applying to uni
Applying to university is such a difficult decision for most people because schools and colleges often encourage students to apply even if they aren't sure what they want to do, because deciding what area of expertise you want to work in for the rest of your life isn't something most people know at 18. I applied for university over a year ago now and I deferred my place for a year so am getting ready to go off to university in September so I thought I would share with you my experience of applying and the advice that I would give to anyone thinking about applying as most people will be starting to think about applying for university.
The first thing that I would recommend for someone who isn't really sure what they want to apply for is to think about what subjects you do now and enjoy because choosing a course first is the easiest way to go about finding a university. There are some courses that you will find that you will be unable to do without certain A Levels or equivalent, which is why finding a course that you would enjoy to do is the easiest thing to do first. If you find that you are thinking between two or three different courses then that is completely fine as it still limits down the massive options of universities that you have.
Another thing I would suggest thinking about before you start looking at universities that you might want to go to is think about how far you would want to be from home. I limited myself to about 3 hours away from home because this meant I could still come home easily if I wanted or needed to. This helps to cut down the choice of universities once again so that you're not overwhelmed with options when you come to look at them.
I found that the best place to start searching for possible universities was on the UCAS website as this allows you to select a course, a distance from home and so many other options to show you universities that would be suited for you. You can filter the universities that it shows you by putting in the amount of UCAS points based off your predicted grades but otherwise, the pages showing the details of the university will show you how many points/what grades you would need to get in. I found that the best thing to do was to put in entry requirements slightly higher than what you are predicted to get as this gives you more variety of university and also gives you something to work harder for.
When you have limited your choices down to a few universities GO AND LOOK AT THEM! This is so important because you really get a feel for the university and it really helps to see if you think you would like to go there. It also helps you get more of a taste of the course, this is also a great time if you are stuck between different courses to think about which one you would prefer. University open days are so easy to book, the website opendays.com is super useful as it shows you a calendar display of when all the open days are. I would definitely recommend taking a parent with you because it can be daunting to go on your own and also they are likely to support you whilst at university in some way or another so are likely to be very interested in where you are wanting to go. I would also advise you to plan your day out when you book an open day a lot of universities will send out open day packs to your email and this includes times of different talks which can help you decide what you want to go to and when.
Writing a personal statement is another thing that you need to overcome when applying for university and I started mine by writing a draft of what I wanted to include in my personal statement and then filling it out from there. There are so many pages online that give great advice on what you should include in a personal statement and these helped me out so much! Another thing that really helped me out when it came to writing my personal statement was talking to my teachers about it and my English teacher actually sat down with me and went through what I'd written and helped me to improve it.
Once you are accepted into a university you can apply for accommodation and this is something that you really need to think about as this is where most of your money is going to go. Living in halls in the first year is definitely what I recommend because it gives you the opportunity to meet so many new people and slowly eases you into the life of paying rent. Most halls of residence prices cover bills so you don't have to worry about paying bills separately which is really good if you have never had experience with this before. I spent time sat down with my parents when it came to choosing my accommodation as they are supporting me financially at university along with my student loan so we spoke through the different options and what was in my price range and this meant it was easier for me to choose where I wanted to live in my first year of university.
There you go! You have now applied to university and also applied for some accommodation. I haven't actually started university yet so I don't want to give any advice yet as I am yet to experience it but I hope this has helped any of you thinking about applying for university who didn't really know what to do. Let me know if you have found this useful because I am thinking of giving more university advice whilst I am experiencing my first year so I would love to know what you think of that! If you want more advice then there are so many people that I have seen on youtube talking about this process which is super useful as well!
bethany x
When you have limited your choices down to a few universities GO AND LOOK AT THEM! This is so important because you really get a feel for the university and it really helps to see if you think you would like to go there. It also helps you get more of a taste of the course, this is also a great time if you are stuck between different courses to think about which one you would prefer. University open days are so easy to book, the website opendays.com is super useful as it shows you a calendar display of when all the open days are. I would definitely recommend taking a parent with you because it can be daunting to go on your own and also they are likely to support you whilst at university in some way or another so are likely to be very interested in where you are wanting to go. I would also advise you to plan your day out when you book an open day a lot of universities will send out open day packs to your email and this includes times of different talks which can help you decide what you want to go to and when.
Writing a personal statement is another thing that you need to overcome when applying for university and I started mine by writing a draft of what I wanted to include in my personal statement and then filling it out from there. There are so many pages online that give great advice on what you should include in a personal statement and these helped me out so much! Another thing that really helped me out when it came to writing my personal statement was talking to my teachers about it and my English teacher actually sat down with me and went through what I'd written and helped me to improve it.
Once you are accepted into a university you can apply for accommodation and this is something that you really need to think about as this is where most of your money is going to go. Living in halls in the first year is definitely what I recommend because it gives you the opportunity to meet so many new people and slowly eases you into the life of paying rent. Most halls of residence prices cover bills so you don't have to worry about paying bills separately which is really good if you have never had experience with this before. I spent time sat down with my parents when it came to choosing my accommodation as they are supporting me financially at university along with my student loan so we spoke through the different options and what was in my price range and this meant it was easier for me to choose where I wanted to live in my first year of university.
There you go! You have now applied to university and also applied for some accommodation. I haven't actually started university yet so I don't want to give any advice yet as I am yet to experience it but I hope this has helped any of you thinking about applying for university who didn't really know what to do. Let me know if you have found this useful because I am thinking of giving more university advice whilst I am experiencing my first year so I would love to know what you think of that! If you want more advice then there are so many people that I have seen on youtube talking about this process which is super useful as well!
bethany x
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