Send Clowns,
What a breath of fresh air your views on University are. Its such a pity that "University" now seems to be the panacea of all educational ills. Everyone just accepts that its now the logical next step after A-levels and anyone who has never been must somehow be some sort of retard.
And what of poor Manee, maybe he just doesn't want to go to Uni. Maybe he wants to get out into the real world and start earning a crust in his chosen profession some five years before his counterparts who chose to cop out to "higher education".
Manee, unfortunately the guys are right. If you want a real shot at these sponsorship schemes then a degree is de-riguer I'm afraid (sometimes two). Excuse my ranting but there was a time when leaving school and getting an apprenticeship somewhere was a really good opportunity (you learned a trade, earned a wage and were not a burden to your parents or the state) and stood you in good stead for whatever else you chose to do with your life (I did my FI course at Perth last year and on the BA sponsored course that was going through at the time was a real nice chap who started life as a BA engineering apprentice).
Good luck with the A-levels Manee, don't just go to Uni 'cos there's nothing else to do, have a PLAN!