The Student Room Group
De Montfort University
De Montfort University
Leicester
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Choosing a University: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Hiya! :hello:

Choosing the ‘right’ university for yourself can feel incredibly overwhelming and intimidating :sadnod: as there are so many options available and how can you make this decision. :question: The best way to find this out is through research:cyber: and visiting the university both give you an eye-opener as to what the university and student life is like. Therefore, I am writing this, to share my personal reasons as to why I chose De Montfort University and my course Health and well-being in society and how this was the best option for me.

If you have any further questions or would like to speak to other De Montfort Students on our website, we have ‘chat with us’ through the Ambassador Platform and you can see what we get up to as students and message us if you would like to find out more! https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/chat-with-a-student/index.aspx

Some of the important aspects I considered when looking at universities was location, what courses were offered, what were the accommodations like and what was it like being a student at that university.

1. Location

Before Covid-19 (I was in year 11) I started to think about what I would like to study when I would go to college, and from that where would I like to go to University and what potential careers I would want to pursue. :smartass: I had some rough ideas but knew I also had some to think about it as with university locations I liked Leicester but also somewhere far such as Liverpool. However, during Covid-19 (1st year at college) and researching further, :cyber: I knew I would feel more comfortable and happier :grin: being close to home, still living in accommodation but close enough so I can easily go home on weekends. I liked being in a familiar area, being close to friends and family with one being my younger sister. :grouphugs: So, I started to look at universities local to me (I live in the West midlands) and had undergraduate courses for Health and Social Care. When I visited DMU’s Open Day in October I fell in love with the campus it was such a nice friendly atmosphere to be in and the city as well seemed great and convenient for students and the location seemed perfect. In the end I went to 2 Open Days at DMU just to make sure I was completely happy with my final decision.

If you are interested in Open Days at De Montfort, you can click here

2. Course

Luckily, I knew what I wanted to study at university. Since the end of Year 8 I have studied Health and Social care and I have loved it, :heart: I found the subject interesting, got good results, it related to my personality and was a career path I wanted to explore further. Fortunately, I had some amazing teachers within this subject also who encouraged me to follow this path which inspired me even further. Due to my college experience being impacted by Covid-19 I was offered reduced tariffed offers for Health and well-being in society and due to my good results in college it was practically secured that I would have enough UCAS points for the course and knew I would end up at DMU. :h:

3. Considering other options

As well as attending DMU’s Open Day, I also visited Coventry University which is another local to me and offers Health and Social Care. The university seemed nice, and I was incredibly interested and impressed in their studio accommodation building called CODE but in the end I didn’t go to Coventry as I was informed that Health and Social Care was a subject offered but I would be based in London or another location. This was not ideal for me as I wanted to go somewhere local. In addition to attending Open Days, my secondary school and college had UCAS fairs where I got to speak to other universities and look at prospectus and leaflets and this was really helpful as it was nice to see what was out there and everyone was under one roof. During college, I also attended form time where university paths were often discussed and booked meetings with career advisers. Even though I was certain about my choice, being DMU it was still good to look around and see other options as then I could at least compare and make sure I would be happy with my final decision.

4. Speaking to students :call:

As I already mentioned, speaking to current students is a great, beneficial advantage to find out more about the university. When I spoke to students at the Open Day, they were all incredibly welcoming and friendly and seemed to enjoy their time so far being a student. :party: De Montfort also offered great opportunities to students such as DMU Global, part-time work, joining societies and sports teams and facilities on campus such as the library, leisure centre and My Gateway.

5. All the stars aligned

Everything pointed towards DMU; it had a good location, taught Health and Social Care, also had studio flats through the company CODE which I loved at Coventry and by speaking to students at Open Days it seemed ideal. This was my journey to DMU and how DMU became my firm choice for UCAS and so far I have loved my experience here :heart: and I know I have made the right decision by being part of the DMU community and it has influenced me greatly.

I hope this has helped in some way, and I will be happy to answer any questions
-Maddie, :heart: second year Health and well-being in society student at De Montfort University
(edited 3 months ago)
Hi there ,


if you have had the chance to read through Maddie's post you are about as prepared for the application process as possible. Everything you need to know and do to successfully apply through UCAS is mentioned above.

But when all is said and done and you've done all the research, picked the best places for you, considered the societies, social life, location and everything in between (If you are anything like me) this is the point where you start to panic.

The doubt starts to creep in and you worry if you have made the right choice and most importantly what if your grades don't meet the minimum requirements and you don't get into any university at all. I remember having sleepless nights worried about what was going to happen next, I wondered if maybe I should've considered an apprenticeship, or at least taken a year off to travel and consider all my options for longer and the scariest thing was what happens if after all my hard work I didn't get in. This was a terrifying experience for me and if you are in the same boat I hope I can help alleviate some of your concerns.
Firstly there is nothing you can do after you have applied other than doing your best in your exams! You're only concern at the moment is giving your all for those exams. But there are contingency plans for after you get your results, if you don't get accepted after results day you can try to get accepted at other universities during clearing, usually all spots that are still available after the first intake will have lower grade requirements.

Beyond this there are other options - whatever happens this is not the end of the world, it's only the beginning. You have options even if it doesn't seem like it! :biggrin:
Keep in mind that it is very likely that you might not even need a contingency plan, you will probably get into one of your 5 options but just incase know that it will be alright.

There is genuinely light at the end of every tunnel and everything will workout even if it is not necessarily the way that you planned.

Lastly Goodluck on your application and remember this is only the start of the rest of your life and whatever happens it's all going to be okay.

