going to uni - deciding on course?

StudentBoy

Blue Ashleigh has it spot on in my opinion. I think the advice applies to anyone considering doing a uni course, irrelevant of their age: go with the degree that you feel you would enjoy.

You obviously need to get a happy medium, because you don't want to be doing a course that you really enjoy but has absolutley no prospect of good job opportunities at the end of it, but I would definitely recommend doing a course you feel that you would be good at and that would be worth your while.

I had a choice of doing either maths or Pharmacy at uni. I love maths (strange to the majority of people I know), and I know that I would have done really well on that course, but I decided to opt for pharmacy because of the guaranteed job at the end of the 4 years (plus placement). I'm now 2 and a half years into the course and I absolutley despise it. I'm at the stage where I literally can't open a book to study because the stuff is intolerable.

So go with the course you'll enjoy over the one that seems to be "better" in the long run.

Oldernotwiser

StudentBoy wrote: »

Blue Ashleigh has it spot on in my opinion. I think the advice applies to anyone considering doing a uni course, irrelevant of their age: go with the degree that you feel you would enjoy.

.

I wasn't suggesting that anyone of any age should study a subject they don't enjoy; just pointing out that mature students need to be a bit more practical in their choices than younger people.

HannaB

blue_ashleigh wrote: »

they just couldn't muster the effort for 3 years to get a good degree or to stay on at uni.

I couldn't agree more. I know people who would change their course every year and have only just graduated because of it (at 24). I chose a course I knew I would love for 3 years...Creative Writing. I had the best time ever, loved every moment of it.

Although it wasn't the most academic course, it really broke the ice for job interviews afterwards. I now work in Finance Administration and studying for my Certificate in Financial Planning.

MrsManda

I'm a mature student so had a lot of considerations when choosing a university which non-mature students don't necessarily have. I think from a course point of view, you presumably have experience in the world of work so I'd look at your experiences to see if there's something you want to get into which would require a degree in a specific subject to progress. It is important to do something you are interested in, preferably passionate about as it's hard to go to university and do well when you've done studying recently, it's incredibly hard to get back into FT studying when you've had a break and are used to a 9-5 routine as it takes a lot of 'out of hours' study.
Also as a mature student you will need to justify why you took time out of the workplace to do the degree you did to future employers.

I chose my degree because it's a subject I've been passionate about since I was 16, and now have the chance to actually do it In terms of which university, the reputation of the university for your subject is important, but if you do not feel comfortable somewhere you won't do as well so it is a balancing act and also depends on your personal circumstances.
I'm married and my husband has a FT job. As I didn't want to spend the majority of the next 3 years living away from him and he's already got a 40min commute I had to chose universities close to where I live. But if I was going to be living on campus I'd have taken into consideration how the university caters for mature student.
Sorry about the essay, hope it helps

The_One_Who

At first I wanted to do chemistry, and wanted to work in a lab. Then I carried on doing chemistry throughout school and realised it wasn't for me, so I changed to geography. I enjoyed it and found it interesting.

For all students:
- Pick a course you'll enjoy. You'll be doing it for the next three or four years and if you don't enjoy it then you'll struggle to get motivated and probably won't do as well as you could.
- Pick the course for you. There are more than a hundred 'geography' courses out there, not all will be of interest to you and a few will be perfect.
- If you need to do a professional degree make sure it is accredited, otherwise all your hard work will have been for nothing.

For mature students:
- Make sure that it is the choice for you, don't pick a course you like the sound of at a local university just because it's local. If you can't find a perfect course then look into re-locating, although I know this is not always practical and so you'll need to compromise.
- Make sure you can afford it/can give enough time to it! Mature students tend to have a lot more responsibility than those going straight out of school.

Oldernotwiser

Celifein wrote: »

Most of the people on my Access course wanted to become nurses, midwifes, teachers and social workers There were very few people who were going to uni without knowing what they planned to do with their degree (the only ones I can think of who were doing this were 19-20, so they weren't actually mature students).

That's exactly my experience of doing guidance work with Access students. It was only the much younger ones who were going to university just for the sake of it, most people had a very definite career in mind and tended to be doing vocational degrees.

littlebird22

I would definitely say do a degree that leads to a career. I'm doing teacher training (secondary) and most of the people on my course are mature students. Subjects at university can often be a let down, my teaching subject is English and is very different to my experience of it at school and how I imagined it to be at university. But because my degree is vocational I just get on with it because I know that it is a means to an end. Most of my friends (whatever their degree) lost their love for their subject a long time ago just because of the sheer volume of work and study required and the fact that you are often forced to do modules on areas of your subject that just don't interest you. Doing something that leads to a career gives you something to aim for though when it doesn't seem worth it any more.

robpw2

im choosing my course based on something i have wanted to be for a long time .. law ;

littlepinkstars44

i chose my course because it was the only thing i ever passed in School (Spanish, French and Italian)
I don't have enough highers to go straight to uni, so i am doing my HND in tourism at college, and have just applied for 3rd year entry to uni next year!
*fingers crossed*

I have dabbled in other college courses and dropped out, as they weren't for me (Fashion, European Busisness, Psychology) and came back to what i do best, languages

ariba10

One of the problems in life is that by the time you really know what you want to do.

Its too late to do it!