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Scared to go to uni! Don't know if I'm ready?!?

Hi my name is Shannon and I am 19 years old. Since I can remember, I have always been a worrier and overthought a lot when it comes to school, grades and careers as I put immense pressure on myself. I will tell you a little bit about me, I am a very studious and determined individual when it comes down to education and achieve really good grades that I am proud of. I applied to do Fine Art BA Hons at Leeds and started it in September last year but it seemed to me that this wasn't the course for me and other reasons besides that, so I ended up leaving giving myself more time to think about a course carefully.
This is the point I am at now and I am extremely scared that I am going to make
another wrong decision and rushing into choosing my degree again. I really want to go to university and I know I will but I am just scared atm and I don't know why?
I would like to ask you people who are reading this....
How do you know you are ready for university?
How do you know what course is for you?
What advice would you give me if you were scared of going to uni? Is it normal?
Should I wait and go to uni when I am more mature?

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Reply 1

Simonthegreat

There are no guarantees that any course is right for you. All you can do is to choose a subject that you are passionate about and look at the course content , go to the open days and see if you like the uni. Everyone feels unsure at some stage and it is natural. Once you choose a course and uni that you feel comfortable with you will find that the uni years fly by and look back as to why you were so anxious. Good luck.*

Reply 2

shanwood1

I feel like I'm not passionate about anything in particular.... or maybe I am I don't know? How do you know what course is right for you? X

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Reply 3

Summerblux

Everyone feels that way about university, at some point either before they start their degree or during.
The best thing I think is to just stick with it and don't give up!
What made u leave uni in the first place, was the workload or did u just not enjoy the degree? X

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Reply 4

JustGeorgeJ

Original post by shanwood1

Hello Shannon :smile:

First of all let me start by telling you that the feelings you are experience are extremely common for students going to start university and their course. These are always the questions that fly around peoples heads!

1. How do you know your ready for university? For me personally, I was ready for the independence of it all. I wanted to live student life because I was ready to 'survive on my own'. At the same time, I'd got to a point in my educational career where I'd learnt all I could learn at that level and knew i needed to process to the next level - therefore, it was about moving onto university to further my knowledge for my passion. It sounds clichè but you just know - that's what I believe but at the same time, i'd argue that you don't 'really' know at the same time - it's a bit of a blind jump and that's what university is about.

2. Their is no way to guarantee a course is 'right' for you - you have to get the feeling that it is. So preliminary I'd say do your research. Look on the universities website about what the course involves e.g. the breakdown of the modules and what you'll be learning. Does it appeal to you? Does it sound like the areas you want to learn about? Once you've got the feeling that it could be right for you - you just have to do it. It's a 'leap of faith' - sort of like your first time round at universities. You tried it and it wasn't for you and that's what it's like!

3. Like I've said, the majority of students experience the nerves of going to university - it isn't uncommon. I'd say embrace these feelings - embrace the unknown and just be confident in it really right in the here and now. If you get there and it isn't and you've really tried but it still isn't working - then that's no worry. You have a lifetime ahead of you. Draw up a list of pros about the course and university and areas you can look forward to and hold onto them!

4. I don't think you need to be more 'mature'. I was 19 when I started university - universities is full of age ranges but just from reaching out for this support and the way you talk - you sound like you are grounded and confident to do what you need to do and go to university. I wouldn't say you need to be more 'mature' - I'd say the only thing you need is time to really do your research and be as certain as you can be before you start.

Best of luck!

Reply 5

super_kawaii

Original post by shanwood1

I feel like I'm not passionate about anything in particular.... or maybe I am I don't know? How do you know what course is right for you? X

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You'll only get over your fears by going to uni.

The whole experience of uni is what makes you more mature. If you want to be mature, leave home

Reply 6

shanwood1

I feel it was a few things... I didn't feel 100% ready straight after college, the degree was definitely not what I expected where I hated it and didn't feel ready mentally to live away from home.

Now I'm scared of going back to uni because what if it's the wrong decision again?
How did you pick your course?????

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Reply 7

super_kawaii

Original post by shanwood1

The honest truth is, no one's ever 100% ready to do anything. Moving away to uni or just in general is one of those things you can only do by doing.

I chose to study Chinese with Japanese at uni as if always had an interest in the Far East and languages were always my best subject at school, so it was an obvious choice for me.

Maybe you could benefit from taking a more liberal arts degree, where you can take your modules from a wide range of *departments. That could be something to consider if no one particular subject catches your interest

Reply 8

Kevin De Bruyne

Original post by shanwood1

I would like to ask you people who are reading this....
How do you know you are ready for university?
How do you know what course is for you?
What advice would you give me if you were scared of going to uni? Is it normal?
Should I wait and go to uni when I am more mature?

