Need some advice for Uni choices

Erinnire

Hi All,

I am really in need of some advice/guidance/points of view whilst I know that ultimately this is only a decision I can make I really appreciate the time anybody takes to respond to my post.

I am currently 24 and have returned to college to do an Access Course this year in hopes of going to Uni this coming September.

I was so sure what degree programme I wanted to do and applied for it at 3 different universities and I am starting to get offers through! :j

However my second choice degree has been really playing on my mind and now I think I've made a mistake by not applying for it and I am now torn which programme route to go down!

The two options I am looking at are Business and Marketing (First Choice) and Mental Health Nursing (Second Choice) I am passionate about both subjects and think I would excel professionally in both careers another thing I have to think about is that I want to emigrate to Australia in approx 6 years time. With the degree in Mental Health Nursing I will be eligible for a Visa on the Skilled Occupations list however with the Business Option I am not eligible so may not be able to get over there at all.

I am really torn on what route to go down. To apply for Mental Health I would need to withdraw my UCAS form and re submit it and now it would be classed as late, I would also need to completley redo my Personal Statement. I could stick with Business but the promise of a better life for my family in Aus is really playing on my mind as is the practical guarantee that I will always have work, but the creative element of marketing plus the potential for travel and the higher wages has me swaying from one to the other all the time!

So really I am just hoping for some opinions on what you would choose or some advice on how to pick between the two totally different options. I haven't even got the heart or head option as they are both on the same level in my mind.

Thanks for reading my waffle! xx

tia86

Have you any experience in mental health? Is there something which has made you change you mind other than the visa? Working as a nurse of any kind can be very hard work, and also the personal statement you send to ucas will need to include relevant work experience as nursing is usually competitive

You also need to think, does you access course fit the entry requirements now if you do change?

Good luck with whichever course you go for!

juno

You can't withdraw and reapply. Your only option to change would be to apply through Extra or clearing, or to ask the unis you have applied to if you can change course.

claire16c

Have you lived in Australia before? If not I wouldn't base a decision purely on that, it's not a case of moving there & everything is better over there. If you've got family etc over there or used to live there that that could sway your decision.

Also they do change the jobs on the skilled list every so often.

I'd say go for the nursing if its a vocation you really love as you say you're likely to always have a job - but if you want more of a 9-5 then perhaps not.

The options are so different it's hard to say!

Mrs_Ryan

I'm applying for Mental Health nursing in September for entry next year, and having started the course in 2005 then withdrawn through serious illness a year later, and having worked in the NHS in a Mental Health environment I would say think long and hard.
I dont know if you realise but you need (at least) 1 year post-graduation experience in a Qualified Nurse post to be eligable for a work visa and trust me, posts like these in Mental Health are rarer than hen's teeth. The year after I started the first course the nursing course at my uni was suspended for a time such was the acute shortness of work. Mental Health nursing is very, very hard work and you need to be 100% certain that you want to do it and have concrete reasons why because if not you wont get past the interview.
I was a year older than you when I started and I will be the first to admit to you that I was not ready, that I didnt have enough life experience behind me. I was grilled at interview - why mental health? Why not general if you want to care for people? My Mum was an RMN and I have always been fascinated by mental disorder but for me that was NOT enough.
I see way too many students on the ward I work on who are totally unprepared for what the area is like. I would urge you if you're looking just at the money side of it then it probably isnt for you. And as for you stating you will always have work - that's if you can find it!!!
I have worked in an acute elderly mental health ward for five years and cared for my partner who has acute mental health problems for six years - I'm now 32 and only now do I feel ready to reapply to do my course.
I may be underestimating you from what you have said - if so, I apologise. But the hours are lousy, the pay is ok but not fantastic, and the work can be very, very hard. If you can get some sort of experience in an acute area before you decide - then do so I would urge you.
I hope that helps - best of luck to you, if you want to know anything else please feel free to ask as I've been there, done that and well and truly bought the t-shirt!!! I have to go through the UCAS application system myself in September which is slightly scary - as the last time I did that was well over 10 years ago when I was a lot younger and a lot more savvy to these things so any ideas on whats its like now would also be gratefully recieved!!
Mrs_R xx
PS what unis are you thinking of? I know some are more strict than others...

Erinnire

I'm thinking of Hull Uni, I've worked in Mental Health (private psy hosptial) before voluntarily and I loved it. Your right it is really bloody hard work. I've also worked as an appropriate adult which I loved as well.

I know the course is highly competitive so I don't think if I have to apply through clearing I will get onto it so I might continue with my plans to start the Business Degree this year and if I don't like it transfer across next year in plenty of time.

I know you need at least 1 years experience (pref 2) above your degree to get a visa its not something I've thought of lightly I've spent months researching and years wanting to do it.

I've got no close family to leave behind so no ties here to stop us going.

Person_one

I'm sorry, but I'm struggling to see how you can be truly passionate, to the point of dedicating your working life, about both business/ marketing and mental health nursing. They're very, very different!

Maybe you should hold off applying for another year until you're certain rather than start a course that you're not 200% sure is the one for you.

jackyann

Honestly, you should only work in any branch of nursing if it is really what you want to do.
Depending on which access course you are doing, and the contacts your tutors have, they may be able to arrange a day or two's experience with a nurse.

Mrs_Ryan

That's fair enough. However the transfer thing might not necessarily be that easy- I applied to transfer from a health-based degree to nursing and my uni rejected me. Also speaking from bitter experience if they find out you've applied for anything other than nursing there is a high chance you will be rejected for nursing- you've said yourself that you're aware of how competitive it is so you will know that unis can pick and choose who they take and you need to give yourself the best chance possible. I'm slaving my guts out doing an NVQ diploma course at the minute despite already having 3 A-Levels as my A-Levels aren't brilliant and I need evidence of recent study.

inkie

You will get questioned about why you have applied for something other than nursing. When there are limited places and stiff competition they will only consider applicants who can demonstrate that they are fully committed and what to do this and only this. This was something that happened to me when I applied initially for nurse training quite a while back.

FBaby

I've worked in MH for many years, and it took me a number of years to realise it wasn't for me. I studied psychology, had a real interest in understanding how people behaviour was affected by affected by thoughts and feelings. I believed that any one with mental health illnesses could be helped through medication and/or intensive support. I wanted to give, help, change people's lives...

What I've learnt after years of intense dedication to my job is that a good mental worker is one who does her job with dedication without expecting much (or anything) back. I realised that although I genuinely wanted to help, I also needed to feel that my dedication was worthy and rewarded. In mental health, you can't have this garantee. You do at times, and it is priceless, but a lot of the time, you don't and it can very well when you give the most that you get the least back.

I went through a phase of not liking myself much for it, but I moved on and accepted that it takes very special people to work in mental health and it just wasn't me. Funnily enough, I decided to use my degree to apply to the word of business, ie, advertising/marketing, and did a master's in Business. I didn't end up in a marketing career at all and don't use any of my direct study skills in my everyday work!!

At 42, I do feel drawn back to psychology, but as a counsellor, or child psychology. It is still in me, but I don't think I can cope with true mental health. I won't go for it though, too much to lose to change career at this stage of my life.

I have to agree that the fact you are not sure whether to do business or mental health would indicate that you are not so dedicated to mental health which is absolute essentiel, but then again, I thought I was and I was wrong!!! Good luck whatever you end up studying.