Dear University, It’s Not Me, It’s You

 A breakup letter to higher education from a counsellor who still believes in love, just not in rankings.

We used to talk about purpose. Now all you talk about is placement.

When we first met, you were curious, idealistic, and full of promise. You spoke of ideas that could change the world, of minds that could question, challenge, and rebuild it. You were the place where learning was liberation, not transaction.

But lately, you’ve changed.

You’ve started chasing clout. You flaunt your “global rankings” like trophies, obsess over employability scores, and post drone shots of your campus as if education were a lifestyle brand. You’ve traded your philosopher’s robe for a marketer’s blazer.

You used to ask students, “Who are you becoming?”
Now you ask, “What’s your ROI?”

And it hurts to say this, but it’s not just you. I’ve changed too.

As a counsellor, I’ve whispered your name in reverence, your top-tier programs, your prestige, your glossy brochures. I’ve advised students based on your rank and reputation, knowing deep down that I was feeding the same illusion I now want to question.

We’ve all been complicit, haven’t we? The universities, the counsellors, the parents, the students; all circling around the same myth: that a number on a list can define quality, worth, or wisdom.

But somewhere in this race, we lost the point of the journey.

Education was meant to be an awakening, a dialogue, not a deal. It was meant to teach students how to think, not what to produce. To give them a vocabulary for empathy, courage, and doubt.

Instead, we’ve turned classrooms into conveyor belts, learning into logistics, and purpose into performance metrics.

Still, I’m not giving up on you. Beneath your rankings and rebrands, I know your heart still beats for something deeper - the late-night debates, the first spark of understanding, the student who discovers their voice in a lecture hall no one remembers.

That’s the version of you I fell in love with.

So here’s my proposal:
Let’s both do better.
You stop chasing prestige; I’ll stop chasing your rankings.
You invest in curiosity; I’ll keep sending you students who want to think, not just compete.

Because education deserves a better love story than this.

With lingering affection and professional concern,
A Counsellor Who Still Believes in You

“Education was never meant to be a status symbol. It was meant to be a conversation. One that changes both the speaker and the listener.”

Author’s Note

As a school counsellor, I see both sides of the university-student journey - the dreams we nurture and the systems that shape them. This letter is a gentle reminder that while rankings may guide choices, curiosity and purpose should always lead the way.