Best time for University?

Keth

Without ever really thinking about it, i just assumed the best time to attend University was right after you age up to YA but before you join a career. Is this actually the most optimal time to go to University?

IreneSwift

You definitely need to send your sim before they join their career, because the benefits of getting a degree only work when they start the job. They will start at a higher level in the career and get higher pay, but they won't get a raise or promotion if they get the degree later. But if you want to wait awhile after they age up, they could always get a different job than the one related to the degree they're going to get. If they don't have enough skills to qualify for advance credits or a scholarship, they could use the extra time to get their skills up. Since I don't play generationally, most of the sims I send to university are already young adult when I start playing with them. I'll have them do other things to earn money while waiting to qualify at least for advance credits, preferably with the skills they need for their degree, such as gardening or painting.

TreyNutz

To get the maximum financial benefit, graduating before starting a rabbit hole career is probably the optimal time (which isn't age dependent). Your sim will start their career at level 4 (assuming they get a degree in the related major for that career with an A grade). The salary and job performance boosts presumably work out better over the long term if the degree is earned earlier in the career too. As for job performance requirements, the time in University would ideally be used to get career required skills up so at least those requirements don't hold back promotions.

However, on a long lifespan it probably matters less what career level the sim happens to be when he or she earns the degree, since there is more time to earn money and amass wealth for whatever future expenses you expect the sim to have.

Once a sim joins a career you'll have to quit and rejoin after getting the degree to get the job entry level boost. After reaching level 4, there's just the salary increase, job performance boost, and lifetime happiness points to get from the degree. I don't know how the job performance boost works, whether it's a one time thing or whether it impacts the rate of job performance game throughout the sim's career.

One thing the sim will miss out on by skipping the first 3 levels of a career is any career related opportunities and they may find themselves behind on promotion requirement expectations (skills, friendship levels with co-workers or boss, etc). That's probably a minor loss though.

I don't think attending university right after aging to YA is necessarily more beneficial compared to going at some other point in life. It think the optimal time to go depends on 2 things: when the sim is going to start the career and what your goals are with that sim. If the goal is just to get a degree for story reasons, to look for a spouse, get the university experience, get some free time in for other goals, then obviously it doesn't matter. And, obviously, a degree doesn't help self-employed careers (unless you have the right NRaas mods) or active professions.

R3B3CKVH

Keth wrote: »

Without ever really thinking about it, i just assumed the best time to attend University was right after you age up to YA but before you join a career. Is this actually the most optimal time to go to University?

@Keth Depending on which Degree you pick, you can get scholarships and credits for certain skills. so it might be a good idea to improve skills before you attend University. Make sure you take the aptitude test before you enroll. (click the bucket the Llama Mascot drops off at your house.)

Wonderstruckk

When my Sim is in HS, I do whatever I can to get skills up. For example, my last Sim I sent to Uni, I had her join Music Club in HS and she had a lot of Piano and Painting skills by the time she graduated, so when I had her take the Aptitude test she got a pretty good score, earned a partial scholarship and was awarded 18 credits (The most you can get from the test I believe) in Fine Arts. She completed College super fast, one 2 week term and then one 1 week term and she was done. Graduated with a perfect GPA and now has a good job in the Symphonic branch of music.

TreyNutz

Sims can earn credits towards a degree even after beginning work on a major. Just take the aptitude test before the next trip to university. I've had sims enroll straight out of CAS (thus with no skills), complete a term, return home, and then later take the aptitude test before their 2nd trip to earn credits towards the degree they are working on.

IreneSwift wrote: »

...but they won't get a raise or promotion if they get the degree later.

My sim always get a raise upon returning home after graduation, even if they are already employed in a career related to their major. So, I find it worthwhile even if they are currently above level 4 in their career. (Note: I do use NRaas Careers+Academics, but I'm not aware of raises due to degrees earned while in the career being a feature of that mod).