Switching from College to Sixth Form?

I've just started my second year in college doing a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art, Design & Communications. Naturally, we're starting to consider university options and beginning the UCAS process. However, I'm starting to have some doubts on what I would actually like to do next. I've had it in my head for a while that I wanted to go and pursue Fashion Design in University. But since visiting my first open day for this course, I didn't feel drawn to it at all. In fact I don't like the idea of having to carry on working in a sketchbook and doing art in general as my qualification. I also have a great fear of graduating from this course, setting up a brand and then just hanging around waiting for it to lift off; or not getting any placements or internships to take it further. The thought of that in general is putting me off and making me lose interest in doing fashion designing; especially as it is heavily competitive. I have potentially considered going down the route of fashion marketing as this is more analytical and I won't need to do "art" as such. But should I consider doing marketing as a whole and not pick primarily fashion marketing; so I have more options? The issue I have with this is that Universities won't let me do the course if I only have a BTEC in Art and Design instead of the relevant A Levels. I also have no work experience or extra-curricular activities, so my personal statement/application is not looking strong at the moment. I have an upcoming open day for another fashion design course and one for a fashion marketing course, but my biggest worry is what If I don't connect to these either?

When I started my first year of my BTEC Course last year, I hated the college and the course; again having doubts on whether I should've pursued A levels instead. But a lot of anxiety from the change in environment. In all honesty, I never considered sixth form to be an option for me after secondary school, so I never really took any interest in exploring the A level route further. I had a meeting with my old secondary school during this time to see if I would be able to go to sixth form (which I was able to do) but I eventually decided to stay on my art course after speaking to one of my teachers and her stating that I would have an opportunity to do a fashion project later on in the year. At the time this is what I wanted to do and I had no experience in fashion yet so I had no idea what the process would be. I did eventually settle into college and got on with my course; but we never really spoke about University until the final weeks of the year. Again, I wasn't really considering University at the start of the year but after discovering that you don't really get apprenticeships with creative courses; I realised it was my only option. It didn't help with my confidence either that we had a local artist come in for our skills week to explain her work life being an artist. By the sounds of it she basically was freelancing; with her art profession being more of a side gig instead of her everyday job. She was shying away the fact that her income wasn't always stable, with some months her art not being sold at all and her needing to use art charities to get her art published into galleries. This is obviously a big stigma that is around creative careers; but in secondary school the careers advisor would tell us to pick a course or subjects we're passionate about; so I chose art. Since finishing my first year and getting a distinction, my doubts have continued. Over the summer, I didn't do any artwork or anything to do with fashion. In fact, it felt like a chore to me. I get that a lot of people feel that over their subjects, but for me art was always something I did growing up and I liked doing it. Since doing it for GCSE's and now at College, I don't have any excitement or motivation to do it. Surely this is a sign that this isn't for me? Especially as my path at the moment is leading to this as a career. If I don't feel the excitement anymore from just doing it as a course; will I still be experiencing this if I had it as a profession?

Overall, I'm feeling really unsure on what I want to do at the moment. I thought I had a set plan on what I wanted to do, but everything happening so quickly is making me feel lost on what I'd like to do next. Currently, I'm just carrying on with it and not quitting from anything yet. I'm hoping to have a meeting with a careers advisor at college to see what they have to say, but I'd really appreciate it if I could get an opinion on my situation and also some information on A levels/the sixth form experience further. If it does turn out that sixth form would be better to do next; I'm hoping to look into doing A level History, Law, Business, or maybe sociology. I'm not really 100% sure yet but I passed all my GCSE's, and got high grades mainly in my chosen subjects (History, Art, Product Design) so I've got some options that I could take. I'd also be going to a sixth form college instead of the sixth form at my old secondary school; so I'll be staying in an environment similar to my college now. Could anyone let me know as well if it would be strange for me to go into sixth form now at my age, considering I'm going to be turning 18 next year.

Reply 1

McGinger

I think you firstly need to work out what you want to do next. Most people don't have a clear idea of what they want to do at 17/18 so this in itself is not a problem, but trying to project if you 'need' to do A levels instead is a bit difficult if you don't know why you might need them.

You don't have to go to Uni straight from school. A gap-year, or several, might help you work out what you do want to do, instead of just panicking, switching courses/colleges in the hope that that fixes everything. Have you actually investigated what you could do with the BTEC you are taking - there are many, many degrees etc that have no specific subject requirements, and where a BTEC Extended Diploma would be accepted.

As one example, for Law at Sussex the BTEC requirement does not exclude A&D subjects - Law, undergraduate courses : University of Sussex - and if you look at other courses like Anthropology, Philosophy, Politics etc at Sussex, its the same picture. And if you are feeling hesitant about this, there is a Foundation year course - Social Sciences (with a foundation year) BA : University of Sussex. This is just one example - if you look beyond just Fashion related courses, there are numerous courses/careers that are open to you without having to do anything as dramatic as taking A levels/switch colleges etc.

Reply 2

deniiak

Heyy, I also decided to go study a-levels at sixth form after doing a year of BTEC at a college. For me personally, it was the best decision I made for myself. Going to sixth form helped with exploring more career paths, mainly because of sixth forms put much more effort into helping students navigate career paths by holding assemblies, trips etc. though this was my personal experience with the sixth form I went to so I guess it isn’t fair me to say that this applies to all sixth forms, though a lot of friends I had from different sixth forms also shared the same experiences. And because the different subjects I studied introduced to different university courses, whereas with my btec, I was only being taught one subject so I had no access to any other information on other subjects.

