If you have read any previous blog posts of mine then you will be aware that I plan on attending university in September, I thought that I would write this post to help any of you that plan on attending in the future or like me will be starting this autumn, these are going to be my tips and tricks to making the process run smoother.
1. Whether you are definitely wanting to apply for university or not, you should begin writing your personal statement before September of the year before you want to attend - so for me I begun writing my personal statement last summer ready for school to start.
Why should you do this?
In most cases your teachers, deputy heads and head of years will all have to read through yours and possibly dozens more personal statements before the deadline in December/January and changes will generally have to be made, so to get your personal statement sent off to universities earlier you want it to be completed to a high standard as quickly as possible.
What to write?
I will share my full personal statement in another post but generally you just need to write about your interest in the course/s, any skills and hobbies you have, your past experiences whether they are Duke of Edinburgh awards or jobs, this will show dedication and commitment, and also write about things you do outside of school, they like to know what you as a person are like, not you as a student necessarily.
2. After you have undergone interviews and all of that malarkey you will then start receiving feedback from the universities, whether you have been accepted or declined. Once you have had a response from all of the universities you can then pick your 1st choice and 2nd choice's, for me this was 1. Nottingham Trent and 2. Manchester Metropolitan, I declined Liverpool John Moores.
How to decide?
For me I chose based on personal preference because I knew the courses at the three university's I had been accepted to were similar and all outstanding in their different areas, but I chose Nottingham as I loved the city and the idea of getting away from home, similarly with Manchester. However, looking back I would probably have set Liverpool as my second choice in case of money issues etc which meant I'd need to stay at home. Please consider your choice really well, you are generally given 2 months to make the decision.
3. Got your place? Now to start figuring out the whole accommodation drama. For me I was too late to book any of the university's accommodation so I had to go private, I would suggest setting a reminder of the date accommodation opens so you are ready to book yours. However, I did find a really nice apartment not too far from the university which is part of the 'wearehomesforstudents.com' company that have apartments in many cities such as Liverpool, Nottingham and Glasgow. It is a little more complicated than if you booked through the uni but nevertheless it is good enough.
What type of accommodation should I go for?
This is completely up to you and your budget, if you will be receiving student finance to pay for your accommodation then try to have that sorted before booking accommodation so you know that you will be able to afford it. Otherwise just go for what you think will suit you best, I preferably wanted a 6 bed sharing flat with girls so that I could get to know as many people as possible, but this might be too much for you. There are generally rooms to suit every preference.
4. This is the fun part! Once you have your accommodation sorted you can then start buying things to deck the place out, if like me you're going to have a kitchen in the apartment then you will obviously need all that boring stuff like pans and cleaning things but there are fun things to buy like fancy tea towels and plates and mugs! Then moving into the bedroom you'll want to deck it out with homely things like photographs and ornaments and things to make it cosy like cushions and fairy lights. If you would like to see a haul style post with everything I have bought so far then let me know.
5. Mentally preparing... this is tricky, daunting and strange for most people. You will most likely be moving away from home therefore leaving behind friends and family, this will obviously take some getting used to. I have been planning to move away for nearly a year and still can't grasp that I won't see my friends whenever I want and my parents won't be in the next room to help me out with things. However you have to remember that there are phones, facetime/skype and trains, you can speak to someone almost anytime you need to, whether it's just to reassure you or because you miss their voice and it is never going to be too hard to jump on a train or coach and go home for the weekend when everything gets too much.
If you are moving away this autumn then yay we can do this, otherwise good luck if you plan on attending next year!
Hannah
xx
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