Sorry. That didn't mean to sound patronising, but it is important that you make the right decisions for you.
I will start with some very general tips and academically focused areas; lead into opportunities; a little bit of social life and then end on general location, wellbeing and safety.
Warwick and specific parts of my course will be referenced quite a few times, but this is just to provide you with some examples. Every university with have their own system.
Again this is long, so that I can provide you with enough detail, but it will also be much more list-y. This will make it much easier for you to navigate and to quickly skim read through it as you do your research.😊
- Attend as Many Open Days as Possible
Find University Open Days is a really great place to start with for looking into dates for open days. It's really orderly and easy to use - something I wish I had come accross when I was looking around! You can even choose by location to see what universities there are if you're interested in a particular location!
Please don't leave this until September of year 13. You will NOT have enough time. June of year 12 after your AS exams (if your school does them) would be a good time to start, but if you want to start attending earlier, go for it! You will have 5 options to make on your UCAS application form and there's a lot that websites can't tell you. A well-presented website should not be the main informant of your decision.
Going around campus and departments will give you a feel for the uni and your chosen department and that says a lot. There will be some that you immediately don't feel like you fit into, whilst others will feel just right. This point interconnects with many of the points that I will discuss later on. - Take Advantage of Offer Holder and Taster Days
Offer holder and taster days are really valuable in helping you to inform on a decision on both the university and course, so take the chance to attend them if you can. Especially if you're still undecided about your course choice, they will provide a more specific insight into the course content and the facilities and opportunities the department has to offer.
Some prospective students realise in their offer holder/ taster days that they should reconsider their course choice or that the department isn't what they initially thought it would be like. This is much better to realise earlier rather than later to give you a chance to rethink. - Never Put a University down on your Application Which You Have Never Visited
This seems obvious, but many prospective students make this mistake. They don't go to enough open days and end up putting universities down which they have never visited. As I said before, websites are really not a means of judging whether a university is appropriate for you or not. You don't want to end up going somewhere with very limited information and where you don't feel right. Getting a sense of how YOU feel at a university is crucial. Just because your friend says they loved it, it won't necessarily mean that you would have felt the same way. - Talk to Students and Lecturers
When I spoke to the lecturers in the Psychology Department at Warwick during the offer holder day I immediately felt so welcome within the psychology department and that still remains the case today.
The way that lecturers converse with you speaks a lot when it comes to their involvement with students and the department. Also ask them about their own research areas to! It's a great way to get a conversation going as academics love sharing research on their specialised research areas. You may happen to share the same interests to!
Ask students about their experience and what they like the best and least about the university as a whole and their home department. They're not afraid to tell you the truth! - Research the Course Content
I cannot emphasise this enough. University course content is not the same as A-Levels and GCSE where there's a set learning criteria provided by exam boards. Academics choose what they want to teach and they write the exam papers. Therefore not one course will be the same.
Even with BPS accredited psychology degrees there will be variations in content taught within the modules (so don't just look at the module name) and with the optional modules provided.
It should be desirable that what is being taught reflects your interests. You want content that interests you! You really don't want to be that student who didn't do their research and complains about every single module. In addition you will have to do a LOT of reading and research, and it's easier to maintain focus if you find the topic interesting. Of course there will always be a few areas that don't speak to you, but that's okay.
If you need more information, send an email and they should be happy to provide you with the details. - Course Accreditation
Note: I'm not sure on the requirements of other degrees (except getting a QTS if you want to become a teacher and a HCPC approved programme for some professions within health care), so please ask and do some research if you're unsure.
However, for those of you planning to study psychology: be aware that you must have a BPS accredited degree to become a chartered psychologist, if that's what you intend on doing. This just means that BPS checks that psychology courses are covering enough breadth of psychology and that the quality of the content is satisfactory. Nevertheless an accreditation also looks good on your academic record and you have it in case you ever change your mind. - Research by Academics
This is something that not many prospective students consider, but it's actually quite a valuable factor that you should look into.
The importance of research will probably vary depending on the course you are taking, but it has a great influence on the quality of knowledge (keeping up to date with the latest research) and teaching that you receive. This also directly impacts the course content that may be offered to you.
One way to do this is by looking at the Complete University Guide league tables and order the ranking by 'Research Quality' in the filter section, which is collected using the scores obtained from the Research Excellence Framework.
As mentioned before, a great way to do this is to ask academics about their research during open and taster days. - Department Resources and Facilities
Resources are vital if you want to get the best out of your degree. Make sure that universities have facilities that will enable you to gain invaluable practical experience. This includes laboratories for sciences and psychology or film and editing equipment for media students.
