The Academic World – for everyone?
UncategorizedWhen Swedish students decide to contribute to their University studies, there may be a lot of different reasons behind it. A recent study made by the organisation Statistics Sweden newly investigated how likely you’re to continue with higher academic studies based on your personal background. The study shows that the two main factors for university studies are the parent’s level of education and the closeness to a University. If you live nearby a university or come from a family with academic parents, you are more likely to continue with academic studies after high school (SCB, 2023).
In a windy region in the south of Sweden, not far away from the bridge leading to Denmark and the rest of Europe, there is this charming university city called Lund.
I am sitting with a warm cup of coffee with four fellow students at Lund University. The conversation leads to a strong statement. Everyone in the room agrees that we all come from a similar backgrounds with parents’ with academic backgrounds.
“For many students, it probably has to do with their parents’ academic background – traditions that are passed down, etc. For me, it was the university’s good reputation and the quality of the education from what I had heard and read before” says Alice, one of the students.
One of the other students, Tove, agrees with her:
“I think that a lot depends on the academic background of family members. Otherwise, as Alice said, it has a good reputation that may attract others as well. But I am a bit surprised that we do not see that big of a variety of students we meet. ”
A recent study made by the organisation Statistics Sweden newly investigated how likely you’re to continue with higher academic studies based on your background. The study shows that the two main factors for university studies are the parent’s level of education and the closeness to a University. If you live nearby a university or come from a family with academic parents, you are more likely to continue with academic studies after high school (SCB, 2023). The study also shows that it is more common for people with a Swedish background to have a couple of gap years before pursuing their university than it is for people with a non-Swedish background to do so.
Lund University was founded in 1666 and ranked as one of the top 100 universities in the world. The university also has one of the world’s leading facilities for science (Lund University, 2022).
“When I arrived here, I was shocked. I felt like an outsider, both by not coming from a bigger city and without having parents with an academic background. For me, it was the great reputation of the University that got me hooked” one of the other students filled in.
Among the students who graduated high school in Sweden in 2017, whose parents only had a high school education, only 40 per cent did start their university education within five years. The corresponding percentage for students with parents with post-secondary education was almost double 70 per cent (SCB, 2023).
Even though people come from different backgrounds, the University brings people together. The student life in Lund is blooming and the last student Carnival had a groundbreaking record with over 7500 students volunteering and over 300 000 visitors during the weekend (Sveriges Television, 2022).
The two founding pieces of Lund – the student life and the top-ranked university make it hard not to be interested.
“I believe that a great school and good student life are important. I mean, I was told stories about the great student life in Lund my whole childhood” says one of the students, Elin, and continues:
“I truly believe that Lund is one of the greatest cities and Universities out there, and I really hope that people with other backgrounds can find their way here and enjoy it as well. Lund is for everyone my friends”.
We all finished our (now) cold cups of coffee and started to walk out in the freezing Swedish wind in Lund. The small roads full of students on their too-old bikes home from school fully dressed up in ballgowns for the annual winter balls and the ones walking home nervous after the big exam. We looked into each other’s eyes and there was no question – WOW we love our tiny precious Lund!
For more information:
Lund University. (2022). Universitetet i korthet.
https://www.lu.se/om-universitetet/universitetet-i-korthet
Statistiska Central Byrån. (2023).Föräldrars utbildningsnivå och närhet till universitet viktiga faktorer för högskolestudier. https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/artiklar/2022/foraldrars-utbildningsniva-och-narhet-till-universitet-viktiga-faktorer-for-hogskolestudier/
Sveriges Television. (2022). Katastrof präglar årets Lundakarneval – hundratusentals besökare väntas