I can see art being quite a stressful and intensive and demanding course to be honest, and maybe it didn't live up to your expectations.

How do you you're ready for university?

In truth, I did not feel ready for university - in fact, I felt unready (if that is a word) and I didn't really want to go after results day because I wasn't ready to grow up and leave all of my friends behind at 6th form. But I went along with it because I accepted that it was going to happen at some stage, which wasn't necessarioly the best thing to do. For the first few weeks I wanted to do nothing but go home. After that, things normalised and I found my feet and I'm glad that I stuck it out, but I was very close to just packing up and going home multiple times during those first few weeks.

How do you know what course is for you?

Research, taster sessions if possible, looking into the module, public lectures etc. You really have to love your subject to be able to do well in it and have motivation. It's not an easy thing to do. One thing that I didn't know about, but for someone interested in finance and likes maths, is a course called Accounting and Finance, or another one called MORSE (at Warwick only as far as I am aware) which would've been interesting to apply to but I am happy with my course. I also didn't know much about placement years (not so applicable to art, I imagine) but my uni gave me the opportunity to switch and I am glad that I took it.

What advice would you give me if you were scared of going to uni? Is it normal?

Figure out why. It's natural to feel a bit scared and feel like it's a risk when you think about how funding works, and that it's a daunting experience to move (even if you've been through it before), settle etc and feel pressure to do really well.

Should I wait and go to uni when I am more mature?

Your call. You don't have to go now - you can put it off for a few years if it will help you to make the right decision.

Reply 9

shanwood1

Yeah I just really didn't like the course and decided to continue doing art in my own way as a hobby!
I have a question on terms of interests.... I am really confused on to what I am interested it... how do you know or find this out???

Reply 10

super_kawaii

Original post by shanwood1

What subjects were you good at and enjoyed at school? Is there something you particularly enjoy reading about? What kind of documentaries do you enjoy watching? What you yourself are interested in should be pretty self evident. You then need to take that subject or those subjects and see where you can do them. Make sure you write down answers to those questions I just put and things should get obvious from there

Reply 11

shanwood1

Original post by super_kawaii

That's the thing I really am so unsure because I am constantly trying to have a set mind on finding and focusing on what I am interested in.
In terms of subjects in school i've always liked art, english, ICT, geography and spanish. I then did these subjects at Alevel and it turns out that although I did enjoy them I wouldnt want to do them as a degree.

enjoy reading... this is normally daily news, advise collumns, romantic novels

documentary and TV shows... the Speakmens (where people discuss their issues and they help them cope), chat shows, comedies, reality shows, horror and rom com films, historical documentries like Auschswitz etc...

I just really don't know and it is scaring me!!!

Reply 12

super_kawaii

Original post by shanwood1

How about degrees such as linguistics, sociology or philosophy? They're somewhat related to your subjects and interests, but still somewhat different, seeing as you don't want to do any of your A Level subjects further *

Spoiler

Original post by super_kawaii

Well I was thinking of doing education studies because it involves a range of strands from psychology, philosophy, history and sociology and gives you a wide range of jobs after it.

But how do I know education studies is for me??

Reply 15

super_kawaii

Original post by shanwood1

Truth is, no one knows if they're subject at uni's really for them. Getting cold feet's normal as uni is so different to the babying you get at school.*

However from your interests, education studies sounds like a good fit for you considering your interests*

Reply 16

shanwood1

Original post by super_kawaii

I completely understand that know one knows that their subject is for them because this was evident when i started my art degree. I am know in the process of contemplating things which is effecting the way I choose my decision

Reply 17

super_kawaii

Original post by shanwood1

Education studies sounds like a better fit for you. Why don't you look into the modules on offer for the courses you're going to apply to and maybe try and find some current students who can give you more in depth advice about the course and uni as a whole

Reply 18

storminateacup1

I’m so stressed about whether the university and the course is right for me and I have no idea what I want to do with my life anymore. I've tried looking up universities I might want to apply to through clearing but I just don’t know what to do 😔 everything option feels like it’s just going to lead to an equally **** future. I might be over-thinking it, trying to guess where my course could take me and what doors it will close but it feels like the happiness of the rest of my life rests on my uni years. The uni I've firmed just feels wrong, the people, the atmosphere, the place, all of it. But if I go to another uni I feel like I'm just gonna end up unemployed. I can't take a gap year because I have no money, what do people do in their gap years? Please someone offer me some pearls of wisdom, anything! It's film production I was planning on doing btw