Potentially starting university at the age of 20? General advice needed
I will keep this as brief as possible. I am the age of 19 and with the situation i am in right now, i genuinely feel like i'm not ready for university or indecisive. I achieved a BBC, i needed a BBB to go into adjustment which was my initial plan. If i go next year i will be 20
Firm offer: Nottingham trent
Insurance: Brunel
I felt that academically nottingham trent wasnt good enough for me so i went on a hunt for better universities, however i knew i would be most happy at this uni, this was the risk i was willing to take, not knowing how bad this risk could be i decided to start looking into clearing courses. i found a nice course at both brunel and swansea university. Swansea looked beautiful, but i wasnt sure about the uni itself as i had not visited, and with brunel i have an amazing close girl mate (probably more than a mate lol) that is going to a london uni and we decided that it would be cool if we went to a close uni, also i visited brunel and it was a decent uni. i was given a verbal offer from both... so from there i decided to go into clearing.. and after calling up brunel so many times, i felt let down with the way they were dealing with my situation, i was told that there were spaces on my course and so i put in clearing details, i phoned back around 4 hours later to find out apparently they had all gone.... had i known this would happen, i would have stuck with nottingham trent. i have now been given a place at brunel... they really just didnt know what they were doing.. maybe it was because i had missed my verbal offer but thats a different story, i guess that shouldnt have a reflection on the uni as a whole.. but i honestly feel like i may not enjoy that uni after hearing some reviews and i would have been a lot happier at notts trent. or maybe swansea even. i guess i feel there are benefits to all 3 unis and drawbacks to all 3 unis... its like im stuck in a triangle. for example when i felt like the places at brunel had gone, i was genuinely upset and didnt wanna attend swansea, but now that ive got a place, im like woahhh you should have just stuck with nottingham trent or swansea, idk... im generally indecisive, and this may be a reason why im not 100% sure which uni will be best for me... i mean everyone says they have a great time at uni right? ive heard people go to worse unis than mine and they still have an amazing time, maybe its just me being a perfectionist? and people say that you can always go to uni later on in life and that wont be a problem at all? i really didnt expect my post to be this long but honestly it would mean a lot if i could have some opinions on what i should do, bear in mind i now have a clearing offer from Brunel! Deep down i just want to be happy at a university i guess, so yeah, write down below any ideas
Firm offer: Nottingham trent
Insurance: Brunel
I felt that academically nottingham trent wasnt good enough for me so i went on a hunt for better universities, however i knew i would be most happy at this uni, this was the risk i was willing to take, not knowing how bad this risk could be i decided to start looking into clearing courses. i found a nice course at both brunel and swansea university. Swansea looked beautiful, but i wasnt sure about the uni itself as i had not visited, and with brunel i have an amazing close girl mate (probably more than a mate lol) that is going to a london uni and we decided that it would be cool if we went to a close uni, also i visited brunel and it was a decent uni. i was given a verbal offer from both... so from there i decided to go into clearing.. and after calling up brunel so many times, i felt let down with the way they were dealing with my situation, i was told that there were spaces on my course and so i put in clearing details, i phoned back around 4 hours later to find out apparently they had all gone.... had i known this would happen, i would have stuck with nottingham trent. i have now been given a place at brunel... they really just didnt know what they were doing.. maybe it was because i had missed my verbal offer but thats a different story, i guess that shouldnt have a reflection on the uni as a whole.. but i honestly feel like i may not enjoy that uni after hearing some reviews and i would have been a lot happier at notts trent. or maybe swansea even. i guess i feel there are benefits to all 3 unis and drawbacks to all 3 unis... its like im stuck in a triangle. for example when i felt like the places at brunel had gone, i was genuinely upset and didnt wanna attend swansea, but now that ive got a place, im like woahhh you should have just stuck with nottingham trent or swansea, idk... im generally indecisive, and this may be a reason why im not 100% sure which uni will be best for me... i mean everyone says they have a great time at uni right? ive heard people go to worse unis than mine and they still have an amazing time, maybe its just me being a perfectionist? and people say that you can always go to uni later on in life and that wont be a problem at all? i really didnt expect my post to be this long but honestly it would mean a lot if i could have some opinions on what i should do, bear in mind i now have a clearing offer from Brunel! Deep down i just want to be happy at a university i guess, so yeah, write down below any ideas
Well, going at 20 isn't a problem, so forget that. If you need time to properly decide, then take the time. Go and visit potential universities as much as you can to get a feel for it all. There were some places I expected to like, and actually really didn't like at all, and some that really surprised me.
