Freshers

Confront your doubts before you choose to drop out

Okay, so I’ve ranted about the sad state of affairs with students who drop out of uni, but what about some practical advice? First off, 7 tips to students already at uni and struggling one way or another. After that, 5 snippets of advice to any potential unigoers out there. Whatever your choices, believe in them and hold your head up high.

Current Uni Students

  1. Identify the problem in your mind – Can you pinpoint the reasons why you feel unhappy?
  2. Vary who you talk to about uni issues – You’ll get wildly different opinions and advice, depending on who you speak to. Parents, friends, tutors, Students’ Union, student advisors/counsellors, independent bodies; they will all help to shape your thoughts. Don’t rely on just one view, or you risk missing vital information that could help turn your life around.
  3. Be honest – If you’ve been pushed somewhere you don’t want to be, try to talk about it calmly and openly. Explain your issues and why you are finding it so difficult. If this isn’t fruitful, or proves too difficult, seek advice from the university itself and see if they can suggest other options that you might not be aware of.
  4. Don’t keep it to yourself – Sometimes it can be difficult to admit to any problems if everyone else around you seems happy enough with their course. But bottling things up will only make matters worse. Even if you don’t want to speak to friends about it, there are plenty of other sources (as mentioned in Point 2) that you can contact in confidence.
  5. Highlight the aspects of uni that you DO enjoy – A negative attitude can lead us to forget about all the good things surrounding us. Make sure you see both sides of the picture.
  6. Look inwards – Even the best of us don’t like to acknowledge a personal need for change. In some situations, a stubborn attitude can lead to hating aspects of uni life that wouldn’t be half the problem if you were willing to make a slight alteration to serve our overall wellbeing.
  7. Change location – If your mind has come to a halt because your university worries are taking place when you’re in the middle of that very university, it’s probably best to arrange a week or two away from it all. If possible, go home (or wherever you feel most comfortable) and relax away from the uni itself. In a different place, we tend to think differently and come up with new ideas. So take some time to reflect on what difficulties you have and look for a solution from this distance.

photo by Wazari

Potential Uni Students

  1. Look beyond the degree itself – Even the toughest degree courses allow great chunks of time for you to let your mind go wild. You’ll have the freedom to pursue any number of hobbies, interests, sports, social gatherings, and activities.
  2. Don’t panic if you’re uncertain about what degree to take – You’ve got the rest of your life ahead of you. My advice would be to do whatever you’re most interested in getting to grips with at a deeper level. If you have a particular career in mind, you’d best go with the corresponding degree (although you’ll then probably be more certain about your choices anyway, natch!).
  3. Don’t panic if you’re uncertain about your future career and life plans – Follow the same advice as above…look to a degree subject that you have most interest in, even if it doesn’t follow any particular career focus. I studied English because I love it. I had no major career plan when I chose what to study.
  4. Consider university as a platform for opportunity – The possibilities are endless. You could become a senior student, stand to be elected for a role in your Student Union exec, promote a worthy cause, show off your acting skills, start a society, write for the student paper, or present a show on the uni radio station.  And it all looks good on your CV…
  5. If university is not for you, explain why – If you’re feeling pushed into uni but have other plans, explain in detail what your ambition is, why you feel it’s so important, and how you aim to do it. If you really have done your homework and have solid – and feasible – plans, people are far less likely to brush your ideas off as folly.

The sadness of dropping out

According to the government, 22% of students in UK Higher Education are dropping out before completing their degree.

Sad as that may be, I can well believe it.

I’ve long felt that if it hadn’t been for my year off before studying at uni, I may have felt unhappy, isolated, and out of my depth.  My mindset was not yet focusing in the right direction. But because I took a year out both to improve my A-Level grades and to discover university life from an outsider’s perspective, my entire view was changed for the better.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets the same kind of chance I did.  That’s part of the reason behind TheUniversityBlog.  With the right attitude and understanding, students from any background can achieve fantastic results and realise their dreams, no matter what institution they may be at.

(more…)

Marketing, Universities & You

I don’t know how you chose your uni, but it was probably based on a number of issues, including (and certainly not limited to) in no particular order:

  • Location
  • Word of mouth/current student opinions
  • Promotional Literature
  • Subject you wish to take
  • Campus facilities
  • Availability/Quality of accommodation
  • Nightlife
  • League Tables
  • Student Surveys/Opinions
  • Guide book ratings
  • Size of uni
  • Number of students on particular course or in chosen school
  • Predicted grades

The list goes on…you get the point. The choice probably wasn’t simple.

question_mark (photo by svilen001)

The Guardian Higher Education Summit heard from the Shadow Secretary of State for Universities, David Willetts, on Tuesday. He suggested that more detailed information about courses should be given out to the ‘Facebook generation’ such as: information about crowded seminars and tutorials; details regarding the amount of access students get to lecturers; further detailed stats for students to choose their ideal sounding uni as easily as possible.

I can’t see how even more information will make a difference. It’s already a confusing minefield. There are conflicting reports depending on which university guide you read, which league table you refer to, which independent student report you rely on, which…

It won’t matter how much info is out there. In my mind, there are two major variables in obtaining info for choosing universities:

  1. The Marketing
  2. The Potential Students

Marketing is different for every uni going. Even the Student Unions around the country make a song and dance about totally different issues…from huge entertainments plans and fundraising opportunities through to better student rights and better access to tutors. Nothing is clear cut.