Important resources also include access to library books which you can borrow and, any on line subscriptions to journal articles (you will need loads of them, especially for psychology!).
If you have a disability question how they are able to provide for your needs in terms of accessing lecture theatres or other facilities/ resources, putting in place study arrangements, and providing any extra support if required. - Specialised Institutions
Although this mainly applies to arts based degrees, universities and institutions will have their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of subject areas to. For example: UCL is leading for its Institute of Education, St. George (London) in health and science, Warwick is known for its Business School and SOAS in humanities. Then there's the next level music, theatrical, art, veterinary and medical institutions. Generally, the more specialised the department is, the more competitive it will be to gain a placement, but it's worth taking a look at them. - Assessments
I know... the word that gives us all nightmares, but you'll thank yourself for checking the assessment details. Some of you will much prefer exams, whilst others will prefer assignments/ coursework. There's also the kind of assignments you will receive (practical performances, presentations, practical reports, essays or even more creative tasks such as creating posters or blog posts) and the quantity of them. This will be very differently between universities and departments within universities to. - Entry Requirements
A-Levels:
This will vary very differently depending on your course choice, but my initial 5 choices ranged from AAB to BCC. Consider a range: a one or two high targets, some which reflect your current progress and also have a really low one, because you can never be too careful. Of course, base this on your own standards - you know what you're capable of!
It's important to consider this when you put your firm and insurance choices down as well. There's no point having a insurance choice (back up if you don't get into your firm choice) with grade entries higher than you firm. Obviously this can be very difficult when the grade entries are conflicting with your overall satisfaction with the university itself.
Check individual subject requirements to.
GCSEs:
Usually admissions are only concerned about grades for English Language, Science and Maths (especially check grades for science and maths for BSc courses), but keep an eye out for other specific subjects to. For example: UCL prefer all students to have a GCSE grade C in a language, but doesn't disadvantage student who don't (though you will be required to meet a certain language module requirements before obtaining your degree. See the hyperlink for more detail).
Also be aware of whether you are eligible for a contextual offer. Many universities aim to widen access to higher education for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is done by looking at data surrounding personal circumstances and your school's attainment. See individual university websites for more details. - Study Abroad and Work Placements
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Some of you may be thinking about wanting to do a year abroad (unless you're a language student, then it's compulsory) or a year doing some work experience. Even if this is not your plan at the moment, there's no harm in exploring the options in case you do change your mind. Generally, university departments will already have set partnerships with universities in other countries and it's worth checking whether they have partnerships within continents or specific locations that you may want to consider.
I've just started thinking about work experience myself, so it's not something I can advise you on at the moment. However, some universities offer summer internships to students and there may be work experience opportunities within departments throughout the year. For example, the psychology department at Warwick sometimes looks for student volunteers to assist with academic research projects. Some departments also support students who plan to take an intercalated year to gain work experiences to and they will be able to advise you more on this if you ask. - Extracurricular Opportunities and Societies
Societies are said to be the place where you make friends, because you find people with similar interests. To give you a taste of the assortments on offer here's a list of societies offered at Warwick - there are over 250 societies here at Warwick!
They are generally grouped into the following headings (with examples from Warwick):
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Pixabay - Sports (there's pretty much everything including aerobics, yoga and dodge ball)
- Performing Arts (range of bands, theatre (music theatre, panto), dance (pole, salsa, classical and modern), Freshblood (develop and write own plays), Magic)
- Creative Arts (Writing, RAW (uni radio station), Boar (student newspaper), Anime and Manga, BFT)
- Academic (departmental societies, Quiz, Debating, TedxWarwick)
- Religion (pretty much self-explanatory)
- Culture (language societies for native and non-native speakers and ethnic background societies to meet other students with a similar heritage)
- Charities (Student Action for Refugees, UNICEF, Raising and Giving, CHILD.org)
- Politics and Campaigning (Mind Aware, Amnesty, Sexpression, Climate Reality)
- General hobbies and interests (Nintendo, Disney, Craft, Yoga, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Chess)
- The abstract ones (Good Food, Cheese and Chocolate).
At Warwick we have something called 'Warwick Volunteers' and many unis will offer something similar which can be an alternative. There are several different volunteering groups which cover a wide range of projects with various different groups of people. - Employment Prospects
Usually the first 2 things that come into mind are: Russel Groups and league tables.
The thing with relying on league tables is that they can't always be relied upon. These rankings are extremely flexible year to year. Also, whilst Russel Groups maintain their reputations, they are like any other university and have their own weaknesses to.
