I don't have a plan

I'm in year 12 right now and it literally feels like everyone knows what they want to be when they're older apart from me. I want to go to university but I don't know what I'm actually passionate about, which I know sounds crazy but I haven't found anything that actually makes me feel like it's worthwhile. I like my subjects (geography, biology and business) but I don't know whether I'm convincing myself I want to study one of them at uni just so I'm not stressed about it. I have so many options ahead of me it just feels a bit overwhelming and I don't know where I'm going to end up.

Reply 1

JF ZAK

21

go into geopolitics or organic science
i had the same problem but when i did a few like job quizzes and research i was able to find wht i wanted
u can even search jobs that go hand in hand with these subjects
good luck

Reply 2

quick-smear

11

Original post by ILOVEHEINZ

I'm in year 12 right now and it literally feels like everyone knows what they want to be when they're older apart from me. I want to go to university but I don't know what I'm actually passionate about, which I know sounds crazy but I haven't found anything that actually makes me feel like it's worthwhile. I like my subjects (geography, biology and business) but I don't know whether I'm convincing myself I want to study one of them at uni just so I'm not stressed about it. I have so many options ahead of me it just feels a bit overwhelming and I don't know where I'm going to end up.

This is totally normal, I have friends who don’t know what they want to do yet. I’m sure you have researched jobs related to your subjects, but I’d recommend looking at university courses instead. Either related to your subjects or not! Some courses only have grade requirements, not specific subjects. I hope this helps a bit

Reply 3

ILOVEHEINZ

OP

10

Original post by quick-smear

This is totally normal, I have friends who don’t know what they want to do yet. I’m sure you have researched jobs related to your subjects, but I’d recommend looking at university courses instead. Either related to your subjects or not! Some courses only have grade requirements, not specific subjects. I hope this helps a bit

Oh okay, so look more broadly at courses rather than trying to narrow down to a specific career path I have to follow? Thank you :smile:

Reply 4

ILOVEHEINZ

OP

10

Original post by JF ZAK

go into geopolitics or organic science
i had the same problem but when i did a few like job quizzes and research i was able to find wht i wanted
u can even search jobs that go hand in hand with these subjects
good luck

Thanks for the help!

Reply 5

ILOVEHEINZ

OP

10

Thanks for the help!

Reply 6

YSJstudents

Official Rep

15

Hi,

This is so normal! I didn’t choose whether I wanted to go to university till last minute. You still have a whole year to decide, if you wanted to go next year. Yes, the UCAS deadline is In January but you can always apply through clearing in the August. Some courses won’t be available through clearing, which is normally the quite competitive courses.

Maybe attend an open day or see if you can attend a year 12 summer school. A lot of universities have summer schools for year 12 . It’s a chance to see what university is like and what sort of courses they offer.

YSJ have two summer schools for year 12:

- 24 hours at YSJ:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/meet-us/24-hours-at-york-st-john/

- Discover YSJ:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/schools-and-colleges/discover-ysj/

Maybe have a look at some universities that you’re interested in and see if they offer summer schools. Or attend an open day. You’ll be able to attend different talks, so it may help to decide what you would like to study.

You don’t always have to study the same thing you did at Sixth form or college, as long as you meet the entry requirements for the course. The degree I studied at university, was completely different to what I studied at college!

I hope this helps!
Suzan - Student Ambassador

Reply 7

McGinger

20

Start by finding what is out there, and the 'sort of' job you might want - or not want :
Good careers website with hundreds of career ideas - Job profiles | Prospects.ac.uk
NHS career roles - Explore roles | Health Careers
Careers in the Royal Navy - Role Finder | Royal Navy (mod.uk)
Is teaching right for me? | Get Into Teaching GOV.UK (education.gov.uk)
etc

Reply 8

ILOVEHEINZ

OP

10

Original post by YSJstudents

Hi,
This is so normal! I didn’t choose whether I wanted to go to university till last minute. You still have a whole year to decide, if you wanted to go next year. Yes, the UCAS deadline is In January but you can always apply through clearing in the August. Some courses won’t be available through clearing, which is normally the quite competitive courses.
Maybe attend an open day or see if you can attend a year 12 summer school. A lot of universities have summer schools for year 12 . It’s a chance to see what university is like and what sort of courses they offer.
YSJ have two summer schools for year 12:
- 24 hours at YSJ:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/meet-us/24-hours-at-york-st-john/
- Discover YSJ:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/working-with-the-community/schools-and-colleges/discover-ysj/
Maybe have a look at some universities that you’re interested in and see if they offer summer schools. Or attend an open day. You’ll be able to attend different talks, so it may help to decide what you would like to study.
You don’t always have to study the same thing you did at Sixth form or college, as long as you meet the entry requirements for the course. The degree I studied at university, was completely different to what I studied at college!
I hope this helps!
Suzan - Student Ambassador

I’ve applied for summer school and I’m quite looking forward to it if I manage to get accepted.
It’s funny how a few weeks ago I had no idea what I wanted to do but now I’ve done a lot of research and pretty much know what direction I want to go in.
Like you’ve said, I still have a whole year to decide buy at least I’m not so stressed now LOL
Thank you so much for the suggestions! :smile:

Reply 9

CluelessCuteness

6

Original post by ILOVEHEINZ

I'm in year 12 right now and it literally feels like everyone knows what they want to be when they're older apart from me. I want to go to university but I don't know what I'm actually passionate about, which I know sounds crazy but I haven't found anything that actually makes me feel like it's worthwhile. I like my subjects (geography, biology and business) but I don't know whether I'm convincing myself I want to study one of them at uni just so I'm not stressed about it. I have so many options ahead of me it just feels a bit overwhelming and I don't know where I'm going to end up.

Hey, absolutely valid way to feel about all of this! Choosing a subject at uni seems to be a thing that really gets glossed over, since people think about choosing a place more towards the end, but I think it's equally hard if not more so! I didn't know what I wanted to do in year 12 so I did what I could to try things out. I went to 2 uni open days that were supposed to be good for the different subject areas I was choosing between. I looked at what the day in the life of students of different subjects looked like, I did work experiences and even got the chance for an overnight stay at a uni close to my house, with an experience day about one of the subjects I was considering.
You have plenty of time for research and deepening your interests, and there are so many different courses that could be perfect. There might be ways to combine things you love about subjects, for example I was torn between studying design and languages, so I chose a design course where I can go on a placement abroad. One of my friends couldn't choose between chemistry and computing, now she's studying both as a joint honours degree.
There's even flexibility about what you study once you get to uni! Another of my friends studies geography and is picking modules specifically about China because she got interested in it after doing her EPQ about it. She's talking to the uni about doing modules next year that aren't technically part of geography but are part of a Chinese studies course that would inform the geography that interests her.
I would say to keep on pursuing your interests, you might try and do some research about things that interest you in your subjects that aren't on the exam specification, to see what you might like about university since you get a lot more choice about the specifics of what you study.
Don't panic about it at this stage, you still have time and it won't help! If you find deadlines for applying are coming up and you still haven't chosen, gap years can be very valuable, but don't assume you should skip the UCAS process because you can often turn down or defer offers closer to the time, and the following year when you're ready to apply, you will know exactly what you need to do.
It is very overwhelming, but please stick at it and take things one step at a time! Not knowing what you want in life is absolutely not crazy, I think the fact that you're trying to consider this carefully is more a sign that you're approaching it maturely and sensibly because you understand the weight of the decision, and that you're still young and inexperienced (it's hard, not even us uni students have it all figured out, and I suspect none of the real adults do either).
Hope this helps and good luck on figuring out :smile:

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