Around this time two years ago I made the choice to attend university in the United Kingdom and pursue a degree in psychology and criminology in my first choice school. The process of writing my application and being accepted into university was very stressful and emotional, and preparing for university and actually starting my course have been particularly challenging and a source of constant stress for me, but nothing would have happened the way it did if I chose differently in that exact moment, two years ago. Choosing the university I would go to brought along many other changes in my life: I moved from home to live on my own, I made new friends and lost old ones, I built a romantic relationship, but most of all, I built my life around the choice that I made. Needless to say, this choice was quite important for me.
In honour of the day I filled in my choices for university, I decided to put together for you a little guide to get you through the process of choosing a school. If you don’t want to go to university that is completely fine in my book, but if you intend on enrolling in higher education soon, keep on reading. I cannot guarantee that my tips will land you in the perfect school and everything is going to be rainbows and unicorns, but hopefully, sharing my experience would provide some support for you when making the final choice. For this post I turned to some of my friends and uni peers and asked them how they made their own choice when they decided they want to continue into higher education, so this post is the output of proper teamwork and I would like to thank my friends very much for that!
I will start off by providing a bit of context on what went down two years ago and how I actually chose the university that I am currently attending. I’ve known I wanted to study abroad for a very long time, and for almost as long I pondered over many different options, charming indeed, but every single time I went back to the United Kingdom. More on my fascination and love for this country some other time. I really didn’t know much about what studying in the UK meant in terms of paperwork, finances and education itself, and for months on end I did research and tried to find answers to as many questions as possible. Needless to say, the process continued long after I arrived here and started school again, but that is beside the point. I came across the university that I wanted to go to while attending a university fair on a field trip with my class. There, I had a chat with one of their representatives, collected a bunch of leaflets and daydreamed of the possibility of going there for a good while after, but never explicitly planned to apply. Fast forward one year and two failed relationships later, and I actually applied, and actually got accepted. I liked the campus buildings in the pictures and the information provided on their site, I applied and got in. I talked the talk and I walked the walk, baby.
aesthetic: my view every single day.
(source: personal archive)
I sometimes get asked whether I would change my mind and study somewhere else if given the chance to go back in time, and honestly, I don’t think I would. It might not be the best university in the world, but really, that wasn’t what I was looking for to begin with. My goal was to thrive in an intellectually stimulating environment, while learning how to be independent, get out of my comfort zone and have fun every once in a while. When making your own decisions, about anything in life, put your needs first and foremost. Dare to go for what you think you need!
Before moving on to more concrete advice, please remember, just like with any other choice in life, it really is a lottery. By deciding that you want to make this choice in the first place, you accept that the outcomes might not be ideal and bad things and unhappy choices can happen. They could’ve happened to me, if I don’t already take into consideration the times that I, myself, struggled as a student and as a young adult who has no idea what they’re doing. There is only so much you can control about crucial decisions like that, so do yourself a favour and don’t worry too much to begin with. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
I’ll start with probably the first thing that came to your mind…
1) Research – it is advised that you know your schools of choice fairly well before you put your application forward. With the importance of going into higher education being literally shoved down our throats since we start college, it really is hard to be completely ignorant. Numerous events and open days in university campuses will give you the opportunity to speak with representatives of the institution and ask all the questions you have in mind. If you don’t have the possibility to attend those, don’t sweat! The official university websites will have all the information that you need and there are phone numbers and e-mails you can contact about any enquiries and curiosities you might have. You’ll need this for when you actually get into uni, do your research well!
In the process, keep your needs and expectations in mind at all times. Don’t get swept off your feet by rankings! The university with the highest student satisfaction will not necessarily offer you an impeccable delivery of the degree you want. The safest option is for you to choose a university where your desired course is delivered at the highest quality. If you want to join a sports team look up information on the sports programmes offered by your university! Same if you’re interested in volunteering and internship opportunities, or field trips or really, anything else. Take everything with a pinch of salt. Also, be thorough but remember that you will not get a full picture until you actually get there and become a student.
2) Take into consideration all those *other* details – finances, accommodation, transport, any necessary paperwork. Also, the least fun and the most emotionally harrowing bit if you ask me. Going into higher education is, really, a stepping stone for becoming an adult – and as an adult, you have to give adult stuff a proper think before you choose to do anything. Be realistic about how you fit university into your life and make a plan for action. Again, do your research well! Numerous online resources are available to help you with all the questions you might have and all the aspects you might be insecure about.
3) First impression matters – when I went to the higher education fair three years ago, the great chat I had with one of the students from now my university prompted me to give the place a second thought. I wasn’t kidding before, even the pictures of the campus made me feel as though I would belong there. It'ss obvious that you shouldn’t base your choice on the effect of the first impression entirely, but it definitely matters enough for you to use it as a guiding beacon. And that brings me to…
4) Listen to your gut feeling – if you feel like you would belong in city A or you would do great studying at school B, just go for it. No matter how ambitious it may seem, your heart knows better than anything that that is your place to be. It is an important choice indeed, with major outcomes for your future, but maybe that's why you should be brave and throw yourself in, if that’s what feels adequate.
I walk around this one all day when I'm on campus.
(source: personal archive)
5) Pro & con your decision – for more cynical, mathematical minds doing a pros & cons comparison of your schools of choice would help you with making the decision that would bring you the most satisfaction. Grab a piece of paper, a pen and brace yourself, then put down a list of all the things that you want from higher education, and all the facilities that your preferred universities provide, and make up your mind!
6) Accept compromises – as somebody who planned to apply for Oxbridge for several years, I can say that I’m happy that I settled with less. I wasn’t confident about my chances of getting in, and I was even uncomfortable with the idea that I might actually get in if I applied. That weird feeling in the pit of my chest whenever I thought about it was a flag red enough to discourage me from going further and prompted me to look at other options. And good golly, I’m not regretting that! Maybe something happened that prevents you from getting into the school of your dreams. Maybe it will, I hope it won’t, but if it does it’s not the end of the world. Keep an open mind and work with what you have.
7) And finally… make the choice your own – what do I mean by that? If I listened to members of family, friends and teachers and acquaintances who gave me ‘advice’ on which university I should go to, I wouldn’t have arrived where I am today. I wouldn’t have met so many amazing people and earned so much knowledge and learned so many life-changing lessons. I cannot stress this enough, this choice is YOURS. Make the distinction between genuine advice and aggressive discouragement, between concerned comments and plain jealousy. Walking against the wind will definitely be hard, but if you are confident about the choice you want to make, go for it. You will be there to reap the rewards.
Good luck, you lovely people! I wish that you will be brave and strong, and take over the world because you deserve it, because you made the choice to sacrifice your life to education once again. Goodness gracious, two posts in a row! I'm starting to get the hang of it.
New post next Monday, tune in if you do believe I will make that deadline too (please believe).
xx
Photo sources: personal archive.
Photo edit: VSCO.