Struggling with uni choices

Hi everyone,

I'm an Irish student who will be applying to uni this year, and I'm staying in Ireland. I'll be studying music (hopefully with a career in orchestral performance), and there are only 4 unis that offer a BMus degree. I'm completely stuck for what order to put them in on my CAO form and was hoping for a little bit of advice if possible!

So uni 1 has pretty much everything I'm looking for- community feel, vibrant campus, short commute from accommodation, clubs etc. However, as a music student I'd be taking lessons from their instrument tutor once or twice a week. I had a lesson with him recently and I just didn't get on with him at all. It probably sounds a bit stupid, but I don't know if I'd get the best out of my uni experience with him as a teacher, we just didn't gel at all.

Uni 2 is pretty close to uni 1, and to be honest I don't like it much at all. It's tiny and all the student life (clubs/socs) is based at it's bigger associate college. I went and had a look around a few times and just didn't like the area. However, I know the teacher really well and I really like him.

Uni 3 is a bit of a wild card- it's 8 hours away so I don't have the time to travel to see it in person. They did a virtual open day during lock down and I really liked it. Everything's pretty close by too from what I've seen, and I like where it is. Problem is that I don't know the teacher at all, and an 8 hour trip just isn't feasible for me at the minute.

Uni 4 is kind of a combination of all 3. It has the whole community feel going on, I like where it is and the student life seems really good. It's a short commute from accommodation. It also has links with uni 2, so I could get my lessons with the teacher I know I like. It seems like the best of all of them.

I think the thing that's putting me off the most is that I know I don't really want to stay in Ireland, and I had my heart set on going to Cardiff until I found out that I can't get a student loan to cover the fees (no UK address). So all that being said, I'd appreciate a bit of help sorting through my options! Obviously I know I'm going to need to compromise on something, I just don't know what it'll have to be!

Any help appreciated

Hi everyone,

I'm an Irish student who will be applying to uni this year, and I'm staying in Ireland. I'll be studying music (hopefully with a career in orchestral performance), and there are only 4 unis that offer a BMus degree. I'm completely stuck for what order to put them in on my CAO form and was hoping for a little bit of advice if possible!

So uni 1 has pretty much everything I'm looking for- community feel, vibrant campus, short commute from accommodation, clubs etc. However, as a music student I'd be taking lessons from their instrument tutor once or twice a week. I had a lesson with him recently and I just didn't get on with him at all. It probably sounds a bit stupid, but I don't know if I'd get the best out of my uni experience with him as a teacher, we just didn't gel at all.

Uni 2 is pretty close to uni 1, and to be honest I don't like it much at all. It's tiny and all the student life (clubs/socs) is based at it's bigger associate college. I went and had a look around a few times and just didn't like the area. However, I know the teacher really well and I really like him.

Uni 3 is a bit of a wild card- it's 8 hours away so I don't have the time to travel to see it in person. They did a virtual open day during lock down and I really liked it. Everything's pretty close by too from what I've seen, and I like where it is. Problem is that I don't know the teacher at all, and an 8 hour trip just isn't feasible for me at the minute.

Uni 4 is kind of a combination of all 3. It has the whole community feel going on, I like where it is and the student life seems really good. It's a short commute from accommodation. It also has links with uni 2, so I could get my lessons with the teacher I know I like. It seems like the best of all of them.

I think the thing that's putting me off the most is that I know I don't really want to stay in Ireland, and I had my heart set on going to Cardiff until I found out that I can't get a student loan to cover the fees (no UK address). So all that being said, I'd appreciate a bit of help sorting through my options! Obviously I know I'm going to need to compromise on something, I just don't know what it'll have to be!

Any help appreciated