The Sims 4:Life and Deathoffers new career paths in the form of Reaper, Mortician, and Funeral Director. Some of these have cross-pack compatibility with The Sims 4: Discover University, allowing Sims to jumpstart their jobs upon being hired. This can lead to a lot more extra money, including big initial signing bonuses. But gaining a degree takes time and effort, which makes it important to assess if the investment is really worth it.
While death degrees are a combined feature ofLife & DeathandDiscover University, you can further addHigh School Yearsinto the mix. Graduating early from Copperdale High allows teen Sims to enroll at Foxbury Institute and the University of Brightchester. This, in turn, means that they will be ready for their morbid career of choice up to aging into young adulthood. But, if you play on long lifespans, it could be some time before the Sim sees this benefit.
Enrollment And Degree Requirements
The First Step Is Getting In
As of the October release ofThe Sims 4: Life & Death, there are only degrees for the Mortician and Funeral Director, the two branches of theUndertaker career inThe Sims 4. Even when I used a Sim with every degree inDiscover University,they did not gain a bonus or career advance as a Reaper. It is possible that EA will add this in a patch, but in the meantime, potential Reapers can buy theConnections traitfrom the Rewards Store for 3,000 points.
It is important to pick which university to enroll in. One will offer a standard degree, and the other a distinguished one. Earning a normal degree gets you tolevel 5 of a career; earninga normal degree with honors or distinguished without honorsleads to level 6, anddistinguished with honors lands you at level 7.
A big factor is getting accepted into college, to begin with. While you can always fill in an application for 75 Simoleons,you will often get rejected if the Sim lacks distinguished skills. Each point in one of these three skills multiplies your chances by around x2, while you suffer a x0.25 penalty for poor high school grades. You also gain a bonus for being a celebrity fromGet Famous.
Charisma, Logic, Research & Debate
Picking The Right Class Schedule
Each college semester lasts one week inThe Sims 4. Classes are always Monday through Friday, with none on the weekend. A Sim needs 12 credits to graduate and can choose to take one to four classes per semester. This means you could take anywhere from three to twelve weeks to finish.
How To Make a Will In The Sims 4: Life & Death
The Sims 4: Life & Death allows you to write a will. You need to take care of this while alive, but can affect the next generation.
Picking core and elective classes is important for a few reasons: timing, earned skills, and homework. You need to factor in if the Sim has enough free time to fit in by attending school with any jobs, clubs, or social life inThe Sims 4. Additionally, while the distinguished skills help earn the degree,they may be useless once hired. In a bit of irony, Funeral Directors will want to take Fitness and Gardening electives, while Morticians should take Painting classes.
Is Going To University Worth Your Time?
Promotions Are Nice, But Are Not Required
Having a degree is a great means of skipping ahead in the Mortician and Funeral Director careers. But, it can be costly and hard to manage while living on campus. By default,housing in the world of Britechester has no refrigerators,and lots cannot be edited while anyone is living in them. This was originally to encourage Sims to explore the town and dine at the college commons, but it can be frustrating when your goal is to get more into the content ofThe Sims 4: Life & Death.
Another aspect to consider is that neither Undertaker branch is very exciting. I wasn’t impressed and have been using Reaper more in my latest save games. The best overall solution is toenroll in university but live at home, preferably at Ravenwood, which hasEuropean-inspired architecture.
This turns classes into a simple rabbit hole action inThe Sims 4: Life and Death, allowing you to take control of other family members in the meantime. Those other Sims can provide income, prepare food, or provide interactions that may be harder to access while at Britechester. Additionally, college-bound Sims can cut down on electives and gain those suggested skills at their residence.
