Having a dilemma about University

[Personherebb9]

I just came back from my vacation from Cape Town. I'm going through a bit of a dilemma and I need advice.

The idea was for me to complete a TESU degree within 1 year, while staying where I currently am in South Africa. And then after that I would have tried getting a job overseas. The main reason behind this was this ideology, "South Africa is crumbling economically, the government is corrupt, it's unsafe." However, after visiting Cape Town again (used to live there for a couple of years while I was young) my view of South Africa has completely shifted. I haven't been there in YEARS, so I just assumed it was doing as badly as the rest of South Africa. Because of South Africa's very complex and confusing government, most of South Africa is under the control of the ANC (political party), however Cape Town is the ONLY exception. They are run by DA (political party) and from what I can see, that seems to be the main reason why Cape Town is flourishing. (Not to say DA is better than ANC)

The best way I could describe it is like California, but better. Like the streets are clean and well maintained, table mountain, the beaches, the views. There are police EVERYWHERE, it's so so so much safer the Gauteng (Johburg- province). Like the vacation was literally PERFECT. I couldn't even describe in words, it's one of those cities where you just have to see it for yourself. I knew Cape Town was like highly ranked (11th best city) in terms of best cities in the world (even beating out cities like NYC and London), but I had no idea it was flourishing THAT much.

My dilemma comes in here:
I already have a job lined up for next year (no contract has been signed yet).
I have my degree plan figured out.

Everything is in place for me to succeed with my plans that I originally had. However, there's a part of me that wants to completely 180 my plans and go to UCT (University of Cape Town).

I have CONDITIONAL acceptance for the following two programs from UCT:
1) BA (undecided major- you choose as you go)
2) MBCHB (MD- Doctor degree)

However I doubt with my little studying for finals I'll be able to maintain my MBCHB offer, plus it doesn't fit into my budget. On the other hand the BA does fit into the budget and I'm like 75% sure I could possibly maintain my acceptance.

The thing I keep thinking is: I'm only 18, do I really want to rush into the working environment? Shouldn't I be trying to enjoy my life. I mean the BA by UCT would take me 3 years to do. I could work part-time and still possibly do a degree from TESU or something if I wanted to. 

Yes I would be putting my life behind by 2 years than I had originally planned, BUT I'll be getting a degree from a top 150 university, for around the same price as TESU. I can actually just enjoy life for a couple of years, I can experience Cape Town. Don't get me wrong I do still want to immigrate, however I want to experience Cape Town first.

If yall have any advice for me that would be greatly appreciated, what would you do?

(Side note: if you're looking for a "cheap" vacation as an American, I would definitely recommend Cape Town: 10/10)

[rachel83az]

Are you still wanting to go abroad and teach in Korea? Have you checked to see if any UCT graduates have posted any positives/negatives about the experience? UCT may be a top-whatever university, but (unfortunately) that doesn't mean it'll be well regarded in other countries. Africa, as a whole, kind of tends to be... forgotten, y'know?

If UCT is not well-regarded in Asia, perhaps do a Math or Comp Sci degree at UCT, then get a business degree at UMPI (or similarly inexpensive school) in a couple of years, once you're old enough to enroll. That way you'd have both the good subject (Math/Science) and the "prestigious" American degree.

[Personherebb9]

I'm 100% still looking at teaching in Korea, it has been my dream since I can remember. I 100% understand the fact that it's still an university in Africa and that it might be lower regarded, I've thought about that too. In regards to reputation, there's really now way for me to "know". UCT is extremely highly ranked, well within the top 0.01% of universities, however the fact that it's from "Africa" will definitely bring it's value down.

I actually thought the exact same thing about UMPI.

With UCT (the BA program), it's kind of a robust "build your degree" program. So they give you a lot of opportunity to explore different majors and electives. From what I understand you are required to declare 2 majors at the start of 2nd year, 3 possibly if you need more credits.

If I did that I would probably settle for something like this:
BA- CS and (a language-most likely) Chinese (Mandarin)/Korean

In 2 years time I'll have over 2 years of credits from UCT and I can still work on other part-time credits while studying, I'll essentially be ready to go to enroll myself into an UMPI program.

I guess you can see it in this light:
I can either work (full-time) and study (TESU) or I can study full-time (UCT) and then work/study part-time.

I can even consider maybe doing something from UoPeople at first (in 1st and 2nd year- if they get regional accreditation), because of the cost.

However this is all hypothetical, nothing is set in stone. I don't even have my high school marks back yet, so I don't want to get ahead of myself. I'll continue working on my TESU plan and my Finnish courses till the time comes to make a decision.

[rachel83az]

If you do go to UCT, have you considered trying to get your Finnish credits accepted? They might not be, but they could be. Possibly worth the attempt, at least?

