Fancy having your own room? A lock on your door? Your own bank-account and hundreds of other people just waiting to….shake your hand? Then university might be the place for you. You’re 18 (or thereabouts) and for the first time ever your life is completely in your hands. You can get hitched, get drunk and maybe for the first time decide what sort of education you want to receive and who you want to teach you. For some of you, that might involve leaving school or college and getting a job. It might mean taking some time out to travel. For others it might involve going to university.

But why go to university when you can be out in the world earning money? Will you earn more money in the long run? That’s what all those uni sites and books say, isn’t it? ‘It might cost a packet in the first place, but eventually you’ll be earning loads more with a degree’. Or so they say. Well, we have to admit it, it’s often true. Getting a degree does give you a better chance of finding a job and your earnings will go up if you’re armed with qualifications. Not to mention all the extra opportunities and experiences you can gain at uni. And you know what, if your parents won’t support you financially, you can get extra help.

You might be worried though that you’ve just come out to your friends at home (and you’re totally in love with the girl/boy you’ve met at youth group – you’ve been seeing each other for 26 and a half days now) and you don’t want to leave. You might also ask why you should bother doing it all over again with a new group of people who might not be so friendly.

These are reasonable and natural things to worry about. But the bottom line is that going to university is usually great fun, you pay the money back if you’re earning, and being gay at university is often fabulous according to Stonewall’s many youth volunteers.

It’s up to you

The great thing about going to university is that you can choose exactly what you want to get out of it, where you want to go (as near or as far from home as you want), the type of place you want to go (a modern university, a sporty university, an international university - check out the “where to go” page to find out more), what you want to study and what type of course you want to do (a ‘sandwich’ course, a ‘modular’ course, a ‘vocational’ course – you may want to get a little book now and start making notes – there is rather a lot to think about).

With thousands of courses available on UCAS (one of those funny initial things – check out the glossary) and over 150 institutions in the UK alone there really is something for everyone. You can pick the right place for you.

Did you know you can study bra design (Contour Fashion) at De Montfort University, stand-up comedy at Southampton Solent University and even Surfing at the University of Plymouth? You might find it hard explaining it all to your aunts and uncles come the festive season but admit it, they do sound fun.

Focusing on what you love

The best thing about university is that you get to spend three or four years studying a subject that you love. If you’ve got a passion for Biology then what better way to spend three years than dissecting frogs in Warwick University’s science labs? If sport’s your thing then spending three years with Loughborough’s amazing facilities would be heavenly.

So why not take up the chance to immerse yourself in a subject you like? You do after all have 50 odd years to do the 9-5 office thing. And your course won’t take up all of your time. In fact, for some people it’ll be more of a case of fitting your course around all of your other activities! Whether you want to join the Doctor Who society or Rugby Club, spend your time at black tie balls or chasing boys/girls on the local scene, there are more than enough extra activities at universities to keep you busy.

When people talk about university being the time of their lives it’s this they’re referring to! People you’ve never met, places you’ve never been, and experiences you’ve never had before. It feels all so new and fresh. It’s almost like taking the cellophane off a brand new DVD, but that DVD is your life.

And don’t forget most universities have an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans society – sometimes known as Queer Soc or other variations on the theme – do keep up at the back) society, so meeting other gay people shouldn’t be that hard. You do have to do some work, but you also have to find plenty of opportunities for fun.

Money matters

For a lot of people money can be a factor in deciding whether or not to go to university. You might prefer not to spend another few years not earning and racking up debt – although plenty of students do work part-time and during vacations. You might want independence as soon as possible and decide that getting a full-time job is the only way to do this. You might look at Richard Branson or Lord Alan Sugar and decide that they’re your role models and you want to be just like them – though please note the beard is optional. You can make big bucks without having to waste away three years.

Well that’s all true (although big bucks aren’t so likely in the current climate). University education is expensive, and you’re likely to graduate with around £30,000 of debt – which we know feels like loads now. However, you don’t have to pay this back until you graduate and are earning - see our finance guide for more information. And this £30,000 gets a great rate of return so it is basically an investment.

Here’s the maths: studies have shown that university graduates earn on average about a quarter more than people who leave school after their A-levels, and earn on average between £100,000 and £200,000 more (depending on who you listen to) over their working life. So that’s a big pay off for spending three years making friends and learning a subject you love. Also, gaining a degree can seriously improve your career prospects, giving you a much greater variety of career options but also the ability to progress much faster up the career ladder (hopefully to the very top). A degree doesn’t guarantee a good job at the end, especially in uncertain times, but it certainly boosts your chances. And of course for many jobs – Doctor, Lawyer, etc – a degree is essential. But whatever degree you study, the skills you develop will help to make you more employable.

You also don’t need to be dependent on your parents, so if they don’t accept your sexuality, for instance, and they refuse to give you money to study, check out our finance guide to find out more about being financially independent. It is possible.

Be yourself and meet new people

One of the biggest plus points of going to University is that it’s a great place to be yourself. So if you want to explore your relationship with eyeliner (who are we kidding, you’ve tried it already haven’t you?) or pretend you are from the ghetto even though you live in some leafy suburb then this is the time to do it. You’ll be spending the next three years with other people of a similar age and with similar interests, but from different backgrounds and with a wide range of experiences and stories to tell. This means that you can spend your time at university finding out exactly who you are, from the simple things like whether you like Sushi to bigger things like what you believe about the world and whether you fancy boys, girls or both. The best thing of all is that no matter what you do or say you can leave it all behind after three years if you want to.

A lot of people choose university as a time to come out as gay or to experiment with their sexuality. University is a great place to do this. For some, it might be your first opportunity to meet other lesbian, gay and bisexual people, and given that loads of people find their partners at university it might be the place where you find ‘The One’ – no pressure if you don’t though.

University offers loads of opportunities to develop yourself both personally and professionally, a chance to meet other people like you as well as chances to have lots of fun along the way. It’s true that it might not be right for everyone, and you should think about your choice carefully. But remember there’s no rush to go; lots of people choose to take gap years, so that when they arrive they can share stories about their adventures in the Himalayas or South America or simply take time out to earn some hard cash before going. But for lots of people university offers great opportunities, and you should certainly never be put off because you think that university isn’t right for people like you. Universities are full of people like you. All amazingly different.