[stoney]

In the UK it's also likely that the students are living away from home for the first time, which takes a bit of getting used to for some.

It's difficult to strike a balance between not boring the brightest and losing the less bright completely.

[gaius]

The less bright should not be there in the first place.

University isn't supposed to be merely a continuation of secondary education.

[stoney]

Wherever you draw the line on who to take and who not to take, you will end up with a spectrum of abilities being accepted - there will always be the person who just made it in and there will always be the person who could have done it in their sleep. I meant "less bright" as a relative term (relative to the rest of their group) not as a euphemism for being objectively stupid.

Though I do agree that there is a case that too many people are going to university these days. But maybe that's just because I have a degree so I want to create scarcity!