Choices: A University and Course(s)

Happy Wednesday!

Here's another instalment of TPYPF Choices series.

If you're in year 11, 12, or 13, you're probably thinking about what comes after college. Granted, university is by no means the only option available, but it's the one that I know most about, so that's what I'll be focussing on today. I'm currently looking into university myself, so I don't have as much knowledge on the actual life side of uni, but with regards to making plans, I'm pretty informed.

So, when begging in to look into further education, there's two routes you can go; courses by your favourite unis, or which unis do your favourite courses. Both are viable options, and I'm currently doing both. If you're interested, I'm looking into Theology/RS/Philosophy, and Drama. (so, very different subjects). The best ways I've found to narrow down my options is to only look at the Russel Group universities for the more academic subjects, and for specialised subjects like Drama, to simple google which are the best further education places for it. With Drama, you can go to uni, or a conservatoire, or a drama school, so it's little more complex than academic subjects.

If you're gonna go the subject choice then uni choice route, googling the top unis for your subject(s) is probably one of the best methods of narrowing down. Or if you're looking into a particular field, find successful people in that field and see where they went to uni. If you're heading for the other route, be prepared for some disappointments, because what seems to be the uni of your dreams may let you down when it comes to what courses are offered.

Other things to consider when looking into universities are:

• You don't have to only study one subject - you can do a 50/50 degree, or a 25/75 degree, or study one subject but do extra-curricular things in a totally different area - you needn't limit yourself
• Your country (whether that be England or not) isn't the only country! Although places like America and Canada are a lot more expensive when it come to tuition fees (especially for international students), they boast some of the best unis in the world, and have unique connections worldwide, in particular MIT, Yale, and CalTech - but remember, England's unis are pretty incredible too!
• Some further education providers don't work through UCAS, like conservatoires/drama schools/dance schools/non-UK unis/etc
• This is advantageous, because you can apply to more than just the 5 places allocated on your UCAS form
• This can be a bigger hassle, because you have potentially more rejection (let's not be pessimistic but still), and you have to spend more time applying directly
• Social life, including lodging - do you want to live on campus? what about catering? how many people do you want to share a bathroom/kitchen with?
• Where abouts you go - do you get homesick easily? Living closer to home might help if you need to come home for every holiday and give your parents a load of washing after each term

University Finder is a useful tool which can help you find universities which offer the course(s) you want and are aimed at your UCAS points range (which you can also calculate on the site).

UCAS also offer a similar service which is v v useful.

Good luck, and as always please feel free to contact me if you need any advice/help!