What's more is how the university department can support your career prospects by providing you with the tools to do so. Some examples include: whether you gain any practical experience form the course, having a careers adviser and, opportunities on offer within the department which may be able to provide you with some work experience.
Constantly writing essays is a big part of student life, and it teaches you how to deal with deadlines, to analyse review work, form arguments, and progress on your written communication skills, but it won't provide you with other practical skills you will need to transmit into your future career. Even if you want to be a writer, skills such as being able to deliver an engaging presentation and dealing with conflict (especially in group work!).
There's much more to employment prospects than reputation. It's being able to demonstrate the desired skills that your employer is looking for through your experiences. - Location - Campus vs City?
Student life in a city university is very different from a campus university and there are pros and cons for both. Here's a few more from The Tab to. Some general points:
City University
You will constantly be surrounded by people so there's plenty opportunities to socialise, you will always be exploring your surroundings and there's lot to see and do nearby.
However, the constant city bustle and nightlife may be too much for some. Others may prefer to be in a tight-knit community and have time away from the busy city life.
Campus University
Everything is all in one place and within walking distance. There will be less noise around accommodation to, so you'll manage to get some sleep to! In my opinion, there's much more of a community feel to campus universities to if that's something that you enjoy.
However, if you enjoy going out frequently, you're probably going to have to travel out of campus (unless the uni is situated within a city then you probably won't have to travel far!).
Be mindful that just because a university is situated in a city, it doesn't means that it won't be a campus university (i.e: Sheffield, Queen Mary and Birmingham are campus unis! I guess they get the best of both worlds!)
- Accommodation
Would you like to go catered or self-catered? There are pros and cons for both options, but not every university will offer catered accommodation.
Would you mind sharing a bathroom with others? How many people are you willing to share with? Or are you certain that you want an en suite?
Or maybe you're considering a studio flat. Not every university will offer these.
Check how each universities application works. At Warwick, we have to select a few of both options and it does not come on a first-come-first-served basis so that everyone has a fair chance of being allocated to one of their top 3 preferences.
The amount of people you share a kitchen with should also be considered. There's nothing worse than not being able to cook your dinner because everyone is the in kitchen at once! This usually ranges from from 8 - 20. There are usually two stoves when there are larger numbers.
Nevertheless, as long as you have a roof over your head, you will get used to living wherever you get assigned. Remember that you're only there for the first year and then you'll need to find your own accommodation.
- Wellbeing
This shouldn't just be focused on the university as a whole but also support provided by individual departments. It's difficult to assess because you don't really know how well it is handled until you're physically there and witness it for yourself.
However, general points that should be in place include: a personal tutor system (question them about how their system works), promotion of well-being support workshops, and some form of a clear procedure that should be carried out if a student within the department does requires some extra support for any reason.
- Health and Safety
Many universities will have a dedicated security team based on campus or present in various areas near departments if you attend a city university. Upon arriving at the university, you should also be provided with the number of the university security team. At Warwick, their number is on the doors of every students' room. Make sure to put this in your address book before you forget!
Then there's the general safety procedures like ensuring that fire alarms are working (in Warwick accommodations they're tested once a week... I still fail to remember and it scares the life out of me every Wednesday morning!) and accommodation is secure. You get the drill. - Other Accessible Facilities Nearby?
You still need to do your shopping and be able to go out and do whatever it is you like to do, whether that be going on a walk, to the gym, or having a night out with your friends.
Warwick students are lucky. We have this mini centre called Canon Park which includes: a Tesco Superstore, Iceland, Card Factory, Wilkos, Boots Pharmacy, Seoul Plaza (an Asian supermarket) and even a Holland and Barret. It's roughly a 10 min walk from central campus, but it can be even less (5 mins) or more (20 mins for the furthest accommodations). It's so convenient!
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Most universities will have some sort of sports centre/ gym, some practise rooms if you play an instrument, and clubs and bars in the student union or somewhere nearby.
It's a good idea to look around outside the university to see whether there are facilities nearby that suit your needs. - Don't Rely 100% on League Tables!
As you can tell, there is so much more to universities than looking at their league table position! There's no point placing high on them if there are low standards of widening participation schemes, wellbeing services and opportunities. League tables can't show you everything a university has to offer and that's fundamental to remember.
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If you're considering studying psychology, keep an eye out for my next post, which will be about why I love being a psychology student in the Department of Psychology at Warwick!
If you have any questions feel free to send me a message or leave a (friendly) comment.
🍀 Good Luck! 🍀
Thanks for this! I want to study something related to nursing. My friend shared your post with me and it was very helpful. Feel a bit more prepared now, haha.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad! Hope it all goes well! 😊
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