Lots of my college friends have graduated this year. More of them have either hated the university, hated the course, or a combination of both, than have actually been happy with what they've done and what they've picked. University isn't necessarily for everyone, and definitely some places don't suit people even if the course content is fine.
Don't rush anything. It's a lot of money and a lot of time on the line. Nottingham and London are er, quite different places, to start with. Weigh up how you feel about campus and city universities. You might have a change of heart on it all if you find a different career path in your time out.
I'd say disregard anything to do with where friends and partners are going - seriously, you will meet a lot of new people at university, and so will they. There's nothing to say you'll even be in much contact with each other after the first few weeks, even in the same city. You can keep in touch from half way across the country - it really is dead easy with the likes of facebook and other social media outlets. Organise for when you're back home at Christmas, or Easter, or other...
Lots of my college friends have graduated this year. More of them have either hated the university, hated the course, or a combination of both, than have actually been happy with what they've done and what they've picked. University isn't necessarily for everyone, and definitely some places don't suit people even if the course content is fine.
Don't rush anything. It's a lot of money and a lot of time on the line. Nottingham and London are er, quite different places, to start with. Weigh up how you feel about campus and city universities. You might have a change of heart on it all if you find a different career path in your time out.
I'd say disregard anything to do with where friends and partners are going - seriously, you will meet a lot of new people at university, and so will they. There's nothing to say you'll even be in much contact with each other after the first few weeks, even in the same city. You can keep in touch from half way across the country - it really is dead easy with the likes of facebook and other social media outlets. Organise for when you're back home at Christmas, or Easter, or other...
Original post by Ameenk95
x
Firstly, nobody will even look at you twice because you're 20. Nobody cares about age at all unless you're clearly a lot older than the rest of them. In my course the age ranges from 18 up to a few of us around 23/24 with the exception of one guy who is 28. Do any of us slightly older guys get treated any differently? No. The only slight exception is that the 28 year old did go through the first term being asked why he started Uni so late, but that was it.
Secondly, absolutely do not pick your university based on where that girl is going to be. At the end of the day if you want to make things work then you will do whether you're 10 minutes or a few hours apart, and if you go to a University that you know is worse than you were capable of, or that you liked less than some of your other options, or whose course suits you less well, simply because you wanted to be close to her then I guarantee that you will regret it. Plus at the end of the day your degree is potentially going to impact the rest of your life, and not doing what you really want to do or doing it at a less well respected University is something that could come back to bite you.
I completely agree with Nymthae.
I am 21 and only just going to university this year, but the time I have taken out has given me the chance to gain invaluable life experience which will give me a slight edge over people just leaving home for the first time, as it is a daunting factor.
TAKE YOUR TIME and pick the university that you feel is best. DO NOT base this choice around a person who 'may be more than a friend', as if that's the most accurate status you can put on that relationship, then statistically you will be at each other's throats by Christmas (if you catch my drift.) This is an important decision of YOUR life, so you need to be thinking of YOU. There will be hundreds of new people at whichever university you go to, including girls believe it or not
Only you can decide which university best suits your personal preference, so it could maybe cloud your judgement by listening to individual opinions. I'm not saying don't listen to advice, but take it with a pinch of salt!
I am 21 and only just going to university this year, but the time I have taken out has given me the chance to gain invaluable life experience which will give me a slight edge over people just leaving home for the first time, as it is a daunting factor.
TAKE YOUR TIME and pick the university that you feel is best. DO NOT base this choice around a person who 'may be more than a friend', as if that's the most accurate status you can put on that relationship, then statistically you will be at each other's throats by Christmas (if you catch my drift.) This is an important decision of YOUR life, so you need to be thinking of YOU. There will be hundreds of new people at whichever university you go to, including girls believe it or not
Only you can decide which university best suits your personal preference, so it could maybe cloud your judgement by listening to individual opinions. I'm not saying don't listen to advice, but take it with a pinch of salt!
