Going to study in a university in the UK.Need your advice?

I'm worried about going to University, not sure if I'm making the right decision. Can you lend some advice?

• I am 23 and I have applied to go to University this month. I am supposed to start freshers week next Monday and then the term starts on the 19th of September. I am just not sure if I want to go and whether I will be any good at University study. Not to mention that I'm not very good at maths, but the degree I'll be studying is a science type course (it's a health and nutrition degree). I'm just not feeling confident about University at the moment, but I only have until Friday to decide if I want to go. If I don't go to Uni, I don't know what I will do with my life. I guess I could continue in boxing and try to go Pro (which has always been my aim), but I don't know what else I can do apart from that. There are 4,000,000 people unemployed in the UK right now, therefore there are not many jobs about. The only jobs around are "warehouse" "customer service" "call centre" work, but all of them are mainly dead end jobs with not much chance of moving up. If I go to University then realise it's not for me and drop out, I'll be stuck with having to pay back a student loan, as well as having less of an opportunity to borrow money from student finance if I was to go back to University in the future. I am really, really confused! What do you think I should do? Should I go or stay? What would be better?

• Answer:

  I recently met a fellow who had no university training, but with an IQ in the genius level and who wrote university-level papers for cash. He was not employed and probably not that employable. Sadly, they want to see that piece of paper. I am running into the same problem as I want a career in research but have only a master's degree and my three attempts at a PhD have been failures (not because of my research abilities, BTW). If you are genuinely interested in pursuing excellence in your work, and not just rising up the ranks, I would suggest focusing especially on the maths and on courses, such as philosophy, to hone your critical thinking skills.