Invicta Vlogs
The Next Step ...
Having spent the afternoon selecting my first and insurance choices for university next year, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on my journey so far and my experience with choosing a university.
Deciding on a university is one of the biggest decisions I have had to make to date; it is the next four years of my life and one of the biggest investments I will ever make! Therefore, it is important to really take your time when choosing a course, location and style of university.
After asking around and speaking to some friends, I had already decided that I wanted to go to a campus university before I even started looking. I liked the idea of everything being in one place and having easy access to all of the facilities the university has to offer. I then began looking at league tables and reading articles on The Student Room to try and get a feel for which universities were best for my course; History and Spanish. I really recommend speaking to people to get their opinions on different universities because as useful as the league tables are, they do not give a feel for what actual university life is like, or the opportunities that are available.
I would also recommend ordering prospectuses early - the earlier the better! They really help you to get an idea of what you will be studying, where your course can take you and what the university is like as a place. Through ordering prospectuses and looking at the university websites, you can select a few that you would like to visit. I personally visited nine universities in the summer of Year 12 and the September of Year 13. I really recommend visiting as many as you can in the summer; the more you visit, the clearer it will become what you want from a university.
Once you have decided on a few that you like, you get five choices on UCAS and I would use all of them; get in contact with the universities if you have any other questions that you did not get answered at the visit days. From my experience, they are always very willing to answer any questions you might have and provide more information about your course should you need it.
At the time they may not seem useful, but really make the most of UCAS fairs, careers events and 18+ Options Evenings, as they help to point you in the direction of the right university. It is an important decision - so take your time, but most importantly, enjoy it. It is an exciting time, so make the most of it!
Ellie Brown
Deputy Head Girl
