘’exciting as I’d never had a proper income before, it was just another aspect that made me realise university was not for me’’. After losing interest in her course, Harriet knew there was simply no point in completing her degree if it meant feeling unhappy.

According to data from HESA in 2016, more than a fifth of students from the most disadvantaged social backgrounds in the UK dropped out in their first year. With 8.8% of disadvantaged students failing to return for their second year of university in 2017 compared to 6% of their more affluent peers. Director of policy and advocacy at the Higher Education Policy Institute, Rachel Hewitt, commented on the statistics saying that the widening gap ‘could be down to some universities recruiting students at a rate which leaves them not able to offer them the levels of support required for all students’.

Education secretary, Gavin Williamson stated: “I want all universities, including the most selective, to do everything they can to help disadvantaged students access a world-class education, but they also need to keep them there and limit the numbers dropping out of courses’’.

According to a survey of 1,500 A-Level students, two thirds felt they were being pushed into applying for university and six out of ten said their parents wanted them to choose university. 15 months after leaving Exeter University, Max began a four-year apprenticeship in civil engineering, an area he grew interested in during his time at university. One of the reasons why the apprenticeship appealed to Max was: ‘’the great opportunity to get a degree whilst also learning more practically… one of the big things my university course didn’t offer was much hands on experience and learning’’. Max explained that in hindsight, the grammar school he attended in Warwickshire where he completed his A-Levels focused solely on academic results. This resulted in him having ‘’no idea of other options out there’’. If he asked about any alternatives other than university the response was that other options were ‘’below where I should be aiming, which left me very confused and pressured into going to university’’.

This concept mirrored Harriet’s experience of feeling that her comprehensive school in Gloucestershire was only concerned with ‘’its image and was eager for students to continue on to higher education’’. She goes on to explain: ‘’when I approached advisors at school about other options, such as apprenticeships, after finishing my A-levels, their answer was to ‘apply to university just in case you change your mind’ ‘’.

Talking to The Independent back in 2016, Jeremy Lewis, head of the private ACS Egham school, questioned why students beginning university are often unprepared. He said: “our study shows, many of our exam systems are just not preparing students to make that leap from secondary to higher education.

“There is a huge emphasis placed on the quality of the student experience at university nowadays, but the reality is that many young people are unable to access the right experience for themselves.

“We need to equip them with the skills to succeed in HE, and develop their style of learning, but some exam systems are too narrowly focussed on subject content alone to achieve this.’’

With a record 40% of school leavers applying for a place at university in 2019, a 1.7% rise in applicants compared to the previous year, is the issue rooted within the education system? Do secondary schools feel pressure to simply send their students off with a backpack full of university textbooks and incomprehensible amounts of debt on their shoulders? Do we need to evaluate our obsession as a country for meeting targets? Ultimately, whatever the reason, the primary aim should be providing support for the younger generation in all aspects of life.

*Name has been changed