It also depends on exactly what you want to get out of going to sixth form that you currently can’t get from going to college, wether that be the grades you need for university, a particular experience, support systems. Both do each in a different way, if you’re looking for a more scholastic environment then go to sixth form, but if you want more independence then college, or find the mid way point being a sixth form college.

Also, because you’re having doubts, I think that may be even more of a reason why you should probably go to sixth form and do A-levels. And the good thing is, you have a nice range of a-level subjects you’ll be choosing and these will definitely introduce to a wider range of fields, which can help you discover new interest and broaden your choices for careers and university courses, the problem with btec is that because btecs mainly only ever include one subject, youre only ever introduced to career paths in that subject alone. So yeah, with a-levels, you can choose three completely different ones and be introduced to a wider range of topics that may interest you and help you decide what you want to study in university next.

Also, to address your worry about starting A-levels just as you’re about to turn 18, so not worry about this at all!!! I turned 18 about 4 months into year 12, no one really cares, yes you’ll have people who are shocked when you tell them your age, and that’s only about it. There’s not much difference in the maturity levels between 17 and 18 so you won’t feel drastically older than the rest of the people in your year. And it’s deity not strange at all, remember life isn’t a race, we l experience life at different paces, do not try to rush it, just go with the flow and it will all be okay. This is your journey, not anyone else’s :smile:

Reply 3

offline.tal

Original post

by Jodielwhite08

I've just started my second year in college doing a Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art, Design & Communications. Naturally, we're starting to consider university options and beginning the UCAS process. However, I'm starting to have some doubts on what I would actually like to do next. I've had it in my head for a while that I wanted to go and pursue Fashion Design in University. But since visiting my first open day for this course, I didn't feel drawn to it at all. In fact I don't like the idea of having to carry on working in a sketchbook and doing art in general as my qualification. I also have a great fear of graduating from this course, setting up a brand and then just hanging around waiting for it to lift off; or not getting any placements or internships to take it further. The thought of that in general is putting me off and making me lose interest in doing fashion designing; especially as it is heavily competitive. I have potentially considered going down the route of fashion marketing as this is more analytical and I won't need to do "art" as such. But should I consider doing marketing as a whole and not pick primarily fashion marketing; so I have more options? The issue I have with this is that Universities won't let me do the course if I only have a BTEC in Art and Design instead of the relevant A Levels. I also have no work experience or extra-curricular activities, so my personal statement/application is not looking strong at the moment. I have an upcoming open day for another fashion design course and one for a fashion marketing course, but my biggest worry is what If I don't connect to these either?
When I started my first year of my BTEC Course last year, I hated the college and the course; again having doubts on whether I should've pursued A levels instead. But a lot of anxiety from the change in environment. In all honesty, I never considered sixth form to be an option for me after secondary school, so I never really took any interest in exploring the A level route further. I had a meeting with my old secondary school during this time to see if I would be able to go to sixth form (which I was able to do) but I eventually decided to stay on my art course after speaking to one of my teachers and her stating that I would have an opportunity to do a fashion project later on in the year. At the time this is what I wanted to do and I had no experience in fashion yet so I had no idea what the process would be. I did eventually settle into college and got on with my course; but we never really spoke about University until the final weeks of the year. Again, I wasn't really considering University at the start of the year but after discovering that you don't really get apprenticeships with creative courses; I realised it was my only option. It didn't help with my confidence either that we had a local artist come in for our skills week to explain her work life being an artist. By the sounds of it she basically was freelancing; with her art profession being more of a side gig instead of her everyday job. She was shying away the fact that her income wasn't always stable, with some months her art not being sold at all and her needing to use art charities to get her art published into galleries. This is obviously a big stigma that is around creative careers; but in secondary school the careers advisor would tell us to pick a course or subjects we're passionate about; so I chose art. Since finishing my first year and getting a distinction, my doubts have continued. Over the summer, I didn't do any artwork or anything to do with fashion. In fact, it felt like a chore to me. I get that a lot of people feel that over their subjects, but for me art was always something I did growing up and I liked doing it. Since doing it for GCSE's and now at College, I don't have any excitement or motivation to do it. Surely this is a sign that this isn't for me? Especially as my path at the moment is leading to this as a career. If I don't feel the excitement anymore from just doing it as a course; will I still be experiencing this if I had it as a profession?
Overall, I'm feeling really unsure on what I want to do at the moment. I thought I had a set plan on what I wanted to do, but everything happening so quickly is making me feel lost on what I'd like to do next. Currently, I'm just carrying on with it and not quitting from anything yet. I'm hoping to have a meeting with a careers advisor at college to see what they have to say, but I'd really appreciate it if I could get an opinion on my situation and also some information on A levels/the sixth form experience further. If it does turn out that sixth form would be better to do next; I'm hoping to look into doing A level History, Law, Business, or maybe sociology. I'm not really 100% sure yet but I passed all my GCSE's, and got high grades mainly in my chosen subjects (History, Art, Product Design) so I've got some options that I could take. I'd also be going to a sixth form college instead of the sixth form at my old secondary school; so I'll be staying in an environment similar to my college now. Could anyone let me know as well if it would be strange for me to go into sixth form now at my age, considering I'm going to be turning 18 next year.

Age isn’t really a big factor, depends on where you study. Most secondary school sixth forms will consist solely of students (16 turning 17) that finished GCSES the previous academic year, but it isn’t the same at sixth form colleges like the one I’m at. I went straight from GCSES to studying A-Levels, so I’m a year or two younger than some of the other people in my year. It’s more common than you think. Some people will have spent a year after GCSES doing resits, some disliked their last college and wanted to change, one I know of got expelled from their last college, some changed from BTECS to A-levels, etc.