Choosing a Uni

[Vange Shrimper]

As part of my PhD i have to give tutorials - should be a good opportunity to get a few new southend fans on the sly :D

Trappy isn't going back to college until next year i think - but it'll be 4 more years until he becomes a teacher...the world is safe for now!

Any chance I can pop over and observe you teaching?! I'd like to see an alternative way to teach. I'll sit at the back, and try not to disturb you ;) lol

 

[Irish_Shrimper]

Any chance I can pop over and observe you teaching?! I'd like to see an alternative way to teach. I'll sit at the back, and try not to disturb you ;) lol

Maybe next year. Let me figure out a way to teach first myself :D

 

[Essex_nik]

Having literally just finishing my degree about 2 weeks ago I'd offer this advice!

If you do decide to apply for oxbridge be aware that your UCAS personal statement has to be written in a certain way that makes it obvious to the other unis that you are applying for Oxbridge and they may not offer you a place thinking you will get in and pick Oxbridge! This happened to someone I know who got straight As and applied to be to medicine at Oxbridge plus others but didn't get into Oxbridge and other unis didnt offer him a place because they thought he would definately get into Oxbridge

You have to decide what is most important to you, i.e. the location of uni (town or city) which will relate to the size of the uni etc. For example, I'm at Essex Uni, I loved the smaller campus and close knit community!

The course is an obvious one to look at! No point in choosing what you think is your favourite uni if the course doesn't interest you! Also be aware that alot of unis/courses (i think) offer outside options as part of the course. For example, I did BA Sociology and Media but in my first year did a psychology module as an outside option! So you may get the opportunity to study different things to a certain extent.

Definately consider 5 or 6 unis and visit as many as you can, again as others have said.

Trying looking on the websites of the unis because they often have statements from students. Also check out if they have a student unions website, they will give you an insight into events and clubs etc at the uni plus may have more honest views on the uni!!

Hope this helps! :)

 

[Essex_nik]

AAA? **** me. Just finished AS levels- Biology, chemistry, Spanish and Geography, got BDE in January and just hoping for a pass (D) in 3 of the subject so I can carry on next year. Has anybody done or doing geography at uni? Also has anybody been to or at Reading, Southampton or Northampton. Any info would be great. Visited Reading on friday and I was impressed although I'l never get in. Sorry for hijacking...

I live about 20 mins from Northampton and often go out there and have many friends (and my Mum!!) studying at the uni!

The night life is pretty good, more bars and one main club type place!

Its a fairly big town but my no means a city type place!

Can't comment greatly on the Uni itself but people I know seem to enjoy it!

Obviously, all the places you have listed are completely different but Northampton isn't a bad place! :)

 

[Pubey]

yeah i just watched the footy with a mate who is at northampton and he was raving about it

 

[EastStandBlue]

Brighton is usually in the top 5 Uni's in the Country in terms of satisfaction and enjoyment, And I have to say the last 2 years have been a lot of fun.

 

[Pubey]

First off, as for the 3 A level grades, i assume out of the four subject you are taking at AS if you are dropping one it will be either Media or Drama? I would strongly advise against dropping one of the other two, since they are considered to have more prestige and will definelty benefit you when applying to a uni.

If you feel you can get AAA then despite what your teachers say i would take a shot at applying to Oxbridge - afterall its only one out of six spots and if you get AAA you will be kicking yourself for not having gone for it. If you dont however, i would look at places like York, Durham, Warwick and Exeter all of which are very good unis and quite respected as well. The times uni rankings are very helpful when it comes to weighing up how good each uni is at ech subject as well and was what i used to pick out my draft list of unis.

Once you have a primary list i would then try and visit as many as possible on the list. Having said that, i didnt visit any of mine (apart from Cambridge) until after i had sent my UCAS off and then had to choose my first and second choices. Looking back it worked out fine for me, although i realised unis that i though would be my 2nd choice (ie Warwick adn York) were not really what i was looking for in a uni and that Exeter was what i prefered.

