Bigger Picture of Choosing your Course
Before you start trying to figure out what your ideal university course is, it is quite important for you to understand that this decision is not everything. Feeling lots of pressure to choose one subject and start pursuing extracurriculars and wider reading about it can actually be counter-productive. It can lead to you rushing your decision, just to get it out of the way and proceed with your application. So let's take a look at why this decision may not be as life-altering as you think.
For starters, the workforce is no longer as rigid as it was decades ago.Now more than ever, a university degree can send you down many paths and lead to many different types of jobs. Studying a certain course at university will not tie you down to one, single future. So even if you go to university and and realise that you may not want to pursue your exact field after graduation (for example, law or medicine), you can still enter many different career paths.
Finally, lots of students end up changing their minds about their university course, either because they realise they don’t like the subject as much as they thought, or because they find that they don’t really like the syllabus the course has at their given university. This can happen both during the UCAS cycle or after students have started at university! It’s important to know this so that you are aware that it’s quite common- yet another reason why you should not be constantly stressing yourself over this decision. This is important, but not the most defining moment of your life!
What if you are having second thoughts about your subject choice?
It always helps to know which options are available to you when making this decision. So what can you do if you realise that you may not be as passionate about your subject as you previously thought? As a first step, clear your head, take a step back and reflect on how you are feeling. The university application process is a stressful process, and as the idea of going to university process becomes increasingly real, it's understandable to feel unsure. Understand whether you have truly lost interest in your subject, or whether it is nerves for going to university. If it isn’t just cold feet, don’t worry! There are many steps you can take depending on where you are in the application cycle.
If you have changed your mind before you make your Firm and Insurance choices, there are a few steps you can take.
If your application is still waiting for referee approval, then your application is still with your school, as your referee needs to add your reference before it gets sent off. If so, contact your school and ask for your application to be sent back to you so that you can make your necessary changes!
If your application has already been submitted, you can either add a choice (if you have chosen fewer than five courses already) or substitute a choice. To substitute a choice, you need to meet two requirements: the university hasn’t gotten back to you or your AS2 ‘welcome’ letter is dated less than 7 days ago.
If you change your mind once you have already gotten to university, you can try to change your course internally. How this works really depends on the university, the course you are currently in, and the course you are hoping to switch into. It could involve having an interview with the faculty you are hoping to switch into and potentially taking an admissions test, but details will have to be sought from your university.
If you find that you are unable to change your course internally, don’t fret! There are other steps you can take that could help you pursue your interests in that area. For example, studying law at university is not a prerequisite to becoming a lawyer in the UK. Many students interested in law, or who later realise they are interested in law, take the GDL (Graduate Diploma in Law), which is a law conversion course for non-law graduates. It only takes a year, and for students who have received training contract offers from law firms, can be wholly subsided by the firms. Therefore, not being able to switch into law at university will not prevent you from having a future career in the law!
Another step you could take would be to pursue your interest in your free time. For example, for students interested in courses such as programming and computer science, there are a multitude of courses online (both free and paid) that focus on teaching individuals coding. This applies to other subjects as well, especially with how the workforce is changing to become more flexible and adaptable. Take advantage of societies and other relevant extra-curricular activities available at university, as being able to demonstrate your dedication to learning about a sector is often more important than your subject for getting a job.
Although we've discussed what you can do if you find yourself wanting to change your subject, it's best to think about how you can prevent this from happening.
Take your time to make your decision. It’s much better to submit your application when you are sure of your choices than to submit it early and then find that you actually only like some of the courses you have applied for!
Read about your courses on all the relevant university pages. Try and learn more about the course at the given university through meeting university representatives and current students. The Student Room is a good place to start!
Talk over your decision with other people - sometimes, having to verbalise why you have made a given choice can bring to light other issues you may not have yet considered.