The Kiss University Takeover Plus My Tips On Choosing The Right University

Hey Guys,

A while back i wrote a post about deciding whether or not to go to university. Well I decided that its something i really want to do. With that came a new bundle of choices i had to make regarding where i actually wanted to study.

Choosing what university you want to go to and what to study is going to be one of the biggest decisions you will have to make. You will be spending at least 3 years at uni and in a lot of cases, moving out to live on campus, that is why it is so important to make the right decision.

Kiss FM presenter AJ went to the university of Greenwich to show potential students under the skin of the university and what you can get up to in the faculties.

Here are a few clips :

To Find out more about The Kiss University takeover, Check out this site. There is also a competition You guys can enter for the chance to win some great prizes including an Ipad mini!

http://www2.gre.ac.uk/study/kissuniversitytakeover 

here are a few of my tips that I found useful when picking my uni choices:

1. UCAS:

UCAS is a great site that shows every possible university and narrows them down to what you require. It is also the site i used to actually apply to uni.

http://www.ucas.com/

2. Open days:

Personally, i think this is the best way to really get to see what the university is like what it would be like to study there, you get to meet similar student looking for similar courses and it gives you a chance to mooch around the surrounding area and get a feel for the local environment.  Some of the places i went to visit were in a very  quiet yet pretty and others in very busy but popular areas.

3. Chat to current students:

I didn't really want to do this at first as i felt kind of silly, like i was bugging people a little bit. But I got nothing but friendly and helpful responses. Its was really great hearing about the uni through a students perspective.

4. YouTube:

Most universities nowadays have a YouTube channel dedicated to helping future students get to know their uni on a more personal level. I found it particularly useful looking at examples of portfolios and past students work. It's also great for preparing you for interviews. 

I hope that was useful. let me know your experiences which university.

Uni Isn't For Everyone, Is It?

Hey guys,



I wanted to talk about something a little more serious and at the moment, with my college career coming to an end,  going to university is a big decision i have to start thinking about.

I have been a college student for 3 years now, (this year being my fourth!) I found it very hard to settle for one particular career path as i didn't know what i wanted to do as a career. I also didn't get very good grades in secondary school so m options were limited.

As well as not having the criteria required for most college courses, My self- confidence was very lo, this meant i found it particular hard to find something i felt i was good at.

My decision after secondary school lead me to do a basic hair and beauty course. As much as i love makeup and hair styling, I really didn't enjoy the environment of this industry. I felt the other students were clear in there ideas for what jobs they wanted and this intimidated me. As much as i tried, I couldn't stick out the whole year and left a few months before the course ended. Looking back now It probably would have benefited me if i stayed, purely to gain that certificate.

The next year i decided to retake some of m GCSE's as i knew it would give me a wider range of course choices, as well as to allow me to have the option of going to university. I chose to do maths, English literature, English language, media studies and humanities. Throughout all of this i was still struggling with my own personal issues with confidence, e.t.c. Around half way through the year long course, I finally decided i had pushed my own very small limits and had to drop media studies. I also feel my issues meat my grades at the end of the course were lower then i was capable of getting.

However, i Soldiered on and wanted to do one last course before i turned 19 and college was no longer free. The course I chose, ( and still currently on) was an art and design course which is 2 years long. I chose to do an art course as i knew i enjoyed all aspects of art and this was one the subject i did do well in at school. 

I have already completed the first year and have just started my second year. This year, our main focus is preparing a good, quality portfolio for future employers and university interviews. My teacher are very keen for us all to apply for universities. Although I really love the idea of finally having the chance to go to university, i really don't know if its something I would enjoy, or even be capable of. 

I have worked really hard on this course, much harder than any other, or even when i was at school. However, im still uncertain of my future and what career path interests me the most. Maybe i will know closer to the time of applying when its something for me or not. But, for now, I think its OK to not know, and perhaps it means that when i finally do know, that it will be something amazing.

Are any of you applying to uni this year? If so i would love to hear about it!