University

[Sureboss]

It's approaching time for me to submit applications to Universities, I've still got a year and a bit left on the BTEC National Diploma and I've found this one at Salford.

http://www.salford.ac.uk/course-finder/course/111

I've got requirements of MMP for my course, I'm confident I could achieve that. I also have a mate their, doing the Tourism Management course.

Reason for this thread was to get your input on Uni, particularly those at British Universities. I'm not dead set on going to Uni, but I firmly believe that I can do it and further my own career. Factors for me, age, I know it's not a massive thing at University, but I would be 25 at the end of the above course.

 

[Stevisiov]

I am currently in the process of having my applications accepted/refused. Currently 3 Universities have accepted my placement assuming I meet the grade requirements. One wants an interview, and one I haven't heard back from yet.

I have applied for an Automotive engineering (one is motorsport engineering) bachelors with a view to a masters depending on how I get on. All of these are sandwich courses will include a years placement in industry.

Its safe to say I am fairly excited about the prospect of University.

 

[YSSMAN]

Can I just say that the way in which your schools operate in the UK seems awfully confusing? Because, it does.

 

[Robin]

I don't know if now is the best time to go to uni what with the way the economy is, even with the best qualifications in the world very few people are hiring, in fact they are sacking thousands .

It depends on whether stuff clears up by the time you finish uni. My opinon would be that its better to try and get straight into employment now doing anything you can because its experience they want and you hopefully will be able to work your way up.

Ofcourse in normal times it would be a no brainer to go to uni, but now you could have 3 degrees and it wont make a scrap of difference unless you have people in high places.

Can I just say that the way in which your schools operate in the UK seems awfully confusing? Because, it does.

Its not confusing at all, you pick like 5 uni's (3 top choices) to apply to and depending on your assumed grades (and usually an interview) they will offer you a conditional or unconditional place.

When you then do your exams and get the proper results you will know which uni's you can go to depending on whether you have met the grades they asked for. They then have an obigation to take you.

Robin.

 

[Philly]

I don't know if now is the best time to go to uni what with the way the economy is, even with the best qualifications in the world very few people are hiring, in fact they are sacking thousands .

It depends on whether stuff clears up by the time you finish uni. My opinon would be that its better to try and get straight into employment now doing anything you can because its experience they want and you hopefully will be able to work your way up.

Ofcourse in normal times it would be a no brainer to go to uni, but now you could have 3 degrees and it wont make a scrap of difference unless you have people in high places.

I'm personally not too worried about that at the time. Unless we're headed into another big depression, I'd guess that the economy will be turned around by the time I get out of school four years from now. But if the economy is still in the tank by the time I'm out looking for a job, then having a masters degree would only help my chances of finding something, and it gives an advantage over other people looking for the same job when things are looking better.

Its not confusing at all, you pick like 5 uni's (3 top choices) to apply to and depending on your assumed grades (and usually an interview) they will offer you a conditional or unconditional place.

When you then do your exams and get the proper results you will know which uni's you can go to depending on whether you have met the grades they asked for. They then have an obigation to take you.

Don't you guys have some strange system where you go to certain schools for certain things for certain years and then change or something? What you described is a lot like our application system over here.

 

[Jondot]

I don't know if now is the best time to go to uni what with the way the economy is, even with the best qualifications in the world very few people are hiring, in fact they are sacking thousands .

It depends on whether stuff clears up by the time you finish uni. My opinon would be that its better to try and get straight into employment now doing anything you can because its experience they want and you hopefully will be able to work your way up.

Ofcourse in normal times it would be a no brainer to go to uni, but now you could have 3 degrees and it wont make a scrap of difference unless you have people in high places.

...but then, as you say, the economy is in such a state that nobody is hiring in the first place, so the option of 'going out and getting a job' doesn't work because nobody is hiring in the first place. In that respect, surely it's better to simply disappear off to Uni for 3 years and hope the problem all goes away.

It's a bit of a you're-screwed-either-way situation. A lot depends on what exactly you're planning to do in the first place. I could, with a bit of hunting, feasibly go and get a job straight off now (not being big headed here, but I'm overqualified for the course - or so I've been told). That is, I could assuming the economy wasn't totally screwed. I still need training, I just need less training than most applicants for the course, who all seem to think that PHP is an antiseptic. But nobody's going to take on an 18 year old graphic/web designer when: a) it's hard to keep afloat; b) I've got no qualifications to my name that suggest I can do what I say I can; and c) most 18 year olds have spent more time partying than they have coding. So yeah, it doesn't really work like that. At least if I disappear off to Leeds or wherever and come back aged 22 with a shiny degree in Multimedia, I can walk up to a design agency and not expect to be laughed at.

 

[ExigeEvan]

Factors for me, age, I know it's not a massive thing at University, but I would be 25 at the end of the above course.

