Want an education in the “school of life”? Try volunteering

Recent statistics from UCAS have revealed that overall applications to universities are down by almost 9% nationwide and almost 10% in England.

While these percentages seem like small change, this drop represents approximately 45,000 individuals who have decided that university isn’t for them.

It’s perhaps not coincidental that this drop comes as the new academic year sees a major tuition fee hike from £3000 to £9000 per year. Interestingly, the demographic hardest hit is mature students.

Having worked for almost four years for the Principal at the University of Glasgow, I’ve seen first-hand how having a mix of people from all demographics and soci-economic backgrounds adds to the rich fabric of the University population.

So what has put them off? Is it that their ‘maturity’ has allowed them to better evaluate the forecasted debt that increased tuition fees might bring? Maybe. It could be any one of a number of reasons.

Most would agree that real ‘value’ for a mature student going to university is boosting their social mobility. With the cost providing a barrier, and for those looking for a change in their lives to re-train, learn new skills and better themselves – doesn’t volunteering hold a great alternative answer? I believe that it does.

It’s proven that prospective employers value volunteering as part of a CV; and that may bring some magic to a future UCAS application form too.

Of course we are a youth-led charity but that doesn’t mean that after 25, your volunteering life stops (I hope not anyway!). In Glasgow I volunteered at a special needs centre for young adults; a Centre one of my sisters attends as she is differently abled. I started volunteering there when I was 18 until I moved to London in July 2011.

Initially, my Business degree seemed immaterial compared to using my time to sit and talk to people- to interact with them. Or so I thought.

Endless presentations, tutorial talks and meeting new people at university had (without me actually realising at the time) enabled me with stronger confidence in talking and engaging with people. And I used my somewhat limited marketing and finance knowledge from Uni to assist the Centre in an application to secure funds for a mini-bus, and to publicise fundraising events.

If mature students are put off by rising fees but they long to re-train or bring something new to their lives, I say: try volunteering; try something different; try to help out. There isn’t anything that says just because you can’t afford the fees you can’t have education under another guise.

You may find, as I did, that education in the “school of life” can be best attained via a combination of meaningful volunteering and studying – as has been proven by the inspiring stories that have been shared during Student Volunteering Week.

And in some cases, volunteering may in the immediate-term at least, be the more valuable option available to you.