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Every autumn, families start the university conversation with the same question: which one? Paul Sweeney thinks most of us skip the question that should come first: should my child go at all, and if so, why?

Paul dropped out of an engineering degree he hated and ran away to a job in an airline’s lost baggage department. He later became chief strategy officer at Unite, the UK’s largest listed student accommodation provider, and now advises universities on strategy and AI. His new book, University, Maybe?, draws on all of that background and his experience of going through this decision twice as a parent.

We talked about what you’re really paying for, what universities would rather you didn’t ask, and why the alternatives aren’t consolation prizes.

Click here for Paul Sweney'’s website

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