The Student Thread

[sufcalways]

Havent been on in a while and yesterday was thinking about universitys..

I go to college, started A2's s and will finish next June/July (2010), tbh I havent got a clue about uni's, I study Business and ICT at college and obviously will be likely to adapt them at uni.. Any help on the following will be greened :)
I dont have a clue on..
a) how i go about choosing the right uni and courses (any sites on help or to get booklets will be brilliaint :))
b) ucas points? probably come more apparent to me over the next couple of months..

theres probably loads more that I want to ask just cant think lol..

thanks in advance

 

[markw]

Havent been on in a while and yesterday was thinking about universitys..

I go to college, started A2's s and will finish next June/July (2010), tbh I havent got a clue about uni's, I study Business and ICT at college and obviously will be likely to adapt them at uni.. Any help on the following will be greened :)
I dont have a clue on..
a) how i go about choosing the right uni and courses (any sites on help or to get booklets will be brilliaint :))
b) ucas points? probably come more apparent to me over the next couple of months..

theres probably loads more that I want to ask just cant think lol..

thanks in advance

ucas points are based on your final grades, not all uni's use them but some ask for them instead of grades

as for what uni you want to go to pick things like in a city/living on campus/ league tables and things like that

 

[Pubey]

I think picking a uni comes down to 4 key things:

1. The Course... whilst they are fairly similar and comparable, some allow things like sandwich years, years in industry, certain modules. These might help you choose a certain uni

2. Your grades... you'll probably have a rough idea of your expected A2 grades, so do you want to pick uni's that ask for slightly above this, slightly below this (so you can cruise your exams). I was lucky in that the uni I decided to go to (Leicester) asked for slightly lower grades than i was expected... and so why i still worked hard doing my A2's I had a bit of a buffer.

3. The style of uni. Firstly... London is completely different to anywhere else. However there are certain styles of unis, campus ones (where everything, the bars and union and accomodation and lecture theatres are all in one place), city universities (like sheffield, manchester, leeds), or mixtures between campus and city universities. If you don't see yourself living in a big city then don't look into big city unis. If you want the city (night)life then it's worth going to look at some. The location and type of uni is a big thing IMO.

4. Your gut feeling... this can come down to a number of things... how you feel when you look at the prospectuses, older friends who went there, and how you feel when you visit the uni. I picked the first uni I went to look at because I just had a gut feeling that it was where I wanted to go (and it ticked all the boxes above).


In the end choosing a uni is a complex thing, but there is definitely a uni out there for you if it's what you decide to do. Just to add that I have a number of mates who didn't go to uni and have still landed very good jobs. If it isn't for you then don't try and force yourself to do it.

Hope this helps a bit! the best thing you can do is go and visit a couple and see what they're like. if you want more specific help on courses or stuff then let us know!

 

[Pubey]

just to add... the Times have a decent university website, which rates uni's and also talks about nightlife and stuff.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/good_university_guide/

 

[markw]

if you look in your college library you might have some university guides, there is a massive one and then some that are by the times and the guardian. they are good for finding out things about a specific uni course

 

[sufcalways]

Brilliant cheers pubey & mark, I am visiting uni of essex in colchester next tuesday, just to have a look with some people from college to get an idea of what uni is about etc.

Im sure ill have a lot more questions to ask come tuesday! Ive noted your info etc and will check it all out, thanks again pubey/mark

 

[Mad Cyril]

just had a quick read through, it's pretty old and can't see anyone doing physics!

I did.............

 

[Pubey]

I did.............

sorry mate. was pretty battered last night!

 

[EastStandBlue]

I'm officially a student no longer... ****.

One thing I'd definitely recommend for all graduates is Summer Break. It's an organised 4-day **** Up in Newquay similar to the American Spring Break. I've just come back and I have to say it was Amazing. The DJ's they had lined up were brilliant.

 

[markw]

I did.............

haha oops
where did you do it?

you have already answered that :P

 

[Bluesmanager]

Just wrapped up my work last week. Just some stupid healthy living bollocks to sort now before next Wednesday. Could really use some help on it actually so if anyone knows anything about that kind of thing, please post/pm/something like that.

 

[Pubey]

Just wrapped up my work last week. Just some stupid healthy living bollocks to sort now before next Wednesday. Could really use some help on it actually so if anyone knows anything about that kind of thing, please post/pm/something like that.

got any more details? I teach/research Health Policy

 

[Bluesmanager]

According to the stupidly annoying workbook in front of me it's called the OCNW Certificate in Healthy Living (Eating and Exercise) Level 1.

 

[Pubey]

According to the stupidly annoying workbook in front of me it's called the OCNW Certificate in Healthy Living (Eating and Exercise) Level 1.

not sure it's quite my area. let me know if you are having specific problems with it though

 

[Bluesmanager]

Wil do. Cheers all the same.

 

[Sandbach Shrimper]

I'm reaching the end of my first year at Warwick, studying German with Spanish. Sadly no one in my kitchen likes football, and my halls is quite boring and quiet (lots of international students). Wish I could have the year back.

 

[Napster]

Portsmouth University is the best university there is.

ps I went on loads of open days, and only Edinburgh appealed. The rest were either too left-wing, too dull, or too bohemian.

 

[MK Shrimper]

Portsmouth University is the best university there is.

ps I went on loads of open days, and only Edinburgh appealed. The rest were either too left-wing, too dull, or too bohemian.

Is that possible?

 

[Napster]

Is that possible?

God yes. Reading, I'm looking at you.

 

[Uncle Leo]

God yes. Reading, I'm looking at you.

Reading? Really? Can you remember which hall you visited?

I was at Reading (from 1996, so probably shortly after you visited) and it struck me as pretty middle-of-the-road. However, different halls had different characteristics. Wantage, for example, was for posh people not clever enough or good enough at rowing to get in to Oxford.