Choosing a Course

Hello again! 

I wanted to start my blog off by taking you through my thought process of how I settled on the courses I applied to, which is a mix of Economics and History. First of all, I was set on doing Economics but then I discovered I can combine Economics and History and I was sold! Economics was a new subject for me when I started my AS Levels but History was a subject I have enjoyed throughout my schooling and the two together seems to be a perfect combination! A degree, I hope, will stand me in good stead for a graduate job, as it will raise my marginal product revenue (a little Economics!) or my level of skills. I hope a degree will make me more employable and so I'm hopefully off to University next September!

My advice to anyone looking into courses at University, is firstly, don't feel pressured into it. At the end of the day, going to University is not going to be for everyone and, especially as the cost of studying is now so great - a blog post on Student Finance will come much later! - you need to be prepared to study hard. I've heard so many times that going to University is not for the amazing student life and experience, but you go for the education and the opportunity to come out with a degree. Do not feel that just because your friends are going, or your school or family expects you to study at University, that you need to. I will link a web page from The Student Room here that writes about alternatives to going to University.

I went about choosing the subjects I have applied for by looking into different courses, the course content and researching around studying a certain subject. I found The Student Room forum to be particularly useful when looking at courses. There are forums on the website where students discuss their courses, University, student life and the application process in great depth. By looking at what real student write, you can decide on a subject area that interests you. 

Looking on sites such as Unistats you can search how students on the courses rate them; along with the University league tables (such as those from 'The Guardian' or 'The Times') which involve graduate employment rates, student satisfaction and the like. However, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to league tables... For Economics and History, there were very few Universities that offered the two subjects together in Universities that I would be interested in studying at - but we'll get on to looking at Universities later on!

Once you have decided on a subject, looking at individual University's course structure and modules on offer is another thing to look at. I found Universities varied hugely on their course content and, especially in History, the modules on offer were very different. It pays to search what you can study - some modules will not interest you at all and some will. As I have studied the Nazi's rise to power and World War II about four times at school, I wanted a change at University. I looked into courses that offered modules that I hadn't studied before, such as American History or even course structure that was very flexible. Some Universities allow you to study different electives, like a language, alongside your degree, so this may be something to look into.

The way Universities test their students will also vary. Some focus more on examinations, some on course work, group work or presentations. I think almost all of the Universities I applied to focus more on examinations and presentations, but this will be different for all courses and Universities. In the final year, some Universities mark students on their dissertations, but for some, a dissertation is not compulsory. This information will be found in prospectuses, on the University/UCAS web site or on Open Days.

The next thing to look at when choosing a course is the course requirements. As a UK applicant, I study A Levels and offers for my course were given in grades for my subjects or in points which was also based on grades. A big thing to look into is what some courses require from their applicants. Some will need certain subjects to be studied and all will need their applicants to have (or be able to have) certain grades or points. For example, I needed to have studied A Level History for some courses and for some Economics courses, Maths A Level was needed. I could not apply to these Economics courses, as I only have an AS in Maths. Course requirements will be on University's websites or in their prospectuses (is that plural correct?!), alternatively you could go onto UCAS's Course Search were the requirements are stated.

Research will definitely be involved! The internet was my main source - UCAS's page is very useful for course requirements, as is Universities own websites. I also ordered a lot of prospectuses! For 2013 entry, prospectuses came out around May/June if I remember correctly and they can be viewed online or ordered by post. I would image those applying for 2014 entry; prospectuses will come out in May/June of 2013. My Sixth Form also has a large collection to look at, so it may be an idea to ask at your school/college too. I think I must have one from almost every University in the country! Or at least on from every city!

TL;DR - Going to University is a long process and is a minimum of three years to dedicate to a chosen field, so look at what you enjoy and what you find interesting and if you then want to carry this on to University, start looking into courses. Some careers will need a degree, such as medicine, but others will be more varied. Don't feel pressured by your peers, parents or your school - go for yourself, after all, you will be studying there!

Thank you for reading,

Clara

P.S. I want to also recommend The Student Room website to anyone, from GCSE to A Level and beyond, it has really useful information on exams, help on revision, guides to Universities to general advice forums. Some also share their news on their applications, such as offers, rejections and interviews which is also interesting!