Original post by Nymthae
Well, going at 20 isn't a problem, so forget that. If you need time to properly decide, then take the time. Go and visit potential universities as much as you can to get a feel for it all. There were some places I expected to like, and actually really didn't like at all, and some that really surprised me.
Lots of my college friends have graduated this year. More of them have either hated the university, hated the course, or a combination of both, than have actually been happy with what they've done and what they've picked. University isn't necessarily for everyone, and definitely some places don't suit people even if the course content is fine.
Don't rush anything. It's a lot of money and a lot of time on the line. Nottingham and London are er, quite different places, to start with. Weigh up how you feel about campus and city universities. You might have a change of heart on it all if you find a different career path in your time out.
I'd say disregard anything to do with where friends and partners are going - seriously, you will meet a lot of new people at university, and so will they. There's nothing to say you'll even be in much contact with each other after the first few weeks, even in the same city. You can keep in touch from half way across the country - it really is dead easy with the likes of facebook and other social media outlets. Organise for when you're back home at Christmas, or Easter, or other...
Lots of my college friends have graduated this year. More of them have either hated the university, hated the course, or a combination of both, than have actually been happy with what they've done and what they've picked. University isn't necessarily for everyone, and definitely some places don't suit people even if the course content is fine.
Don't rush anything. It's a lot of money and a lot of time on the line. Nottingham and London are er, quite different places, to start with. Weigh up how you feel about campus and city universities. You might have a change of heart on it all if you find a different career path in your time out.
I'd say disregard anything to do with where friends and partners are going - seriously, you will meet a lot of new people at university, and so will they. There's nothing to say you'll even be in much contact with each other after the first few weeks, even in the same city. You can keep in touch from half way across the country - it really is dead easy with the likes of facebook and other social media outlets. Organise for when you're back home at Christmas, or Easter, or other...
Ahh ive done a lot of thinking and a lot of people have already told me not to follow where others are going, i have taken into consideration what you've said however i generally feel like i may be putting myself at risk as next year ill be going uni via clearing hoping for low grade boundaries, im not not sure if they will be any higher next year because people didnt do so great this year to be brutally honest... do you mind if i message you?
Original post by mackemforever
Firstly, nobody will even look at you twice because you're 20. Nobody cares about age at all unless you're clearly a lot older than the rest of them. In my course the age ranges from 18 up to a few of us around 23/24 with the exception of one guy who is 28. Do any of us slightly older guys get treated any differently? No. The only slight exception is that the 28 year old did go through the first term being asked why he started Uni so late, but that was it.
Secondly, absolutely do not pick your university based on where that girl is going to be. At the end of the day if you want to make things work then you will do whether you're 10 minutes or a few hours apart, and if you go to a University that you know is worse than you were capable of, or that you liked less than some of your other options, or whose course suits you less well, simply because you wanted to be close to her then I guarantee that you will regret it. Plus at the end of the day your degree is potentially going to impact the rest of your life, and not doing what you really want to do or doing it at a less well respected University is something that could come back to bite you.
Secondly, absolutely do not pick your university based on where that girl is going to be. At the end of the day if you want to make things work then you will do whether you're 10 minutes or a few hours apart, and if you go to a University that you know is worse than you were capable of, or that you liked less than some of your other options, or whose course suits you less well, simply because you wanted to be close to her then I guarantee that you will regret it. Plus at the end of the day your degree is potentially going to impact the rest of your life, and not doing what you really want to do or doing it at a less well respected University is something that could come back to bite you.
Im loving your advice, especially the last paragraph, so thank you so much for that
my teacher actually followed someone and regretted it. I may risk going for it but its a masssssive risk. Ive also come to realise that taking a one year gap year isnt as bad, its not a year to waste, but a year to get my sh*t together. I may risk it though. The unis ive looked at are from 30-50. Looking at Swansea Brunel and Nottingham trent being my top three, i guess they are alright. I dont think i can get any higher with my grades but again thank you for your advice if you know anything about these universities then be sure to let me know!Original post by JSLockwood
I completely agree with Nymthae.
