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Which Uni, Which Course?

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Which Uni, Which Course? Deciding which course and which university is both exciting and stressful. You are preparing for the next chapter of your life and your future career. So, it is super important that you do your research and make a decision that is right for you! During this time, you will have a lot of people offering advice and assistance which is extremely useful! However, if like me, you have a very, shall we say…vocal family that likes to give their opinion, it is easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with what everyone is telling you. Just remember that yes, people are telling you this information for a reason, but also that this is your life. You need to make a choice that you are happy with and one that will help you get where you want to be. HOW DO I CHOOSE A COURSE? Now, there are a lot of factors to consider but a good tip is to start with choosing a course. This will help you narrow down university options. Lucky enough to know your future career? If you are fortunate enough to know what you want to do in the future than make sure you choose a course that will help you get there. One that provides you with the skills, knowledge and experience to aid your progression and development. For this I recommend researching the requirements of your chosen job. You can do this through your school’s career advisers, contacting companies, searching their websites and/or talking to people you already know. It is also a good idea to look at course descriptions and graduate destinations. You can often find this information when browsing through courses. It will help you to see what you will be gaining from the course and which routes graduates have taken once completing the course. Not too sure yet? If you don’t know what you want to do in the future, then that is also completely fine! I didn’t have a clue until now and I am in my final year at university! If you are in this situation then consider: • What your interests are → - What do you enjoy learning? - What do you want to learn more about? *I was very interested in learning about people, groups and how society is structured therefore, I chose Sociology. • What you are good at → - Are you good at essay writing? - Working with numbers? - Learning languages? • Your preferred assessment method → - Do you like coursework? - Do you prefer practical assessments? - Or exams? - How many contact (lectures/seminars) hours a week? *I have always struggled with exams and so Sociology was perfect for me because it is predominantly coursework based. • What you want from the course → - What do you want to gain? - What opportunities do you want to have in the future? - Would you like to do a placement abroad or in the UK or not at all? *a placement = a period of time where you do not study at university but choose a company/charity/school etc to work in to gain experience. You can also use this opportunity to study abroad. The length of time depends on course requirements. It is often no longer than a year. A lot of placements are paid however, some are not. As mentioned above, details about courses can be found on university websites and UCAS. Here are some useful links: 1. UCAS: https://digital.ucas.com/search/results?SearchText=marketing&filters=Destination_Undergrad uate 2. Find a course: https://www.whatuni.com/degrees/courses/ 3. University of Sheffield: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/study 4. University of Oxford: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate 5. University of Exeter: http://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/ I have included these universities above simply to show you examples of website layouts and where you can find course information. There are plenty of universities to choose from! OKAY COOL, BUT WHICH UNIVERSITY IS RIGHT FOR ME? If you have finalised your course choice, or have a few ideas, then you should search the university rankings based on your selected course and their rating as a whole. A better performing university will have a higher ranking and therefore, a better reputation. This always sits well with employers when you finish with a degree from a top rated and respected university! The top universities tend to be more research focused (BSc), which is great as you get to meet and learn from global experts in their fields! This teaching quality will also be scored so you may want to check how your preferred unis score here too – ultimately how you are taught will impact on your success. These links will help you: 1. The Complete University Guide: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league- tables/rankings (this can be filtered by course and the university as a whole) 2. Russell Group Universities: https://russellgroup.ac.uk/about/our-universities/ 3. Top Universities: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/university-subject- rankings/2017/sociology *The Russell Group = a partnership of many (but not all) of the UK’s top research-led universities. As I previously mentioned, look first at courses and then see which unis score highly. Your chosen subject may be well delivered by unis outside of the Russell Group. Some great universities are not included for example, Bath and St Andrews. Studying is extremely important – You want that high class degree! However, university is NOT all about studying. I can tell you from experience, it is a lot to do with the friends you make, the fun you have and being independent! Therefore, you need to choose somewhere you can see yourself working, living and exploring. This may depend on: • The Area 1. Do you want somewhere lively and busy? Do you want somewhere with a good night life? 2. Do you want somewhere quiet? 3. Do you want to live near or in a city or the coast etc…? 4. Do you want good transport networks? 5. Do you want to live far from or close to home? 6. Think about whether you will feel safe • The Campus 1. Do you want a city or campus university? A city university is one that has different colleges or buildings scattered around a city/area rather than all in one place (campus). 2. What facilities are you looking for? E.g. Sports? Labs? Student Wellbeing? Student Union? Societies? 3. What type of accommodation would you like? Accommodation styles and costs can be found on university websites. To really grasp a university’s environment, atmosphere, facilities and living arrangements, I would definitely recommend attending open days. These can be found on university websites and here: https://www.whatuni.com/open-days/. The open days also give you a chance to chat with current students about university life. They can answer any concerns or questions you may have! It is also a nice idea to look at statistics regarding student satisfaction to see how previous and current students rate living and/or working at particular universities. Again, search university websites to find this and under the “reviews” section here: https://www.whatuni.com/university- course-reviews/. I really hope that this has been useful and provided you with a good framework of things to start thinking about. Take it step by step and view as many places as you can. If you haven’t already noticed https://www.whatuni.com/ is a fab website to use when making these decisions. And like I always say, remember to ask for help and advice if you are struggling! No point suffering in silence! Please let me know if you would like to know any more or what you would like to see in the next blog via @elephantaccess on Instagram! Olivia Jones, Third Year student, University of Bath .
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