UCAS Convention 101

Every year, thousands of students all over the UK begin the gruelling process which is to be known as applying for University. For many, this is a really exciting time in their lives, but it can also be a very stressful period. It is not as simple as picking a few names out of a hat and sending off an application to then just sit and hope for the best. There is SO much more to it; sifting through hundreds of Universities, ordering prospectuses, open days, narrowing down your choices to just 5 options, getting the grades to go where you want, personal statements, just to name a few. It can be quite daunting, and being somebody who is in the situation currently, I know just how stressful it can be, however, after visiting the UCAS convention at a local University today, I feel a lot more comfortable and understanding of the whole situation.

The UCAS convention is held all around the country at different Universities and it should be within reasonable reach of almost everyone in the UK at some point or another. Universities from all over the country come together in one place, and present themselves at little stands dotted around a circuit at the location. Each stand will have a few reps from the University in question, who can answer any of your questions about the University, the area, accommodation etc. It is really useful for building your knowledge about the University itself, however, it is not guaranteed that the reps will know exactly everything about the specific course you want to do, so the information that can be given is limited to an extent, although it is very helpful to know what the University itself and life in the area
is like.

The event welcomes everybody, whether you are looking to study at University or not. Even if you are just looking to do an apprenticeship, a gap year or an internship, you will most certainly find something that will be of use to you. The convention includes stands from all different professions, and there are also talks held on useful life skills, such as writing a personal statement, which is a very useful skill to have whether you apply for University or not. You shouldn't limit your options, as it is very easy to change your mind on what you want to do in the future. Come results day, you may have very different ideas about what you want to do, or even in 10 years time, you may eventually decide that you would like to do a degree, and so you should make sure that you are educated on the topic.

Tips and Advice on Attending a UCAS Convention:

• Make sure you have some sort of idea of the courses and Universities that you are interested in. It will be a waste of time to speak to Universities who have no relevance to your future plans because of a lack of preparation, so spend some time in the run up to the convention looking around at different University websites. I did this by looking up the top ranking Universities for my chosen course here, and then researching further into the Universities that took my interest on their websites and different student blogs, to get a reliable opinion and review of the Universities.
• Make sure you take your ticket with you to the event. This can easily be done by simply saving it to your phone from the email you will be sent once you have registered. Your ticket will include a bar code which the University stands that you are interested in can scan so that they can send you relevant emails to give you more information.
• Plan a set of questions that you would like to ask the different Universities. This may seem pointless, but once you are actually at the convention, you will all of a sudden seem to loose all inspiration and thought of any questions you desperately wanted answering. By making a list before hand, you can make sure that you use your time at the convention to the best of your ability and leave feeling confident.
• Take a strong, large bag. As you can see from the picture to this post, I brought home ALOT of prospectuses. Every University at the convention will have a prospectus ready for you to take, and as you begin to collect them, they soon begin to carry alot of weight in themselves. Some stands will give out freebies including little canvas bags, but they are not the most reliable, and so to save yourself any embarrassment or frustration, I would highly recommend taking a strong bag. I brought home a total of 15 prospectuses, despite only initially planning to visit 5, so do not underestimate how much you will pick up.
• Visit the Universities you are most interested in first but do not restrict yourself. You will discover many Universities that you have never even heard of that turn out to sound incredible, so make sure you give yourself time to visit all of the stands that offer your course. 
• Don't worry about not having time to visit the seminars. You will be given a timetable of specific talks upon arrival, but all of these talks will be filmed where they can then be found online. It is more important to speak to the Universities at their stands than the seminars, because many of the seminars will not be generalisable to all Universities, and therefore, there is no guarantee that they will be of any use to you (although they will most likely be very interesting to listen to).
• If you are visiting as part of a group/school, don't be afraid to wander alone. Many people won't be planning to take the same course as their friends, so don't waste time by following your friends round to talk about things that are irrelevant to you. As well as being boring, it is a huge waste of time, so take yourself of alone if you need to to make sure that you use your time to the best of your ability.
• Don't worry about getting lost or not having a map. The stands are all arranged in alphabetical order and are positioned in a one way, snake style system, so it is easy to find your way around and get to where you need to be. 
•  Don't be shy! An event like this is not a place for you to be weary of speaking to new people. The reps welcome as many questions as possible, and are more than happy for you to speak to them for as long as you need to. Everybody will be in the same boat, so don't feel nervous about talking to new people! It will be incredibly useful for helping you decide upon your future, so seize the opportunity!
• Don't worry about the Universities of your interest not being there. There is 99% chance that every University you are interested in will be there. There are hundreds to explore. I came across Universities I had never even heard of, and so whether it is a tiny University that nobody knows of, or one of the most popular Universities in the UK, it is almost guaranteed that it will be there. 
• Don't worry too much about time. My Sixth Form spend around 4 hours at the event, and we all agreed that it was far too much time. It is completely manageable to get round every stand you need to in around 2 hours, so don't put the event of if you feel you wont have the time to go/have enough time to do everything you want to - you will have plenty of time!

So what questions should you ask?

This is especially difficult to think of on the spot when you are standing a couple of metres away from the University of choice, so here are some ideas for questions you could ask, which you should prepare in advance!