As for the universities themselves, their marketing departments don’t all come to the same conclusions as each other. If they had uncovered the special secret to attracting students, they’d all behave alike. As we know, that’s not the case.

And the uni websites…? Some are easy to use and full of relevant information, while others are frustrating and out of date, or worse, bare. Others are more like an advert than a true idea of what’s going on. It’s enough to drive a potential student bonkers.

That’s the second variable. Some potential students are enthusiastic to the point of obsession and won’t stop until they’ve heard the same piece of info from several alternative sources (e.g. prospectus, independent uni guide, and online student forum).

On the flipside, other candidates will break into a sweat at the prospect of simply sticking a pin randomly into a list of institutions.

Either way, an individual is unlikely to find the degree course of their dreams just because they’ve read a few books and asked a few questions.

And this doesn’t even go into the arguement of ‘uni is what you make it’. That’s a whole debate in itself.

Neither does it cover all of you who used Clearing to find a course and a uni. The Clearing process is potentially separate from the initial applications to specific universities via UCAS.

The fact that information is now regularly shared over the net can only be a good thing in my mind, but not something that can be emulated by an official approach. It’s the truly direct and independent approach that gives a further idea of what’s going on. It might not all be accurate and unbiased, but the same could probably be said for some of the published info out there. Even official statistics can be tainted by protest votes, completion by only a certain type of person, and out of date reporting.

There is no surefire way of finding the university of your dreams. You can try your best and get close, but even then it’s uncertain until you’re there.  And even if one place feels superior to everywhere else, there isn’t usually a guarantee of acceptance. When rejection takes place (or not enough UCAS points are attained), many new choices have to be made.

That’s my piece over, now it’s your turn…

How did you choose your university? What would you advise potential candidates now? Is hindsight a fine thing, or would it have made no difference to your choices? Are you applying to unis at the moment yourself?  How are you making your choices?  Do you agree that more information should be available. If so, what?

Introvert/Extrovert – 2 Ways You Focus Your Study

Do you talk through your theories in groups and relish every moment you have company?

photo by JBaker071

Or do you prefer the peace and quiet on your own as you beaver away with your study?

photo by Worldslandinfo.com

Though it’s not always clear cut, there are two very different routes to learning that depend on how you like to work:

1. Extrovert – Traits include: Studying in public spaces; participating heavily in group work; engaging with fellow students and chewing over different views; starting projects with human involvement and interactive research.

2. Introvert – Traits include: Solitary reading; quiet study in library/dorm; reliance on own research and books; shys away from all non-obligatory group activity; attentive, but doesn’t necessarily relish being in the thick of the discussion.

They are clearly two pointedly different styles of learning. Only you as an individual can determine which method guides you along most effectively. Most people would identify one type as preferable.

Other than getting fiercely talkative/argumentative in seminars, I took a more introverted style and left the extrovert tendencies to social activity instead. There’s no right or wrong here. And as with myself, there can be a bit of crossover between styles.

But since I became a student, I encountered many people of one study preference who wanted to improve their grades by adopting the opposite techniques. Let’s say I meet an introverted student who wants to emulate the success of a friend who has been involved in some pretty intense study groups, as well as doing most studying in the kitchen, where all the other flatmates hang around.

The introverted student hasn’t ever been suited to that type of study, but wants to branch out as his friend has, for a chance at better grades.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

A lone worker cannot turn into a sociable studier overnight. They probably won’t make the change at all. An ‘All or Nothing’ approach is unlikely to bear any fruit.

Rather than attempt a move from introvert to extrovert (or vice versa), you’re better off having a good think about your current strengths and weaknesses and working them from within.

Unless you’ve been deluding yourself to the point of bordering schizophrenia, you probably work to a style that suits you already. So it’s not the way you focus your study that’s the problem. It’s more likely to be based on the specific techniques you employ within that focus.

Feel proud about your lot. If enthusiastic group work is your main way forward, make the most of whoever is available and savour those team sessions. Please take great care before ditching it all for a quiet life. It could be a big mistake if you flit from one area to another when you’re not that way inclined.

Consider these points:

  • One person’s successful style doesn’t mean it will be a winner for you;
  • You may love the extrovert study life, but you need to take it seriously, or face the danger of blurring the boundaries between social time and working time;
  • The quieter life may suit you better, but be warned that too much time wrapped up in books can send your head spinning and actually lower your productivity;
  • There’s no right or wrong in terms of how you focus your behaviours, so don’t panic that you should be any more introvert or extrovert to succeed.  The key is in how you utilise your behaviours.

Finally, this is just as important for social life and relationships at uni.  When Freshers first bundle into dorms across the country, there’s a tendency to bahave differently, especially along the lines of overdoing the extrovert act.

From first-hand sight of this, and from hearing many similar stories over the years, people are found out in the end and don’t need to use a different persona in the first place.  The most important advice for anyone doing anything new to them (including starting university) is:

Be yourself!