Cece
(edited 1 month ago)
De Montfort University
De Montfort University
Leicester
Visit website
Original post by De Montfort University
Hiya! :hello:
Choosing the ‘right’ university for yourself can feel incredibly overwhelming and intimidating :sadnod: as there are so many options available and how can you make this decision. :question: The best way to find this out is through research:cyber: and visiting the university both give you an eye-opener as to what the university and student life is like. Therefore, I am writing this, to share my personal reasons as to why I chose De Montfort University and my course Health and well-being in society and how this was the best option for me.
If you have any further questions or would like to speak to other De Montfort Students on our website, we have ‘chat with us’ through the Ambassador Platform and you can see what we get up to as students and message us if you would like to find out more! https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/chat-with-a-student/index.aspx
Some of the important aspects I considered when looking at universities was location, what courses were offered, what were the accommodations like and what was it like being a student at that university.
1. Location
Before Covid-19 (I was in year 11) I started to think about what I would like to study when I would go to college, and from that where would I like to go to University and what potential careers I would want to pursue. :smartass: I had some rough ideas but knew I also had some to think about it as with university locations I liked Leicester but also somewhere far such as Liverpool. However, during Covid-19 (1st year at college) and researching further, :cyber: I knew I would feel more comfortable and happier :grin: being close to home, still living in accommodation but close enough so I can easily go home on weekends. I liked being in a familiar area, being close to friends and family with one being my younger sister. :grouphugs: So, I started to look at universities local to me (I live in the West midlands) and had undergraduate courses for Health and Social Care. When I visited DMU’s Open Day in October I fell in love with the campus it was such a nice friendly atmosphere to be in and the city as well seemed great and convenient for students and the location seemed perfect. In the end I went to 2 Open Days at DMU just to make sure I was completely happy with my final decision.
If you are interested in Open Days at De Montfort, you can click here
2. Course
Luckily, I knew what I wanted to study at university. Since the end of Year 8 I have studied Health and Social care and I have loved it, :heart: I found the subject interesting, got good results, it related to my personality and was a career path I wanted to explore further. Fortunately, I had some amazing teachers within this subject also who encouraged me to follow this path which inspired me even further. Due to my college experience being impacted by Covid-19 I was offered reduced tariffed offers for Health and well-being in society and due to my good results in college it was practically secured that I would have enough UCAS points for the course and knew I would end up at DMU. :h:
3. Considering other options
As well as attending DMU’s Open Day, I also visited Coventry University which is another local to me and offers Health and Social Care. The university seemed nice, and I was incredibly interested and impressed in their studio accommodation building called CODE but in the end I didn’t go to Coventry as I was informed that Health and Social Care was a subject offered but I would be based in London or another location. This was not ideal for me as I wanted to go somewhere local. In addition to attending Open Days, my secondary school and college had UCAS fairs where I got to speak to other universities and look at prospectus and leaflets and this was really helpful as it was nice to see what was out there and everyone was under one roof. During college, I also attended form time where university paths were often discussed and booked meetings with career advisers. Even though I was certain about my choice, being DMU it was still good to look around and see other options as then I could at least compare and make sure I would be happy with my final decision.
4. Speaking to students :call:
As I already mentioned, speaking to current students is a great, beneficial advantage to find out more about the university. When I spoke to students at the Open Day, they were all incredibly welcoming and friendly and seemed to enjoy their time so far being a student. :party: De Montfort also offered great opportunities to students such as DMU Global, part-time work, joining societies and sports teams and facilities on campus such as the library, leisure centre and My Gateway.
5. All the stars aligned
Everything pointed towards DMU; it had a good location, taught Health and Social Care, also had studio flats through the company CODE which I loved at Coventry and by speaking to students at Open Days it seemed ideal. This was my journey to DMU and how DMU became my firm choice for UCAS and so far I have loved my experience here :heart: and I know I have made the right decision by being part of the DMU community and it has influenced me greatly.
I hope this has helped in some way, and I will be happy to answer any questions
-Maddie, :heart: second year Health and well-being in society student at De Montfort University
Hiya,

As I am approaching the end of my second year, I thought to just update on how I have found studying Health and Well-being in Society so far. This will also include what I have studied and what I have gained from choosing this course. Under Health and Well-being in Society, I currently study under Block Teaching. For those that don’t know block teaching is part of ‘Education 2030’ where you are taught one subject at a time, instead of several and allows students to have a better study and life balance.

In my first year, I studied the following blocks:
Block 1: Introduction to Health, Wellbeing and Society
Block 2: Introduction to Social Research Methods
Block 3: Psychological and Social Theories of Health and Illness
Block 4: Health Improvement and Lifestyle

In my second year, I studied the following blocks:
Block 1: Health and Disease in Communities
Block 2: Debates and Dilemmas in Health and Health Care
Block 3: Application of Psychological and Social Theories of Health and Illness
Block 4: Applied Social Research Methods (Starting this 22nd April). In this block, I have two field trips one is in Coalville and the other is a 'research away day' which I am looking forward to as it will be a completely new experience and a different environment from the lecture theatre.

So far, I have experienced various forms of assessments such as essays, a podcast, group presentations, case study and assessed seminar. By being assessed in different forms and having no exams, it has made my course more enjoyable and allowed me to be more motivated, determined, and maintain a good student life balance. From being able to focus all of my attention on various assessments it has made me perform overall better and has been nice to have a switch up of different assessments.

From studying this course there are various career paths to explore and that is one of the many selling points of this course. However, majority of students tend to explore careers in Global Health, Public Health Sectors, Civil Service and under the NHS. Currently, from studying this course and pursuing health and social care (and other personal factors) I am able to work part time at one of my current jobs under a company whom look after vulnerable children who come under the SEND umbrella during school holidays.

I hope this helps, and I will be happy to answer any further questions on here or under chat to us on our webpage

https://www.dmu.ac.uk/study/chat-with-a-student/index.aspx

-Maddie, second year Health and Well-being in Society student at De Montfort University

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