Since the start of high school, it's been pounded into young people's brains that university is the best career path to go down, and that without a degree under your belt, you're destined to a life putting the little plastic tips onto the end of shoelaces forever.

Of course, this isn't exactly true, as we're sure that Richard Branson (chairman of Virgin Group Ltd.) and Bill Gates (chairman and former CEO of Microsoft Corporation) will tell you. Alternatives include apprenticeships and voluntary work, depending on your preference, but are they better options than going to university? We're willing to say YES.

First of all, a subject that has been discussed continuously (and angrily) up and down the country, resulting in the 2010 student protests. Of course, we're talking about tuition fees. Previously, the highest that universities could charge for a course per year was £3,290. However, in October 2010, the government increased the cap to £9,000. That means a standard four-year course would cost upwards as £36,000! For that money, you could buy 5500 cinema tickets, 900 new video games, 72 iPad 2s or a brand new sport-convertible BMW 3 Series! Of the 111 universities listed in England, only forty charge less than the maximum price of £9,000 per year, though twenty-six of these are charging £8,000 or more. Only two universities in England (The Open University and the IFS School of Finance) charge under £6,000 for a year of education.

Yes, it is possible to get a loan to cover these fees before you go, but that money has to be paid back eventually, you know! Once you start earning over a certain amount post-university, you'll automatically be deducted payments, plus interest. For courses starting in September 2012, ex-students with a salary over £21,000 will be charged 9% of their income over this amount. For example, if you leave university and get a job with a pay of £25,000 (£4,000 over the threshold), you will pay 9% of £4,000 per year, which works out to a payment plan of £30 per month. There is also a high chance that interest rates will increase in the near-future meaning that future students will pay even more on their loan. Of course, you could always just pay the tuition fee upfront, but what student-to-be has that amount of money lying around?

Plus, there's always the chance that you won't have a job waiting for you after finishing your course. You may have the qualifications to fill a position, but so do thousands of other ex-students around the country. Experience is the key to putting yourself above the competition… something you won't have if you've just spent the last four years in a lecture room.

Then there's the cost of living there. In order to fully experience the joys of higher education, students from all over gather all of their things and move out, taking their first step into the 'real world'. Usually, this consists of living in halls of residence - a doom room allocated to you by the university. A specialised apartment of sorts, you'll have to share your space, food, free time and everything else you hold dear with a bunch of randomly-selected other students. You'll be responsible for paying the rent, gas and electric bills, plus any other overheads that you decide to sign up for, such as Sky+ or a broadband connection. No more asking your mum to do the weekly shopping! Trying to manage the money situation can be stressful, especially if you've got a roommate who refuses to fork out for food and pinches all of your Monster Munch. Plus, eating Lidl's full-English-in-a-tin every morning is bound to have a catastrophic effect on your digestive system.

Remember, there are three sides to university life: good marks, enough sleep and a good social life. Living at university means that you will only achieve two of these things. Unless you're, like, Superman or something. Are you prepared to sacrifice your sleep or social life to get the grade you need or would you rather go out every night and skip your lectures? A degree is the reason you go to university in the first place, though it's easy to forget that when you're drinking whisky out of an old boot at four in the morning.

Before making that decision, you need to ask yourself one thing: "Do I want to go to university to better my career?" If you fancy a future building aeroplane engines, then you've got no choice really. But for those who don't necessarily fancy being a rocket scientist (it's overrated, trust us) you need to think about whether you really need a degree. Apprenticeships offer government-recognised qualifications such as NVQs, whilst providing experience simultaneously. Instead of hearing about the profession at university, trydoingit with an apprenticeship program. Many people get through a year at university and realise that it's not what they had expected or that they would prefer to go down a different route, leaving them unmotivated for the remainder of the course. However, with the huge costs and insane amount of pressure to succeed, most of these students continue with the course despite not wanting to. With an apprenticeship, you'll have more freedom to do exactly what you want and move into different areas if desired.