Is this a reasonable plan?

Throughout school, I have changed my mind SO many times about what I want to do when I leave and I thought I had decided once-and-for-all a few months back BUT I was looking at UCAS yesterday and came across various degrees in television and film scriptwriting which really appeals to me, as I have a passion for both writing and media.

I thought that I wanted to be a healthcare play specialist so I had it all planned out - take a gap year, study a childcare course then apply to the relevant college (there are only two in the UK which do the course and I want to stay at home whilst I study so that leaves only one option) but now this has just thrown a very large spanner in the works.

I am now thinking that I will apply this year for the scriptwriting whilst I still have the support from my school then if I get any offers, defer and take my gap year. During that time, I will take a distance learning childcare course, try and get some experience in both fields, work and travel a bit and then decide what I really want to do. Does this sound like a reasonable plan or does anyone have any other advice in how to go about it?

Rebecca

Hey Rebecca That sounds like a reasonable plan I'd say. I just came on here to say that if you're really interested in scriptwriting I'd say you don't neccessarily need a degree in it to do it as a career. For example, I do Latin and French at university but spend a lot of time outside of uni reading books on screenwriting, writing scripts and gaining experience in tv/ film in general. I do things like enter screenwriting competitions and write scripts for production for my university's tv channel. I've also just sent in a script to the latest BBC Writer's Room competition and am awaiting a response. Obviously also get advice from someone who has done a course in scriptwriting to see how they found it. I think one of the best thing it should offer is the contacts with current/ future people in the industry. You can also get these by joining independent film making networks if you live in a city for example. Just one perspective. I'm still at uni so I've not had any major success yet but I think it is possible to become well qualified in the area without studying it as a degree. Feel free to PM me if you think I can advise you more