Wherever you end up you will love, but its vital you do visit the uni and ask as many questions as possible before you confirm your final choices. Weighing up the academic strengths of your uni is also of the utmost important - almost all uni towns will have a great night life and thus its really how academically respected/equipped the uni is in your field that you should focus on.

Out of curiositiy where are you thinking of?

i agree with the top part of your point - in that you should give oxbridge a shot if you want to do it. however i'm not sure about the rest of your post - i know a number of people who dropped out of uni's because they didn't like where they were. i believe all uni's are different, and whilst the academic side is very important, it's not the be all and end all... i went to two very different uni's for my degree and masters, and if i had gone to both but the other way around, i probably would have had a tough time and not enjoyed it. whilst getting a good job is the main aim of uni, i don't believe it should be at the expense of really enjoying your 3 years at uni. the experiences and lessons you gain at uni stretch far beyond lecture theatres and tutor rooms. in the end you learn best in an enviroment where you are relaxed and enjoying life, and so there is the trade-off between the pressure of a really top institution, and the more social and 'normal' lifestyle that comes from 'lesser' unis (to use better words).

i looked around leicester first and set my heart on going there, it was the lowest entry score i need for my a-levels and so didn't try as hard, but i loved it at leicester and haven't looked back.. bagged a really good job. so my recommendation is to really look around uni's and wait to get that gut feeling, don't just go on QAA scores or entry requirements... uni is much more than just about your degree

 

[sufcintheprem]

however i'm not sure about the rest of your post - i know a number of people who dropped out of uni's because they didn't like where they were.

... uni is much more than just about your degree

First bit, honestly, I think the right-minded individual will have a good time wherever they go. Shame, because I was getting almost unequivocally behind your points for a while...

Second bit, absolutely, 100%, completely. IMO, you learn far more in life skills than you do in education. It hurts to write something in that ilk but it's true in ways I suspected but never expected as an A-level student.

 

[Mad Cyril]

My advice would be to aim as high as you can. All Universities have active social scenes so don't consider picking University X over University Y because town X has better clubs.

I'm not sure what you want to do for a career but a lot of employers use University attended as part of their selection criteria. If you graduate from a top tier University you will find it easier to find a job.

 

[Napster]

My advice would be to aim as high as you can. All Universities have active social scenes so don't consider picking University X over University Y because town X has better clubs.

I'm not sure what you want to do for a career but a lot of employers use University attended as part of their selection criteria. If you graduate from a top tier University you will find it easier to find a job.

True, but be aware that the second tier of unis, Durham, York, Edinburgh for example, are full of public-school ****ers.

 

[Mad Cyril]

True, but be aware that the second tier of unis, Durham, York, Edinburgh for example, are full of public-school ****ers.

I was at Manchester and there were a lot of ex public school types.

If it's good enough for them presumably it's good enough for the rest of us.

 

[Slipperduke]

As far as Journalism goes, you've got two choices. Well, three actually, but I'll come to that later.

The first option is to do a proper NCTJ-affiliated Journalism course at a specialist university like Preston or Bournemouth. They'll hammer in the legal stuff, the skill sets and the history of the trade and kick you out the other end as a fully-prepared blank canvas, ready for a career.

The second option is to just go and study something that interests you, like History or English and then move into journalism later, possibly by taking an NCTJ post-grad course, the like of which they used to do at Harlow. Faced with an over-growing phalanx of Media Studies graduates, some editors are growing weary of earnest, young bods who can tell you how to work a video camera and what year the libel laws came in to place, but actually don't know anything at all about anything. The benefit of doing a History or English degree is that you'll have to develop your writing skills in order to pass. You may not even need the post-grad. A good friend of mine has been writing and editing magazines for years, having never studied Journalism at all.

The third is to do what I did; fail your degree, learn how to write on a doomed website, get made redundant, work on a building site, sell black binbags, take a sales job at a newspaper, sneak off to a website under the guise of being a salesman, but actually weighing in with all the writing as well, and then hope that someone notices you.

