The Sims 4 Discover University: A Comprehensive Guide to Academic Success

The Sims 4 Discover University expansion pack brings the quintessential college experience to your Sims' lives. With two distinct universities, a variety of degrees, and a plethora of campus activities, there's much to explore. This guide aims to provide you with all the information you need to navigate university life, maximize your Sim's academic potential, and achieve a distinguished degree with honors.

Applying to University: Setting Your Sim Up for Success

Applying for school in The Sims 4 Discover University can feel like a real nail-biter as you await that acceptance letter. Just like in real life, your Sim's prior achievements play a significant role in their acceptance into universities and distinguished degree programs. Both the University of Britechester and Foxbury Institute will evaluate your Sim's application. To improve your Sim's chances of getting accepted, especially into a distinguished degree program, consider the following:

Academic Performance in High School: Having a Sim who was an "A" student in high school provides a slight advantage.
Skill Development: Improving relevant skills before applying can significantly boost your Sim's application. Focus on skills related to the degree your Sim wishes to pursue. Achieving level 3 in these skills is generally enough for them to appear in the scholarship list.
Scholarships: Apply for every scholarship available, as this can significantly reduce the financial burden of university.

Choosing a University and Degree

The Sims 4: Discover University introduces thirteen degrees that are available at any university. The new world of Britechester is home to two rival campuses: the University of Britechester and Foxbury Institute.

Each of the two schools - Britechester and Foxbury - specialize in one area. Britechester is a school for the arts, while Foxbury Institute is more for science and technology. They both offer the same degrees, but Britechester's arts program is distinguished while Foxbury's is not, and the same goes for science on Foxbury's end.

When you apply for school, you may be accepted into a few different distinguished degrees but not the one you want. In that case, you can take a regular degree from the other school.

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Distinguished Degrees vs. Regular Degrees

Degrees are displayed in either silver or gold. Silver indicates a regular degree, while gold signifies a distinguished one. They don't seem to be harder, it's just harder to get in. Earning a distinguished degree opens up more opportunities and career advancements upon graduation.

Understanding the Grading System and Honors

You can take between 1 and 4 University classes. To graduate With Honors, your Sim needs a GPA greater than 3.9. Graduating with honors signifies that your Sim was an honor-roll or Dean's list student with a high GPA.

Scholarships: Funding Your Sim's Education

There are a number of scholarships available - those based on where you live, based on how much money your Sim's family has, and more scholarships based on other accomplishments like participating in Scouts (Seasons). Some of these aren't particularly easy to obtain, but you should know that Skill-based Scholarships also exist.

Even though you've already applied for a Scholarship, you should know that you can apply for more. Apply for every one you see, as far as I can tell, unless you know you'll gain more skill levels before enrolling in University.

Here's a breakdown of some of the scholarships available:

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Location-Based: Available to Sims living in any of the worlds from Willow Creek to Forgotten Hollow.
Merit-Based ($500): Sims who are accepted for a Distinguished Degree can apply for this after they've been accepted.
Skill-Based Scholarships: These scholarships require a certain level in specific skills.
- Alley Cat ($400): Bowling Skill. Unlocks at Level 2, improves at 3, then 5.
- Athletics ($450): Fitness Skill. Unlocks at Level 3.
- Building the Future ($400): Handiness and Rocket Science.
- E-Sports ($450): Video Gaming skill.
- Food and Drink ($200): Cooking, Gourmet Cooking, Baking, and Mixology.
- Friend of the Animals ($400): Dog Training at level 2, improves at 3 and 5.
- Future Star ($200): Guitar, Piano, Violin, DJ Mixing, Singing, Pipe Organ, Acting, or be in the Drama Club (at rank 2+).
- The Great Outdoors ($200): Fishing, Gardening, Herbalism, Flower Arranging skills.

If you manage to pay the entire cost of your schooling with scholarships, you get a 24-hour +2 Happy 'Full Ride" moodlet that says, "Having a fully paid tuition takes some weight off your shoulders!".

You can use Student Loans to pay for University if you wish.

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Degrees Offered

There are a total 13 degrees available in Discover University, with each university offering the same degrees in some form.

Art History: Can anyone truly understand art? A degree in Art History will attempt to answer that question!
Biology: It really is a matter of life and death! Biology attempts to unlock the mysteries of life through the study of - among other things - the Fitness, Gardening, and Logic skills.
Communications: To understand one another, we must first learn how to communicate with one another.
Computer Science: Computers are everywhere, so learning to manage and program them is a smart move!
Culinary Arts: There's really only one degree to consider if you love food.
Drama: If all the world's a stage, become a better player in it by enrolling in our Drama degree!
Economics: One of the largest forces affecting everyone's decision-making is the flow of money between individuals, groups, and nations.
Fine Arts: The creation of culture is no easy task, but those enrolled in a Fine Arts degree understand the importance of just such a task.
History: To move forward, we must understand our past. The History degree uses historical people and events as a jumping-off point for examining our modern age and the consequences of major historical choices.
Literature: Since the invention of the written word, the goal to capture information, emotion, and stories for future generations has been a noble one.
Physics: Whether you like to think big or think small, the Physics degree has got you covered.
Psychology: Psychology considers one of the core questions of existence - why do we do what we do? - and unpacks in an academic setting.
Villainy: Life isn't fair, but those that know how to exploit that unfairness end up on top!

