Why go to university
- 1. www.le.ac.uk Introduction to University Nick Cave School and College Services University of Leicester
- 2. Welcome • The next 3 years… • Why study at University? • Do A Level choices matter?
- 3. The next 3 years…! 11-16 School GCSEs (level 2) Secondary Education 16-18 6th form/ FE College A Levels, IB, BTEC, Foundation (level 3) Further Education (FE) 18-… University Degree Higher Education (HE)
- 4. Why Go To University? • Study something you’re passionate about • Become independent • Meet new people • Social life • Amazing opportunities • Career prospects and future earnings
- 5. Study one of your passions… • American Studies • Archaeology and Ancient History • Biological Sciences • Chemistry • Computer Science • Criminology • Economics • Education • Engineering • English • Geography • Geology • Historical Studies • History of Art and Film • Interdisciplinary Science • Law • Management • Mathematics • Media and Communication • Medicine • Modern Languages • Museum Studies • Physics and Astronomy • Politics and International Relations • Psychology • Sociology
- 6. …or discover a new one! • Aquaculture and Fisheries Management • Brewing and Distilling • Bulgarian Studies • Crime Scene Science • Dairy Herd Management • Ecotourism • Embroidery • Floriculture • Gambling Studies • Golf Studies • Leather Studies • Parasitology • Peace and Conflict Studies • Physics with Australian Studies • Puppetry • Theatre Lighting • Viticulture and Oenology • Yacht and Powercraft
- 7. Play to your strengths • Study something you enjoy! • Utilise your skills • Research the courses available
- 9. Meeting new people Mark Zuckerburg, creator of Facebook
- 11. Meeting new people Future employers?
- 12. Social life • Student Union – Gigs and events • Clubs and societies – Try something different – Meet like minded people
- 13. Graduates can earn, on average, 50% more than non-graduates
- 14. How do I get there…?
- 15. Post-16 Options • Choices can impact on options available at University and beyond • No future idea on education/career options? – choose a broad range of subjects, playing to your strengths / interests • Some idea of your future education/career? – essential to research course entry requirements, qualifications needed for career area and choose subjects accordingly
- 16. Post-16 Options • Subjects for students to carefully consider: – Art / Design – Sciences / Mathematics – Languages To study any of these areas at university, you will have needed to take a subject in this area in your post-16 education
- 17. University Entry Requirements • GCSE requirements – will be stated in the entry requirements for individual degree programmes – GCSE C Grade or above in Maths and English essential • Level 3 (post-16 requirements) – all Universities set their own entry requirements so research is essential
- 18. A Levels • Subjects required for specific degrees – Electrical / Electronic Engineering – Maths and Physics essential. – Law – no essential subjects. • Subjects NOT accepted – research essential – E.g. Some Universities will not accept A Level Law in application for their Law degree programmes. – A Levels in General Studies / Critical Thinking may not be accepted on competitive courses such as Medicine
- 19. Facilitating subjects • ‘Informed Choices’ – Russell Group and ICG – Mathematics / Further Mathematics – English (Literature) – Physics – Biology – Chemistry – Geography – History – Languages (Classical and Modern)
- 20. Vocational / Occupational Pathways • Likely to study a similar / related subject area at University level • Accepted by many Universities / for many courses but not all – research even more essential • Information not necessarily available in the prospectus – contact the University if necessary
- 21. Post 16 Options • Choosing a new subject - Why? • Check expectations – Assessment methods – Subject content • Help – Offered by the school – careers education sessions or individual guidance – Offered by FE Colleges / 6th Forms – open evenings, careers events, individual interviews
- 22. In summary… • Learned a little about University • Weird and wonderful courses! • Never too early to start looking • Post 16 choices are VERY IMPORTANT!
- 23. Any questions…?
Editor's Notes
- #4: You are currently here, right in the middle of secondary education, studying towards GCSEsMove on to 6th form college, study towards A levelsMight move on to University from there, study a degree over 3, possibly more years
- #5: Why go to university? Picked out a few areas, have a look first at studyStudy something you have a genuine passion for, something you really enjoy
- #6: These are the different departments at Leicester alone, quite a few subjects here you probably wont have studied beforeAmerican studies, archaeology, criminology, engineering, law, medicine, psychology, sociologyFairly traditional list of subjects, quite academic focusedSo perhaps you might fancy something a bit different…
- #7: Some weird and wonderful courses out therePerhaps you fancy learning all about Sofia in Bulgarian StudiesMaybe you fancy some technical farming with Dairy Herd ManagementPossibly even see your future running casinos in Las Vegas with a Gambling Studies degreeAnd how about viticulture and oenology!? Anybody want to guess what this is!? Science of growing grapes and making wine!Point is there’s a wealth of courses available, not just traditional subjects you might study at school or collegeThink about which skills you have, and what you enjoy doing, and how you might apply these when thinking about which course to do
- #8: So play to your strengthsPick something you enjoy and that you can excel atUtilise your skills, put what you already have to good useHave a look at the different courses that are out thereStarting point is ucas.com, lists all courses available in the uk – if you’re interested, start by looking here
- #9: Of course you will meet lots of students, as you’ll be one yourself! They will be your friends, your coursemates and your new housemates. University is a big community with students at the very heart of it.
- #10: Now on the topic of coursemates and meeting people, does anybody recognise this chap!?Next picture – how about with this picture, should give you more of a clueIt’s mark zuckerburg, the creator of facebook. Mark created facebook whilst at uni in america, however it was done with the help of 3 of his coursemates! Without going to uni and meeting these people he almost certainly wouldn’t have launched facebook. Estimated worth today is in excess of 12 Billion US dollars.
- #11: So back to people, now we have academics. These are your teachers, lecturers and tutors at university. They are experts in their field, have done the degrees you would be doing, and usually further study on top of this. A great example of this is the fella on the right, Sir Alec Jeffreys. Does anybody know what he is famous for? (probably not)1984 – discovered and pioneered DNA fingerprinting, which is used today all over the world by forensic scientist, particularly in police investigations and paternity tests.He still works, researches and teaches students at the University of Leicester in the genetics department, and is a great example of how studying at university allows you to learn from and work with leaders in their respective fields.
- #12: You might also just meet your future employer, perhaps at a graduate fair, maybe on a placement year, possibly one of your lecturers or even one of your fellow students.
- #13: The students union is the hub for student life, and is for the students, run by the students themselves. They oragnise a variety of events, gigs, fairs, trips and anything else you care to imagine. Part of the union are clubs and societies which cater for all manner of interests. These are groups set up by students to pursue something they are interested in, and anybody can set up a society. Some examples here are the law society, surfing, cheerleading and my personal favourite, the viking society! Also, don’t forget pillow fighting!
- #14: Statistics prove that graduates earn substantially more than non-graduates!
- #17: To study all of the above at higher levels, a GCSE is needed first. Languages – may be needed for another reason!
- #20: These are the subjects that are most likely to be specifically required for a degree programme so choosing 1 or 2 of them will likely increase university options
- #23: Hopefully all picked up at least one interesting thing from this, and have a little bit of a better understanding of what uni is and how it might fit in.Variety of courses, something for almost everyone!Start your research as early as you can, no harm in looking, might just discover something that really inspires you!And those GCSE choices do make a difference, even if you never think about uni again, choosing to do something you enjoy will lead you to much more success than doing something you think you might be good at.