Age is not an issue. I know several who are approaching their mid 20's (One was a former MINI worker) and there's even a guy in the house next to me in the student village who is 34. Nice guy, they even threw a party for his birthday last term.

I have applied for an Automotive engineering (one is motorsport engineering) bachelors with a view to a masters depending on how I get on. All of these are sandwich courses will include a years placement in industry.

Applied to Swansea Met? I heard their automotive/motorsport was ranked quite high.

I don't know if now is the best time to go to uni what with the way the economy is, even with the best qualifications in the world very few people are hiring, in fact they are sacking thousands .

It depends on whether stuff clears up by the time you finish uni. My opinon would be that its better to try and get straight into employment now doing anything you can because its experience they want and you hopefully will be able to work your way up.

By the time I finish my degree, 4 years Masters, I guarantee the economy will be in a far better state. Most the large aircarriers have still got their orders in place for a whole host of recently released aircraft so atleast the Aerospace industry will go on.

Can I just say that the way in which your schools operate in the UK seems awfully confusing? Because, it does.

Don't you guys have some strange system where you go to certain schools for certain things for certain years and then change or something? What you described is a lot like our application system over here.

From 3-11 you're in primary, same subjects for everyone.
11-14 you're in secondary, standard subjects for everyone.
14-16 you're still insecondary, allowed to pick some subjects, sit ~8-12 GCSEs.
16-18 6th form/college. Choose 3-5 specialized subjects generally required for your chosen degree course. Or a vocational BTEC/Diploma
18-21 University. Not like in America where you pick and choose at random before settling down. You nearly always go in to a chosen subject like maths, english lit, mech engineering, biology etc.

 

[Danny]

University is a ridiculous idea for people with too much time on their hands.

 

[boiltheocean]

University is a ridiculous idea for people with too much time on their hands.

Strong words. Bad experience or general view?

Although I am sitting in a nice position to move onto Uni, I find A Levels boring enough.

 

[YSSMAN]

Hmm, thats interesting how things work out over here. I guess I didn't understand that "University" is like our "Graduate School" programs at various colleges around the country. We have to take GREs for that, and then submit a paper (or two) to a college or university of your choice to (hopefully) get accepted.

I'm actually considering applying to get my Masters at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in International Relations, with a major lean on military hardware and proliferation. Its been a small dream of mine to go to MIT, and seeing as how the year-long program could easily fit into my schedule, I may do it. Otherwise, Berkley or Stanford would be sweet, but they only accept Doctorate students...

 

[ExigeEvan]

University is a ridiculous idea for people with too much time on their hands.

Quiet media studies boy!

Uni is the crowning glory on anyones social life.

 

[Mark T]

I'm considering an open university course as I now really regret not going. I can't really complain as I landed a good job straight from college, gained loads of experience and was a manager by the age of 23. Experience really does seem to be the key. My friend who lives in Brighton completed an audio engineering degree but when he applied for a job in that sector they wanted a minimum of two years electrical hands on experience. Everywhere he looked it was the same. In the end he had to take a job at an electrical company who produce the signal systems for railways. He has been there for two years now, they are also funding his masters degree and I think he will be there for quite some time as they have a long running contract with several rail services.

I want to study history with the open university but with the economy looking shaky at the moment I think it's best to leave it until things start looking up. i have also looked into grants but it says my household income is above the limit.

 

[Touring Mars]

Tough call... I once 'advised' someone to think hard about going to Uni when he was pretty keen to go, and I regret doing that now... to be fair, I raised a few important points, like considering the cost of going (both in terms of fees and in loss of income from not working) and whether or not he had a clear idea what he wanted to do (other than just spend the next few years as a stoo-dent)...

...but you have a very clear goal, and also your chosen vocation is such that you could easily gain alot of useful experience that could just give you the edge you might need.

I'd say, weigh up how much it will cost you, and take the whole "university is a life-changing experience" banter with a pinch of salt... yes it is, but as a mature student you are not really looking for the "lifestyle" thing and more for the "what is it going to give me", which in my book is the best reason to go to Uni... (although it is also rewarding in other ways too...)

A friend of mine was a printer and decided to go to Uni to move out of the mundane job he had and move into design, and has done really well out of it - his vocational background and clear goals before he went to Uni really helped. I'd say go for it, but if you get a better offer in the meantime, then don't lose too much sleep over it

 

[Sureboss]

You have raised some good points.

Cost - It's always going to be a valid point (though I don't agree with paying for Uni as I think it's about as daft a decision a government can make), however let's say I had £5k debt per year, and I know student loans work on a completely different basis to normal loans, that'd give me £15k from doing the course. It's a lot of money, but if I'm going straight from my Uni course to a good management position within either a few months or a couple of years, I have no doubt it is worth it. Finance is always an issue to consider. But value of having that degree would be immense.