Campus Life: Living and Learning

Sims can either attend University off-campus, or live in a dorm. Players will be free to customize their dorm's appearance, though building space may be limited. There's a common area, library for study, and recreational areas.

Sims can have a roommate whether they attend university or not, by placing an ad. Multiple Sims will show up as applications, and you can select among them who you'd like to be a roommate. They will pay a portion of the household's bills each week. What they might not do, is clean up after themselves. Some roommates are hellish, while others are great to live with.

Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate sims require a total of 12 course credits. You can pursue up to 4 credits in a term, with elective counting toward your degree. A term is one Sim week, with courses taking place on weekdays. You can take one elective per session - use this to boost a skill that helps your Sim in some way but isn't needed for their future career.

A few people have noted that after your first degree, you no longer need 12 credits. We initially thought this was tied to skills, but it's actually unrelated. Once you have a degree, any others you obtain will only take 8 credits each.

Classes and Assignments

There are many classes in Discover University, many related to existing skills. You'll need to work to keep up your Sim's grades, with class attendance counting along with how they perform on various assignments like presentations and term papers. Sims are given a course book in their inventory, which can be used to study and improve grades. They may be required to write a term paper before the week-long term is up. A term paper's quality is stated when you hover over it, so you can decide not to turn in a poorly-written paper. Similarly, with presentations you will receive a presentation board.

Extracurricular Activities: Organizations

There are Organizations on campus that provide extracurricular activities: robotics, art, and debate clubs as well as spirit clubs for each school's sports teams. We don't know a lot about them yet, but they are fully featured - meaning you can take your Sim and participate in them (not rabbit holes).

One example is The Brainiacs is a Foxbury Institute Organization in The Sims 4 Discover University Expansion Pack.

Joining The Brainiacs provides several benefits for Foxbury Institute students.
Membership is exclusive to Foxbury Institute students. You must be at least a Young Adult.
To join The Brainiacs, attend one of their events and ask a member directly. Choose Ask to Join The Brainiacs.
The Brainiacs has three ranks: New Member, Seasoned Member, and Senior Member. Tasks refresh every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 9am. Three random tasks are assigned, which must be completed before the next refresh.
- Complete Homework â Select the homework book and choose Do Homework. You only need to finish one class assignment.
- Study for 2 Hours â Use a computer, research archive machine, or textbook. Only the computer reliably registers.
- Attend Class While Focused â Enter a Focused mood by playing chess, drinking a Focused Potion, or browsing Simpedia. Stay Focused for the entire 2-hour class.
- Go to Office Hours â Available between 11am and 3pm on weekdays. Choose Go to Office Hours to check your progress in class.

Events are the best way to gain experience points quickly while socializing with other students. At Study Sessions, members do homework, Discuss Upcoming Tests, and Share Project Ideas for experience. Bar Nights are a social event where members meet at the bar to enjoy drinks, music, and casual conversation.

New Skills: Robotics

The pack features a new robotics skill, which lets Sims build various types of robot - from basic household helpers like party bots, repair bots, and gardening bots, to Servo. Servo is the ultimate reward for pursuing the robotics skill and can join the household (consuming one of the max slots) upon activation. Servos require maintenance and to keep their batteries charged.

Careers

There are Education, Law, and Engineering Careers in Discover University. These do not require you to attend school, you'd just start at the bottom like any other Sim career track. Education has the Professor and Administrative branches, while Law has Judge and Private Attorney branches. Engineers were shown in the deep dive livestream and have Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Sims could also join careers in soccer and as an esports gamer (shown in the careers interface) and these required attendance at the University to participate, so we don't know much yet about how that ties in.

The biggest asset of that pack is that Sims with a college degree enter their career at a very high level and don't have to work their way to the top. They usually also get a very nice bonus just for taking on a job. Then there are I think three new careers with two branches each.

Bicycles

Bikes are making a comeback in this pack, allowing players to quickly get around the huge campuses of Britechester and Foxbury Institute.

New Aspirations and Traits

The Sims 4 Dicover University Expansion Pack adds one new Aspiration for selection in Create-a-Sim.

The Sims 4 Discover University Expansion Pack adds two brand new traits for Sims. These traits are inherited by completing certain actions in the game.

(Reward Trait)Higher Education: Sims have mastered the university experienceâteaching them how to fully utilize what they learned and apply it to life! They have increased skill gain when researching on the Research Archive Machine and are granted extra money when Publishing Research Papers or Contributing Knowledge.
(Reward Trait): As an elite gamer, this Sim has more fun when playing video games, is more likely to win tournaments, and benefits from increased performance within the E-Sports activity.

New Items

The Sims 4 Discover University includes 190 buy and build mode items. This includes objects, build items, styled rooms, and every other item that was included with the game.

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