Obviously, I wouldn't recommend that path, but I mention it only to highlight what a ludicrous industry this is. You can do everything right and make all the wise decisions, but the market is so tight and so volatile that you are just as likely to fluke your way in like me, as you are to work your way there by design.

I know some awful writers who have made it becuase they are experts at sniffing out a story and going further than any sane human would go in order to get it. I know some wonderful writers who wouldn't know or care about a big story if it was sat behind them on the train, but have found their niche elsewhere by chance. It's all very strange and it doesn't seem to work by any kind of logic.

Therefore, I'd suggest not worrying too much about it. Just get a decent degree at a decent University and then listen to some very wise words from John Lennon.

"Life is what happens to us while we're busy making other plans.

 

[Uncle Leo]

I was at Manchester and there were a lot of ex public school types.

If it's good enough for them presumably it's good enough for the rest of us.

Likewise at Reading. An awful lot of land management students who had been expecting to get in to Oxford.

In fact, there was a bloke in my hall who acted like someone out of Brideshead Revisited, cycling up to campus on an old bone-rattler, one handed with his books under his arm and with a stripey scarf wrapped round his neck at all times, even in summer. His name was Charlie and he probably earns £5m a year with Goldman Sachs now.

 

[the dark deshrimper]

First bit, honestly, I think the right-minded individual will have a good time wherever they go. Shame, because I was getting almost unequivocally behind your points for a while...

Second bit, absolutely, 100%, completely. IMO, you learn far more in life skills than you do in education. It hurts to write something in that ilk but it's true in ways I suspected but never expected as an A-level student.

I completely agree there and that is why i really would suggest you apply to the highest ranked unis you can. Me and all my mates attended Palmers College (Grays) and we have now spread out to unis ranging from Kent, Cambridge, Reading, Sussex, UEA and Exeter and EVERYONE is having an amazing social life, with most of us studying History. A few people are complaining that they are worried their course isn't pushing them enough and are beginning to regret not going for higher unis which they didnt apply to at the start because they didnt think they would get the grades (which they did).

Overall, every uni you go to will have some good and some bad people. Every uni will have a raving social scene and every one will offer you plenty of chances to feel welcome and included in the general life of the campus. WIth this in mind the best thing you can do it apply to a uni which is high enough for you to be challenged and come out with a good name on your CV but at the same time, one which is not going to overwhelm you

 

[Mad Cyril]

Also, be prepared to work hard.

It's only three years of your life so why not put the effort in and reap the rewards later?

I wish I had actually studied rather than skipping lectures all year, obtaining photocopied notes a couple of days before an exam and going for gold.

It turns out you can obtain a degree this way bit I am unlikely to be mentioned in the same sentence as Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Whilst Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton pushed the boundaries of science, the lacked Mad Cyril's rapier-sharp wit.

 

[Desert Shrimper]

The third is to do what I did; fail your degree, learn how to write on a doomed website, get made redundant, work on a building site, sell black binbags, take a sales job at a newspaper, sneak off to a website under the guise of being a salesman, but actually weighing in with all the writing as well, and then hope that someone notices you..

Comme ca?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJpvWBQaMU

 

[BaileytheQuitter]

Hmmm have been looking around at alot of English courses and one major problems appears to be need to have English Literature as a must have for any english course.

I have looked into alot of university's and most say that for any of the English based courses a A in English Literature, is vital.

However looking at Leeds- which states all that is needed is an A in English at A level, and another A and B in my other subjects, which I am confident of doing in both Drama and Media.

http://tldynamic.leeds.ac.uk/ugcoursefinder/2008/course.asp?id=1636

Here is a link of a course I am very interested in at Leeds, can anyone make some more sense of this please.

 

[Napster]

Comme ca?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqJpvWBQaMU

without even seeing the clip, I know what that is. Classic.

 

[Napster]

http://tldynamic.leeds.ac.uk/ugcoursefinder/2008/course.asp?id=1636

Here is a link of a course I am very interested in at Leeds, can anyone make some more sense of this please.

More language than general English. No literature. Lot of interesting linguistics stuff there.