Throughout the university application process last year, the message my school sent to me (or to the VCE students) was that it's uni or nothing (or that's how I perceived it). I unconsciously felt pressured by the societal norm that what "naturally" comes after high school is university. I feel like the only reason I am at university is because, what else is there to do? So I chose what I thought was my favourite subject at the time (Psychology), found a bunch of degrees that relate to it, added it to my VTAC preferences, submitted and applied. Of course, nothing could have prepared anyone for the sudden changes of the past few months, but it has still left me with some questions (and plenty of time to research my options) Why aren't gap years and alternative pathways looked into further? Why is university seen as the norm? Clearly there are other options, I guess that especially for VCE/HSC students, university is marketed to be what logically comes next. And why is there such a stigma towards dropping out of university, even if it's for the right reasons?
Hey, JR_StudyEd!
Super long post ahead but thought I'd share my thoughts about some of the questions you raised here for your own, as well as others' benefits
I think the issue here is perhaps how you perceived the university application process because I would highly doubt that university is the only option your school advertised as a post-high school option. Perhaps I had a different experience going to a school where it was balanced and mixed in terms of who went off to study university and who went off to pursue alternative pathways but I never felt like the school under-promoted, or at worst invalidated, TAFE, college, gap years, overseas study, apprenticeships and so forth. There is no societal norm that dictates university being the most logical place to go after high school. It's an expectation, I feel, you've put on yourself because of what you have been exposed to as a student. A few of my friends who went to TAFE or took gap years told me that they had those options proposed to them by the career advisors at our school and were perfectly informed of what benefits it would have for them if they were taking different pathways that didn't require university study. My aim here isn't to criticise your mindset though; it's to just let you know that the right support networks have always been there for those that aren't considering university as a pathway. Basically, it's important to think of university as
a pathway, rather than
the only pathway. Those who see it as the norm have more than likely been surrounded by people who have told them it is but breaking out of that wave of thinking takes a lot of bravery which I know you have in you
As for the stigma surrounding dropping out of university, it comes down to a lot of factors. I feel like it's easy to generalise it but there are a number of reasons that come into play and they are more nuanced than you may think. I'll speak from a cultural point of view since it's the one I'm most familiar with but a lot of Asian-immigrant children feel the pressure and need to get a university degree given all that their parents have sacrificed for them to pursue opportunities and education in a foreign country. The parents amongst themselves see university as a place for their children to get themselves into careers that won't require as much labour, struggle, potentially discrimination as well and other hardships that they had to encounter. Dropping out of university, to these parents, is seen essentially as everything they've worked hard for gone to nothing. Add in this ingrained perception that there's a hierarchy in degrees and having a child drop out of say 6 years of med school is a nightmare come true. It's hard to change these perceptions easily because the parents aren't aware that there are other pathways and directions their children can take to pursue the careers they want to. When my cousin wanted to drop out of uni to go to culinary school, her parents were devastated. Eventually though, they knew she was better off in the kitchen and making these amazing dishes to bring smiles to people's faces than she was in her degree really only because of them. For the stigma, in this circumstance, to be lifted, it requires communication, information and research, and bravery from all parties involved. I hope others can hop on this thread because this is only one example of why the stigma exists.
At the end of the day, if you aren't happy with your degree, know that it is perfectly fine to try out as many things as you want and find what's right for you, university or otherwise. I know someone who's been through three degrees and has just found his calling in carpentry (he's currently doing an apprenticeship now). Beyond high school, there's so much out there to explore and sift through to locate where your interests and skills can be best used and where you can thrive the most
Angelina
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