Yahoo News Nobody talks about it, but too many rich kids are at university who shouldn't be there
As a society, we need to ask ourselves why students from the most affluent homes are almost 2.5 times more likely to go to university than those from the poorest. Usually we focus on the latter, and indeed there are far too many poor kids who should go to university and don’t. But if that’s true, so is the corollary: there are too many rich kids who go to university, but shouldn’t.
What our experiences illustrate is the toxic power of expectations
When I was 17, everyone assumed that, of course, I would go. It wasn’t just because I was predicted to do well in my A-levels, nor that my parents or my school expected it. It was also because I was one of the 7 per cent of Britons who attend an independent school. As such there was no discussion about whether I should go – only about which subject I should study and which university I could realistically aspire to.
I wasn’t convinced it was the right decision. I had spent years studying for exams and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go straight into yet more rigorous learning. I turned down my offers and took a year out; got a job, visited friends at their universities, and made up my own mind. In the end I was lucky: while not one of the brightest students, I was hard-working and knew how to organise my time. Having been at boarding school for two years, I also knew about living away from home, managing my allowance, and mixing with new people. I had the personal and academic skills to do well at university.
This “class ceiling” is morally wrong, but also bad for the country: educational inequality costs us an estimated £1.3 trillion a year
A friend, also at an independent school, had the same expectations upon her. Although she had a higher IQ, her learning style was very different; hours spent in front of a book did little for her. But still she went, and after a number of years she left university without a degree. Should she have gone in the first place? And why were we both subjected to assumptions about what was right for us?
What our experiences illustrate is the toxic power of expectations. It’s not a question of intelligence; many people are very smart but unable to thrive in a university environment, while others simply have no desire to. But the expectation that they will go is so strong they never get to really choose. My friend should have been advised of alternatives to university, offered something that would better suit her learning style and help her progress into the professions. No wonder 6.2 per cent of students fail to complete their university degrees.
Yet the negative expectations placed on lower-income students are even more powerful. Far fewer will have family members who have gone to university, so they may lack role models, and therefore do not consider it a viable option. Even if they do consider it, they are more likely to focus on lower-tier institutions out of a misplaced sense of inadequacy. The results are stark: children eligible for free school meals achieve grades 20 to 30 per cent lower at GCSE.
The truth is that everyone learns and progresses in different ways. Some people, rich and poor, would be better suited to higher level apprenticeships; some to on-the-job training; some to specialist schools (such as arts or drama); and, yes, some to university. Why should that question be decided by class rather than ability and affinity? This “class ceiling” is morally wrong, but also bad for the country: educational inequality costs us an estimated £1.3 trillion a year.
How can we fix this? Partly by changing expectations. At Villiers Park Educational Trust where I work, we show bright students from low-income homes what they can achieve. In 2016, 82 per cent of them made an informed decision to go to university, compared with 19.5 per cent of students from the lowest national income bracket. But universities must also consider what they can do to ensure students are prepared for university before they apply. Businesses, too, should consider their expectations, and recruit from a wider range of institutions and backgrounds.
We should all be doing everything we can to ensure all students feel empowered to research their options, analyse what best suits them, and pursue their own best path. And if you’re a student who is expected to go to university, and you’re not sure it’s right for you, please consider all your options.
Julia Shervington is a Communications Executive at Villiers Park Educational Trust
