I was applying to study at university as I entered my A levels and needed to start my UCAS application. Back then this question caused me much stress as I did not know which course I wanted to pursue, so I choose a course that was broad.
Here are 3 tips for anyone who is applying for university:
- Try to avoid enrolling in a course purely due to its reputation. This is because you may struggle at university studying modules you may find difficult and don’t enjoy. This will impact your university experience negatively. For example, if you don’t like Maths and find it particularly challenging, then avoid studying something like Economics at least without identifying which modules you will have to take beforehand.
- Try to avoid putting too much pressure on yourself about the course you are doing as it won’t help solve anything. If you have started university and think you are on the wrong course, then you can contact your supervisor at university and change course. Universities give students a few weeks’ window period to see how they are getting along with their course and make any changes if they need to. You must check with the university you are applying to as each university has different policies on this matter.
- Identify a particular career path or at least an idea of the type of career you would like to consider pursuing. If you want to enter a specialised career such as to become a doctor then you will already know what course you have to study. However, if you don’t fall in this category then do some research on the course. All universities provide course content online where you can find modules, reading materials and how you are assessed. Find out what modules are compulsory and think about whether you are interested in learning its content. Find out how much you can influence the content of your degree, how many modules are compulsory and how many can you choose.
In my third year, I chose all my modules. Think about whether right now is the right time for you to enter university. You can consider taking a gap year if you feel this could help you. Taking a gap year is becoming more popular as students are considering taking a year out to venture out into travelling and gaining employment for experience, for example.