I am 21 and only just going to university this year, but the time I have taken out has given me the chance to gain invaluable life experience which will give me a slight edge over people just leaving home for the first time, as it is a daunting factor.
TAKE YOUR TIME and pick the university that you feel is best. DO NOT base this choice around a person who 'may be more than a friend', as if that's the most accurate status you can put on that relationship, then statistically you will be at each other's throats by Christmas (if you catch my drift.) This is an important decision of YOUR life, so you need to be thinking of YOU. There will be hundreds of new people at whichever university you go to, including girls believe it or not
Only you can decide which university best suits your personal preference, so it could maybe cloud your judgement by listening to individual opinions. I'm not saying don't listen to advice, but take it with a pinch of salt!
I am 21 and only just going to university this year, but the time I have taken out has given me the chance to gain invaluable life experience which will give me a slight edge over people just leaving home for the first time, as it is a daunting factor.
TAKE YOUR TIME and pick the university that you feel is best. DO NOT base this choice around a person who 'may be more than a friend', as if that's the most accurate status you can put on that relationship, then statistically you will be at each other's throats by Christmas (if you catch my drift.) This is an important decision of YOUR life, so you need to be thinking of YOU. There will be hundreds of new people at whichever university you go to, including girls believe it or not
Only you can decide which university best suits your personal preference, so it could maybe cloud your judgement by listening to individual opinions. I'm not saying don't listen to advice, but take it with a pinch of salt!
Ahhh so youre going university this year? can i ask why that is if thats fine?
like what life experince did you partake in? you can always message me and let me know on there if you dont wanna post hereIve taken on board what youve stated in your second paragraph, and youre right, i completely 100% agree with you, ill meet a ton of people, however one reason why im put off the university i attained over clearing is that i heard theres a lot of 'classy gangster'.. Its london, i guess that can be expected with everyone throwing around the '100' emoji like its no tomorrow, youll understand if you know what im talking about, anyway can i message you? theres just some questions id like to ask
Original post by Ameenk95
I will keep this as brief as possible. I am the age of 19 and with the situation i am in right now, i genuinely feel like i'm not ready for university or indecisive. I achieved a BBC, i needed a BBB to go into adjustment which was my initial plan. If i go next year i will be 20
I started at Nottingham (Uni of rather than Trent) aged 20. It is not an issue. It is only one year older than you would be had you had a post A-level gap yah anyway. If anything I think I gained more out of uni being a tad older.
I didn't start Uni until I was 21 and had some work experience behind me. Don't worry about your age, it doesn't make a difference!
Original post by Ameenk95
Ahhh so youre going university this year? can i ask why that is if thats fine? like what life experince did you partake in? you can always message me and let me know on there if you dont wanna post here
Ive taken on board what youve stated in your second paragraph, and youre right, i completely 100% agree with you, ill meet a ton of people, however one reason why im put off the university i attained over clearing is that i heard theres a lot of 'classy gangster'.. Its london, i guess that can be expected with everyone throwing around the '100' emoji like its no tomorrow, youll understand if you know what im talking about, anyway can i message you? theres just some questions id like to ask
like what life experince did you partake in? you can always message me and let me know on there if you dont wanna post hereIve taken on board what youve stated in your second paragraph, and youre right, i completely 100% agree with you, ill meet a ton of people, however one reason why im put off the university i attained over clearing is that i heard theres a lot of 'classy gangster'.. Its london, i guess that can be expected with everyone throwing around the '100' emoji like its no tomorrow, youll understand if you know what im talking about, anyway can i message you? theres just some questions id like to ask
Hiya mate,
Yeah, feel free to message me! I'm all ears
Original post by 3458349058349053
If anything I think I gained more out of uni being a tad older.
Can you elaborate on this point if thats alright? im interested in why you feel that extra year benefitted you in some cases
Original post by Ameenk95
Can you elaborate on this point if thats alright? im interested in why you feel that extra year benefitted you in some cases
Just generally growing up a bit. Knowing how to use a washing machine and not set the fire alarm off at 2am when cooking.
Being a bit more confident throwing myself into stuff in freshers. At the same time by final year (aged 23) I felt I'd kinda outgrown uni life though I don't know how much of that was just final year stress.
(edited 9 years ago)
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