The Sims 4: Academic Aspiration Guide

We have been graced with a new aspiration that came with The Sims 4: Discover University, the academic aspiration.

This aspiration isn’t the most fun, and has continued along the pattern of aspirations that guide you through a pack like we got with Island Living, Realm of Magic, and Strangerville.

The academic aspiration is focused on your sim getting good grades in school, attending guest lectures, and even tutoring students (a nice new way to make money).

Most simmers aren’t going to use this aspiration often, and this aspiration isn’t a necessity for every student going to University, but the reward trait is nice to have!

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Stages of the Academic Aspiration

Freshman

• Achieve Level 3 Research & Debate
• Enroll in a University

The Research & Debate skill is one of two new skills added with Discover University. You can gain this skill by doing any coursework (i.e., homework, studying, term papers, etc) or by researching topics on a research machine that can be found in the commons or at a library.

The second part is easy, and pretty self-explanatory. You can check out this article on applying and enrolling in Uni!

Bright-Eyed Student

• Achieve Level 5 Research & Debate
• Attend Guest Lectures (0/3)
• Finish a Course with an A

To achieve level 5 of the Research & Debate skill, you need to continue working on school work and doing research at the research machines. This skill will naturally go up rather quick throughout your studies.

You can attend guest lectures by clicking on one of the buildings on campus that aren’t housing and choosing attend guest lecture. These lectures only happen between 5 pm and 7 pm, so plan accordingly.

Getting an A in University is actually quite hard, be sure to do your homework, finish your coursework, and study often. You can learn more about getting an A here!

Avid Academic

• Have a Term GPA of B or Higher
• Tutor Students (0/5)
• Achieve Level 6 Research & Debate

To get a term GPA of a B or higher, you’ll need to do decently in all of your classes that semester, as a GPA is the average of the classes you’ve taken. Try to study often and stay on top of your homework to get a B GPA.

Next, you’ll need to tutor students. There’s a building on campus where you can click and tutor students in any subject where you have a high skill. This can be done at any time of the day, and also will get you a bit of income which is a great way to make money in school.

Senior Scholar

• Earn a Degree
• Contribute Knowledge on Research Archive Machine
• Achieve Level 7 Research & Debate
• Get a Job Using Degree

To finish off this aspiration, you’re going to need to earn your degree and complete all 12 credits that are necessary to graduate. then, when you graduate, you’ll need to get a job that fits in with your sim’s degree (i.e., psychology degree and education career).

Finally, you’re going to need to contribute knowledge on the research machines. This is a good way to make a bit of money and share the knowledge you’ve learned throughout school.

Academic Aspiration Reward Trait

“This Sim has proven they have what it takes to excel at University. Along the way, they learned a lot, allowing them to gain more skill using the Electromagnetic Research Archive Machine and earn more money from Publishing Research Papers and Contributing Knowledge.”

When you’re finally able to finish this aspiration, your sim will be awarded with the new higher education reward trait. As the description says, this trait is going to help your sim make way more money when they are doing academic tasks like writing papers and contributing knowledge.

You can make really great money from these tasks after you graduate, this could be a great side hustle for your sim, so having this higher education reward trait is really helpful to get the most out of it.

To contribute knowledge, you can click on a research machine and contribute any knowledge of a skill where you have a high skill. To write a research paper, you’ll need a computer but you can research scholarly papers using the research machine.

Final Thoughts

The academic aspiration is pretty basic, but it can help you through the University pack if you’ve never played before. Part of me wishes we would’ve gotten something a bit sillier, or even a slacker version of this same aspiration. What are your feelings? Let me know in the comments!