Tuesday 3 February 2015

First and Second Choices


Hello again! It's been a while!

Recently I have continued my application process by applying for university 'visit days'. These days help you to decide if a specific university and course are right for you. I've booked to go to days at Birmingham, UEA and Keele. Normally it's helpful to go to just one or two, especially if you can't decide which university to put as your first or second choice. I'm visiting three myself as I received an Unconditional Offer from Keele and am wondering whether to put it as my first choice, as after I receive my mock exam results I will have a better understanding of what grades to aim for.

If you're going to a visit day, here's a few things you might need to think about:

  • Would I be happy to take this course for three or four years?
  • What type of accommodation suits me? Self-catered? On or off campus? En-suite bathroom? 
  • What is the student life like? What about societies or nightlife?
And of course, the most important:

  • Will I be happy here?


Don't feel pressured to accept or decline any offers yet, as the deadline is far away in May - there is plenty of time to really think about what kind of education suits you best. In my case, I have to decide between a university in a big city with about 30,000 students (Birmingham) or a university in the middle of a countryside with one of the lower student intakes (Keele).

I haven't really thought about what will happen after I leave home; everything is so focused on the here and now, especially with the constant reminders about coursework and revision. But Student Finance has now officially opened, which is yet another responsibility to handle. I expect every school will have countless assemblies and form notices about it, so there's no need to stress.

My next blog will probably be published after I have been to my visit days, so I leave you until then...

~Nicola