[davewill]

Given the similar costs, and your positive experience in Cape Town, I'd say go for the in person experience. We often pooh-pooh the "college experience" here, but it's actually useful for a young person to be on their own, but within a student "bubble" before venturing out for real. I also suspect you might, through internships and networking, find some other paths open up for you to consider.

[Personherebb9]

I just wanted to update a bit on this situation.

The department of education released that we will be receiving our matric (senior) results by the 21st of January. Universities (in South Africa) typically send out acceptance letters the day before results are released, since they receive the results before the students. Meaning I'll most likely know by the 20th of January whether or not I've been accepted into the program or not.

If I do get my acceptance, I'm 75% sure I'll opt for UCT over online. Aside from the university's rankings, it gives me the opportunity to build connections that might be useful later on in life and I think it would be good for me to live for a few years on my own (within my own country), before I just finish a TESU degree in a year and move across the entire globe by myself. I think it'll give me the opportunity to actually find myself and explore things that I might not have even considered as career options. As a whole, I think spending 3 years doing courses that I enjoy in an environment that I love sounds like a worthy investment.

If I do then decide to go to UCT, I'll still continue studying part-time towards other American credits. I'll just have to be more cost-effective with what programs I choose, etc. Once I finish my 3 year degree, I'll probably enroll into an UMPI (or similar course) and complete an American bachelors too, just to have it if need be. From there my plan stays pretty much exactly the same. (Teach in Korea, etc.)

If I don't get the acceptance, I'll probably just continue with my original plan.

I'll keep you all updated and thank you for the advice thus far!

Merry Christmas

[bjcheung77]

Chirurgery
If I don't get the acceptance, I'll probably just continue with my original plan.

I have CONDITIONAL acceptance for the following two programs from UCT:
1) BA (undecided major- you choose as you go)
2) MBCHB (MD- Doctor degree)

You pretty much have this pat down already, this is going to be scenario/situation based, meaning it all depends which way the acceptance is going to swing. You have a plan and a backup plan in case it goes the other way. Great job, I'd recommending staying in the same mindset to go either way if needed.

[Personherebb9]

Hi everyone it's been a while. I just wanted to update on this entire situation and what I eventually decided.

I received my matric results on the 18th of January and I actually did really well. After that I was waiting to hear back from universities and slowly but surely a few came back (that I wasn't interest in (UP, WITS, UJ, SU)) and I rejected those acceptances.

Last week I got accepted at UCT for both degree options. *I feel like I should add to this point, that I also recently moved into a new apartment and started my job as a Junior Analyst at a logistics company.

I was so so so excited to receive my UCT acceptance and I felt ready to just pack up and go. That's till I received the registration emails. There is an academic registration fee of R31 000 and a residence (room and board) registration fee of R39 000, that has to be paid before the 3rd of February. That's R70 000 ($4069), for reference I currently make less than that PER YEAR. So there was no way for me to accumulate that large sum of money within 2 weeks time. I considered possibly not going with room and board and maybe looking for a room that I could rent within Cape Town. However Cape Town's population is known for being majority foreigners, which means that the housing costs reflect that. In other words Cape Town is much more expensive, because foreigners are able to afford it, but locals can't. I was struggling to find a room that I could rent for less than R10k a month. (I currently pay MUCH MUCH less for an entire 2 bedroom flat). So that wasn't an option either.

In conclusion, I simply can't afford to attend UCT. (that's JUST the registration fee, that's not even taking into account the ACTUAL fees). On top of that, I don't qualify for any government assistance, despite South Africa being a socialist country and there's nothing worse in South Africa than taking out a loan with a bank, you will truly never recover so I won't even consider doing that.

I will continue with my original plan of TESU, though I am taking a short break from my courses, because I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.

[rachel83az]

I'm sorry to hear that UCT turned out to be significantly more expensive than expected. $2k/year in just registration fees is a lot of money. I think that there are some universities in the EU that cost less than that in tuition & fees, even for students who are not EU citizens. (Living expenses are significantly more, but that's another matter entirely.)

Good luck with your TESU progress and let us know if you need any additional help there.

[LevelUP]

The thing I keep thinking is: I'm only 18, do I really want to rush into the working environment? Shouldn't I be trying to enjoy my life.

*I feel like I should add to this point, that I also recently moved into a new apartment and started my job as a Junior Analyst at a logistics company.

If yall have any advice for me that would be greatly appreciated, what would you do?

There are about 80 hours in the week to do whatever you want to do. If you work full-time (40hrs) and go to school full-time (40thrs), then there isn't much time for a social life.

With TESU, you'll be done with most of the degree in 3-6 months and have plenty of time to do whatever you want. So it's a matter of how employers in South Africa accept U.S. degrees compared to South African degrees. If you got the skills, the degree shouldn't matter as much as you gain years of working experience.

I vote for having some fun in your new apartment and enjoying life.