[alegsghed]

Right now i'm in college doing my A levels for Biology, Chemistry and Physics and judging by the way things are going, it's possible i'll come out with a B for Biology, C for Chemistry and a C for Physics. Now these kind of grades would be enough to pick from a range of courses at Uni, but at the moment, I don't know whether I really want to go to University. After having a serious talk with my parents last night, my mind has changed completely.

Right now, i've applied for only two Uni's, which are Northumbria and Sheffield Hallam to do Biology, but in honesty, I don't know why I've even applied for doing so. I do somewhat enjoy doing science subjects (not physics to be honest), but there is nothing that takes my interest as a career if I did intend to study a science for another 3 years. The idea of landing myself into about £10k+ of debt afterwards isn't exactly that tempting either if I have no idea what to do with a degree.

So right now, i'm somewhat having ideas of possibly taking a gap year (could be useful or it could be a complete waste of a year) or finding a job after college. At the moment, i'm forever finding it very hard to concentrate with my work to get my coursework and homework done on time. I'm starting to think whether i've got to the stage i'm actually fed up with education now.

Damn, I feel i'm in a complete mess because I have jack ideas on what to do in future as a career. [surrender] All I want to do in future is earn enough money and have a good time with my life, but i'm completely unsure how to go about doing it. I've spoken to several advisors in the past, but sometimes I somewhat feel i'm wasting my time. [no]

[ThzinChang]

Go to uni, chill for years... then make your mind up.

[Battwenue]

Take a gap year! Go overseas if you have money, or atleast travel around a little bit. I found myself in the same conundrum after i completed Uni in Australia, wasnt sure what i wanted to do or to go straight from school-->Uni to career/job. I decided to spend about a year overseas, backpacked europe for 2.5mnts in the euro summer and im now living/working in London.

This time away from home has give me a much better perspective and idea of what i want to do with my life and where i am going career wise and just life in general. Its given me time to think and time away from all the distractions in Aus. I think for me atleast, it was a way of escaping, i just needed to get out of Aus for awhile and away from everything there, its really done wonders for me, i feel a load more confident in myself, im loving London and i have a good job with decent pay (especially on that conversion to the Aussie dollar!)

In terms of money, if you can get through Uni dont even worry about it, compared to what you will be earning after uni with your degree/job (once you have found what you want to do) your student loans will be insignificant in comparison

[CsFLhGNp]

i think getting a course your going to at least partly enjoy or want to do it important. i never felt the urge to study anything in particular when i went, so after a year i'd ended up quitting.

i also think 10k debt is a bit optimistic. i ended up with about 4.5k after one year. a mate of mine on his 3rd year is heading for 25k. hes not even a big spender at all but he got bigger loans than me.

[*Playergirl*]

If you're not 100% sure of your options down try and make that decision within a limited timeframe. Give yourself more time so you fully know what you want your future goals to be. I was in the same position in my last year in College, I'd applied to several universities but the more I thought about it, the more unsure I was about my choices in subject and Uni. I pulled out of UCAS, ended up getting better results than my tutors had predicted then had a much better choice next time around. I'd always planned to take a gap year anyway, so I used the extra time to really think about what I wanted to do.

Take a gap year, get a job, get some cash under your belt and do some travelling. All cliched stuff I will grant you, but sometimes doing that sort of thing helps broaden your horizons and gives you a better idea out of what you want in life.

(Just don't go backpacking across Asia and then decide you want to live the hippy life at a monastery in Thailand. That's TOO cliched!)

[alegsghed]

Thanks for the responses guys.

A gap year does sound tempting as it'll enable me to broaden my horizon to actually think what I really want to do. Doing Biology for 3 years at Uni then having no clue what to do afterwards isn't really an option to be honest, as I kinda feel I picked some subject in a haste to meet the UCAS deadline along with encouragement from others.

However one fear still remains in my mind - my motivation. Right now at college, i've only got to finish a bit of Physics coursework (very small amount), but as mentioned before, i'm forever becoming more and more slack with my work. I don't ever want to go to Uni with this attitude in mind as i'd never pass it. I've tried many things to boost my motivation, but for some reason I still feel reluctant.

[*Playergirl*]

However one fear still remains in my mind - my motivation. Right now at college, i've only got to finish a bit of Physics coursework (very small amount), but as mentioned before, i'm forever becoming more and more slack with my work. I don't ever want to go to Uni with this attitude in mind as i'd never pass it. I've tried many things to boost my motivation, but for some reason I still feel reluctant.

The only person who can motivate you is yourself really. What got me motivated is when my tutors predicted me C/Ds across the board. I was annoyed as I believed I was going to do a lot better, but I'd done nothing to prove that in college so why should they think otherwise? I got my head down and became model student, reading up on topics before every lecture, planning and writing essays in advance so I had time to make them masterpieces (in my eyes ) and then revised a lot for my exams. Then got myself ABB in the end.

All I can say is, if you think you're a smart person and you think you can really make something of yourself, now is the time to start to prove that. Not just to yourself, but to everyone around you.

[Battwenue]

Sold advice Siony [yes]


Motivation is unfortunately not something you cannot buy. Ever ask yourself why you are motivated to do some things and not others? I think alot of it comes down to interest, if you are interested in the course work/subject then you will be more motivated to do it, however if you are bored out your mind and dont really care you wont really try. Thats why taking time out before you go into Uni is a good idea, give you chance to find what you really interested in and it will give you motivation when you go into the course to do the best you can.

Being out of the education system for a year couldnt hurt either, i know what a drag it can become, you will find yourself more motivated to study once you havent been doing it for awhile.


Who needs course/career advisors when you have FM?

[DaleJrGirl]

Go to uni, chill for years... then make your mind up.

horrible idea

mate i took 4 years out travelled and did seasonal work.

i would have drunk my way through uni and got a 2nd if i had gone straight after my a-levels, thats a waste of 10K if you ask me. instead i worked and got drunk all over the world!

you are better off taking a few years to travel and mature before going to uni so you make the most of it.

my 1p worth

[CuittisIL]

Do what you want, dont ask random people on message boards for life advice.