Freshers: Making the Choice - Be Part of It

Hello my lovelies! 

I think it's about time I did another university post. I know a lot of you guys are roughly university age (18-25) and I get a lot of questions about how I knew Chester was the uni for me so this post is going to be a bit of a tips and tricks for picking your university. Also, I'm going to tell you all about a great campaign being led by St Mary's University in Twickenham which might help you out. Choosing your university can be such a difficult thing and can be incredibly daunting, many students feel like they are pushed or rushed in to choosing, but you shouldn't have to feel that way.

Image source: http://www.transitionresourceguide.ca/sites/transitionresourceguide.ca/files/img/hero/choosing-schools.jpg

I think a very important factor when you're choosing your university is knowing what it is you're getting yourself in to. Not only knowing what the course is like, but what it's like to live and study at the university as a student. It is so important that you go and visit any university that you're thinking of going to, especially if you've already applied and are choosing your offers. St Mary's campaign 'Be part of it' encourages you to think about what factors are important to you when choosing a university. Whether it's the campus, the facilities, the location, the course or the atmosphere, you need to know it all. 

For me, the course was more important than the campus, but i still wanted to be somewhere I felt at ease. I was very focused on finding a university that felt right and offered the right support for the students and I asked pretty much every student I saw and knew the same question - 'what's it really like at uni?'

This video by St Mary's students shows you some of the things current students find important and gives you a great idea of what you should be thinking about when picking where to go. It picks up on factors that some students feel are hugely important, and others that you may not have thought about. They have a series of great videos which can be found on their website that look at some things in greater detail but this highlight video is a good starting point.

Not only do the videos encourage you to think about what you want from your uni, but they also encourage you to get involved in as much as you can once you've made your choice. They are the best years of your life and you should live them to the max. I'm a huge fan of this approach to choosing your university and I encourage you to go and check out everything on the site, even if you don't want to go to St Mary's because it's all useful stuff!

****I know it may seem to you that this post is pushing St Mary's University however, remember that I go to the University of Chester and looked at a series of universities when applying. I'm going through a similar process of choice for my post-grad studies now so this is truly all about the idea of their campaign rather than encouraging you to choose them.****

I found that applicant days and open days really helped me to make my choice. Universities will often have student ambassadors dotted about campus or students showing their accommodation and they are usually happy to honestly answer any questions that you might have. Don't be afraid to speak to students at these days, they will not be afraid to say what they truly think and will be able to give you a much more honest view of the university than any of the staff.

If you're currently in the process of choosing your university, all your key dates and information is on UCAS and I really do encourage you to check out every little detail on there as I found it to be such an incredible help when I applied. Also, if you have any worries about your application just give them a call (Undergraduate applications +44 330 3330 230) or even tweet them (@UCAS_online) they're super helpful. You can also call or email any of the universities you're thinking of with your questions and there should be someone who can help you.

St Mary's can be found at:

St Mary's Website - http://www.stmarys.ac.uk/bepartofit

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/yourstmarys

Twitter - https://twitter.com/YourStMarys

I really do encourage you to make the most of the time you have at university and make sure that where you pick is where you really want to be. if you ever have questions, I'm always open to answer, all of my social media links are in the sidebar or you can find them here. 

I love you all!

T

xxx

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, all views are that of myself and not of the brands, affiliates or companies with which this is associated.