The Number One Reason to Attend University

By Marina Krivonossova on February 12, 2019

Why do people apply to university? Some of them, like myself, were conditioned their whole lives to think that continuing their education upon graduating from high school was the only logical thing to do. So they sent out their applications and picked the school that had the coolest-looking mascot. Others are incredibly passionate about advancing their knowledge about a certain topic they’ve been interested in since they were in middle school. So they enrolled in that amazing undergrad program where they’d be working with the highest-ranked faculty who’ll teach them the in’s and out’s of their field of interest.

But at the end of the day, each of us has our very own reason for going to university. Let me tell you what all of us — regardless of what we think our reason is — should be going to university for.

We dream of becoming the ideal study machine, but are we ignoring a greater part of the university experience in the process? (image via pexels.com)

Networking. Probably not what you thought I would tell you, right? Because we don’t pay thousands upon thousands of dollars a year to make new friends and connect with likeminded and unique individuals who might help us out tomorrow or five years from now. Or do we?

As society puts more and more emphasis on obtaining degrees from the best universities — as high school and undergraduate degrees lose their value in the workplace and become replaced by master’s and Ph.D. degrees — networking becomes the one thing that puts us and keeps us on the path to career success. By expanding our networks and connecting with people who have similar interests, positions at companies that appeal to us, or who may be able to provide us with some sorts of educational or work opportunities in the future, we are making meaningful connections that open doors for us that otherwise would remain closed.

Universities have so much more to offer us than just a world-class education. (image via pexels.com)

But isn’t getting an education the most important part of any university experience? A professor I recently had said something that opened my eyes. He asked us, “What do you UC Irvine students think that USC students pay for compared to you guys? After all, they pay at least twice what you do in tuition.” Initially, I wasn’t sure what to say. Do they pay for a better campus? Do they pay for a higher quality education? When the class failed to respond to his question, the professor simply said one word: “Networking.” He went on to elaborate, noting, “Those USC students all live on campus, all 4 years of their college career. They’re in incredibly close quarters, interacting with one another constantly, and making friends on campus. And when they leave university, you know what happens? They stay in touch. That common pride of going to the same school for 4 years follows them out of university, and they help each other get jobs.”

That statement really rang true for me. UC Irvine is a wonderful school, but it’s a commuter school. Most of our students don’t live on campus or spend much time here. They live at home and only come on campus for classes. And even for those of us who want to be on campus often, it’s incredibly hard, given how much we are charged for parking and how difficult it is to find on- or near-campus housing. So we go through our 4 years of undergrad, going through the same daily routine of coming to class, learning for a few hours, and driving home. And at the end of the day, we do get our degrees, but at an implicit cost that never gets discussed. We have hardly any connections, as we failed to prioritize networking while we were busy running from class to class.

Networking can open doors for you that a standalone university degree won’t. (image via pexels.com)

Conclusion. Now, I’ll leave you with my final takeaway: don’t focus solely on classes while you’re in university. Grades are undoubtedly important. Going to class daily and making it on the dean’s honor roll is something worth prioritizing. But in doing so, don’t exclude networking and developing friends and meaningful connections from your list of priorities.

Because when all is said and done, once we all walk down that stage in our cap and gown, the one thing we will all have in common is our degrees. The one thing that will make a handful of us stand down is the lasting friendships we’ve made, the networks we’ve built, and the useful connections we’ve developed.

 

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