Question about the amount of spare time I'll have to do something I'm pursuing?

So the past year I've really enjoyed my last year of College. But I've not really been interested in any of the common options going forward. I hate exams and work in general to be honest I thought I was done with it and I couldn't find anything great that I was super interested in for apprenticeships either.

If you don't want to take me seriously, no need to comment because I'm looking for people who are willing to help not leave insulting comments etc.

But the past year, I've been pursuing a career in the gaming industry. Not the type which you can do at uni such as programming etc. I've been trying to pursue being a professional player and also get noticed on social gaming platforms such as Twitch and Youtube. Now I don't want to give that up. If I were to go to university, would I have the time to carry on? I mean the odd day I could not play but I genuinely really want to dedicate my time and effort into this in the next year. I want to put as many hours into it as I can per day. It's what I want to do and one of the only things I can see myself happy doing. So realistically, how much time would I have? How much time do I need to put into university in the first year?

If it means anything, I plan to commute at Coventry University in Business Management & Marketing.

Hello

I like your passion and dedication. I attempted to become a professional player and used Twitch a lot as it's an excellent platform - however I turned gaming into just something I did in my spare time and dedicated my time to working on TSR and writing advice articles etc.

First of all, these kind of questions are difficult to answer. At the end of the day it depends on how much you can take on - what you can do, somebody else might not be able to do and vice versa.

You may here from certain people that 'First Year' doesn't count but this is purely down to the university in question. Some universities don't count the grades from First Year towards your overall grade at the end of Third Year where as other universities may do - for example, my university doesn't count the grades from First Year so many people don't take this year as seriously however, some people do. No matter the situation, you should always take your studying seriously and prioritise it.

First of all, I think you need to look at your time table for university and see how many hours of contact time you have with your lecturers and how long you'll spend in lectures - then throw in some independent study time and social time and what not and then you'll see what you have left. However, with most students there is always this common theme where you'll have a lot of free time and you'll question whether or not it is actually free time or you've just forgotten everything you're meant to be doing.

Personally, I managed to have a lot of free time to myself and socialise and do a bit of gaming etc and that's because (regrettably) in First Year I left work till the last minute but then in Second Year, I just set aside time for my studies and made sure I had 'me' time which essentially is 'free time'.

I'd love to give you some more accurate numbers but again I'd need to know your timetable and even then, it's down to what you do as a person and how you work etc.

Best of luck,
Hope you achieve your dream of being a professional gamer!

Wow thank you so much! Really appreciate all of the information. I only just decided that I'm going to university this morning. So schedule wise I'm not sure. I just know that I'll be doing advertising and marketing which is 75% coursework first year and 67% last year and also that it's 14 hours of teaching a week and 22-24 personal study that's all I know as of now. I don't even know where to start in terms of moving to cov and also where to find a place to live and where to get student grant

Hello Rajanrai

No problem at all, it's what I'm here for. Oh well, congratulations! University is a fantastic experience, I don't think you'll regret your decision.

I'd suggest contacting the university who in turn will put you in contact with your lecturers and prepare some questions to ask them in which the answers will benefit you - e.g. the timetable and so on.

Ask the university about accommodation, look at student accommodations and go from there and see what you can apply for. The university will be able to help and answer these questions - Student Grant wise, head over to Student Finance Englands website and apply from there!

Best of luck, any other questions feel free to ask!

I'm actually having some issues looking for good accomodation with good internet as I'll be gaming as I assume the halls are all gone by now. Any advice you can give?