Ah, graduation…a marker of the beginning of your new life as a fully-fledged graduate; soaring on the wings of your academic prowess, swooping on the memories of the good times had, and then WHAM: the sudden realization of a catastrophic saddling of debt and the wind goes from beneath you.

Having just graduated, I am fully aware of this weight around both mine, and my fellow graduates necks, and for goodness knows how long. Especially in the economy we currently find ourselves in where scary statistics about our chances of employment are everywhere we turn; you can’t help but ask, “Was it really worth it?”

Despite all the bad weather surrounding this contentious issue, I say that, for me, it was worth it. And no, I am not writing this from a cushy-managerial chair in a large corporate, well-respected, will-give-me-a-lifetime-of-opportunities firm, but instead from an unpaid internship (although still in a remarkably comfortable chair) and waitressing at the weekends. I am writing this as someone who loved her university stint, her university city and the many ‘extra-curriculars’ she managed to get involved in. (I am clearly talking about various societies I took part in here, not any other extra-curriculars you might be thinking of…!)

So, why was it worth it? Well, I believe that university can, not only provide a degree (hopefully at any rate), but also a wealth of life experience and literally hundreds of opportunities to help you discover a bit more about who you are and what you want to do. You have the chance to meet people from all over the place, take part in sports at a really high level (if you want to, this may physically repulse some people), write for the student paper, work for charities, and, from a more conscientious viewpoint, study something you are really interested in at a much more in depth level.

A student loan will, for many people, be the only way that makes this all possible; it certainly was for me, in fact pretty much everyone at uni will be saddled with a similar financial burden. So in that respect, without wanting too sound happy-clappy about it: ‘you’re all in this together’. That helps. Big time. Getting a job too will also make life that little bit easier (even if it’s just one evening/day a week), however sometimes this isn’t always possible and that’s where the university itself can come in handy. Most universities will have some money available for grants if you know where to look for it. Check out Emergency Grants, or even try contacting your subject department. At the end of the day they want you to be there, so they will try to help you out. Overdrafts can be a lifesaver, especially as part of a student account where interest can be avoided for up to three years after you graduate…good times.

So, I guess, in conclusion the message of this is that ‘you only live once’ (or YOLO for the more gangster amongst us), and that at this moment in time, my experiences at university were worth millions, not mere thousands of pounds…

If you need help and advice on student loans then visit www.leavingschool.co.uk