It's an option, even if I don't get the grades needed from this course to get into the one I want (MMP, roughly 200 UCAS points iirc) I've still got a good course under me now. Most people in Hospitality don't have anything over a Level 2, I'm on Level 3 and the BA (Hons) is Level 4.

I do think the clear goal is helping my decision, I'm dead set on my career choice. Uni is about getting a degree to further that career, any social "benefits" are an add-on.

To me, I've always thought that reaching your maximum potential is important. As said, my goal is very clear. Hospitality Management is what I want to do, and having spoken to an AssMan at a hotel (via another forum, obviously!) who worked his way up from a Bar Monkey, he said to go for it.

 

[Danny]

Strong words. Bad experience or general view?

A mix of both. I'm there now.

I'd say go for it Nigel, just don't underestimate the ridiculous torrents of work that come piling on.

 

[ExigeEvan]

If you think you will hit the glass ceiling quite quickly without a degree then I'd say go for it now rather than wait till then and possibly regret it.

Yes you will end up with debt, but in the end it turns into nothing more than a graduate tax. They take 9% of what you earn over ~£15,000. If you don't earn more than that they don't tale any off you.

 

[Casio]

A mix of both. I'm there now.

I'd say go for it Nigel, just don't underestimate the ridiculous torrents of work that come piling on.

The work sucks a lot of people pretty quickly. When I started there were 300 enrolled in one of my subject, by the first assignment their was only 150 submissions, and by the end of the subject that number was about 80. That's just in one subject.

But if you've got some degree of time management, and prepared to make some social/sleep sacrifices then it's not too bad. I do 4 subjects per semester, and generally they each have major assignments which are due on the same week/day. Like High-School, you can leave one assignment to the last night, but not four. I always try to get my assignments done a week in advance if possible. Then at least I have a week where I can relax and polish them up while everyone else is going nuts.

 

[Sureboss]

I know workloads are high, but then they are on the course I'm doing. It's all assignments, we don't have exams. With 18 units, you can expect 13-15 pages for a Merit (normally). I believe someone who was doing distinction did 60 pages for the two Marketing assignments.

 

[Danny]

Sorry for the non-emergency CPR on this thread, but my time at University is nearly through.

I'm looking in to options for next year, really want to do a Masters in Advertising or Marketing.

So far I've applied for London Met and Sheffield Hallam, and have been given unconditional offers from Chester and Portsmouth.

Anyone have any experience with any of these?

 

[Neal]

Holly thread revival!

About 15 years ago I spent a few weekends with my mate who was at Sheffield Uni...well, he was staying at Totley so it wasn't quite Sheffield! It's a nice place but don't know much more than that...

 

[Ru-fus]

Uni = Drink, Women and partying!

 

[Louie_Schumii]

Quiet media studies boy!

Uni is the crowning glory on anyones social life.

Nice old thread we have here that didn't get much attention

University social life is excellent...a little bit tough trying to keep up with the classes though... especially if there's plenty of distractions during and inbetween lectures if you know what I mean

 

[Danny]

Quiet media studies boy!

Three years late, but shut up.


It was totally a legit option.

 

[Famine]

So far I've applied for London Met and Sheffield Hallam, and have been given unconditional offers from Chester and Portsmouth.

Anyone have any experience with any of these?

Yeah, I did a Master's degree at Sheffield Hallam What do you want to know?

 

[TheCracker]

So far I've applied for London Met and Sheffield Hallam, and have been given unconditional offers from Chester and Portsmouth.

Anyone have any experience with any of these?

Yeah, I've partied in Sheffield What do you want to know?

 

[Danny]

Yeah, I did a Master's degree at Sheffield Hallam What do you want to know?

I've been around Sheffield a distressingly large amount, but I've never visited the University. Is the campus all shiny and up to date from what you remember? And did you use/view halls of residence? And what's the general consensus on starting sentences with and? And run-
on lines?

 

[Famine]

I'm from Sheffield (I don't support Wednesday as some sort of glory-seeking exercise), so no halls for I.

Yes, lots of Sheffield Hallam is hideously shiny and modern. It's within a trip-and-fall of Sheffield Midland station (and it has a Supertram stop there and the other side too). I did a lot of biomedical stuff, so I spent a lot of time up at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital which is slightly less modern (also, Supertram).

 

[Neal]

I thought the supertram was cancelled after the pyjama jump pushed it over...or was it the other way round.

 

[TheCracker]

I thought the supertram was cancelled after the pyjama jump pushed it over...or was it the other way round.

Yeah, pyjama jump was banned a while back. Doesn't seem to stop Sheff students dressing up ridiculously on nights out. Danny will fit in fine.

 

[Omnis]

Do they have a hair code too? No distracting colors please.

Anyway, my shortlist is the following:

University of Florida
Florida State University
University of South Florida
Florida International University

If anyone else goes to one of these schools, it would be great if you could get me some cheat codes for free monies.