• What are the entry requirements for the course?
• How many places does the course hold?
• What modules are involved in the course?
• What is the ranking/pass rate for the University/course?
• How is the course assessed?
• Does the course offer any additional experiences e.g. study abroad, work placements etc.?
• How do the interviews work?
• Is the University based on campus?
• What is the accommodation like?
• What facilities does the University offer on campus?
• What is student life like?
• What extra curricular activities are available?
• What is the city/town like? 
• How far is it to travel from the Y to Z?
• What is the cost of accommodation?
• How easy is it to find employment after graduation?
• What sponsorships and bursaries do you offer?
• Will I have to buy my own equipment for the course and what will this include?

Also be sure to take down any contact details of the Universities so that you can contact them easily if you suddenly think of any questions after the convention.

Hopefully the thoughts from this post will inspire you to take the next step in the journey to your future, whether it be at University or working as an apprentice. I do highly recommend visiting the UCAS convention, as it can be extremely helpful in helping lead the way to whatever it is that you would like to do in the future. There is something there for everybody, and it will most definitely make the whole process alot easier.

To register yourself to attend a UCAS convention and find your nearest event, please click here.

Have you visited a UCAS convention?

What are your plans for the future?

Why I Want To Become a Teacher

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you'll probably know that I am one of the "weird" people who actually really enjoys school. So much so, that the environment I have experienced at my school has inspired me to become a Teacher myself, with the possibility of even teaching at my current school. You're probably thinking I am either the weirdest person ever or some sort of lunatic at this moment in time, and most people who I have shared my plans with often think the same thing. "Why would you want to stay at school?", "I can't wait to get away from here!", "You're so weird!" - I understand that for a lot of people, school isn't the most enjoyable place ever, but for me, it generally has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life, and I am so grateful to be able to live in a country where going to school is a right rather than a privilege. I am incredibly thankful to my school for all it has done for me, and I want to be able to give back in some shape or form, and so what better way than to use the skills I have admired my Teachers deliver and pass them on to someone else in the future!

However, after reading that, you'll probably be quite surprised to know that I've not always felt this way. There was a time, at the start of secondary school, where I was pretty close to being that one kid in the class who the teacher probably wanted to batter. I was never someone who got into fights or was rude to my teachers but I was just very disruptive and I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been for my teachers. I look back now and I am so ashamed, especially as I am now at an age where I can relate more with my teachers. They're not aliens to me any more, and some have openly sat and chatted with me and told me how crappy it makes them feel to be made to feel so useless in front of 30-something bratty children. It must be so intimidating to stand there and be mocked and laughed at by people less than half your age, and when I think about that possibly being me one day, it is quite daunting, but as I have the experience of being the student that every teacher dreads as well as reforming into someone who uses that experience to help kids at my school in the same situation as I once was, I feel like I have the capability to be able to change the way kids feel about school by using my own experience and relating to them through that. I feel like in one way or another, I can relate to most children, and I can show them that although it may seem impossible, they are capable of re-developing themselves and making themselves a better person. I can't imagine how satisfying it must feel to be able to know that you were the person to turn a kids life around and put them back on track. 

Obviously, to be a teacher, you have to be very passionate about what you teach, and its no secret that I am incredibly passionate about History. I am absolutely in love with the idea of being able to stand in front of a class and share my passion with them as a career. It just sounds ideal for me. I love inspiring people, and I feel that being a teacher will give me the perfect opportunity to do just that. To be paid to do something based on one of your favourite things is probably the ideal situation.

I also feel incredibly lucky to have such engaging, inspiring teachers at my own school. I know that for a lot of children, they are not in the same situation, and many schools do not have teachers of such a high quality, and I'd love to be able to take what I have seen at my own school and deliver it somewhere which isn't of such a high standard. I think it makes such a difference when you know that your teacher is generally happy to be there and be doing what they're doing, and that's how I've always felt about my teachers. It is so inspiring and motivating, and if I can use that inspiration I have taken from my teachers, and develop it in my own ways to pass on to other children, I think it could just have such a positive effect on the outlook on education and life in general for the future generations. 

I have always loved being able to help people and make people smile. I think teaching will give me the perfect opportunity to do this, as I will be able to help students reach for and achieve their goals. It must feel amazing to know that your hard work helped a person achieve what they wanted to. I'd like to make more people feel the way I do about school and learning and make it fun and enjoyable! I want to be that one crazy teacher who does wacky things and makes everyone happy. 

Lastly, I do feel quite selfish for taking this as one of the reasons for why I want to become a teacher, although it is the least significant reason. I have such a passion for learning and exploring to gain a deep understanding of the world around me, and so I feel that the holidays you are given as a teacher will give me the chance to fulfil my dreams and aspirations and travel the world to expand on my knowledge. Travelling has always been something I've wanted to do, and if I can work in a job which I classify as perfect, and also fulfil my dreams at the same time, I will be living in an ideal situation.

What is your dream job?

What are the reasons for your aspirations?

Sixth Form Survival Guide

So you may remember me writing about how happy I was to have finished my exams and Year 12 a few weeks back. Well now the very brief relaxation period is over, and I am back in full swing of school, except I am now unofficially in Year 13 (aaagh!) and therefore I am starting all new courses! In all honestly, I am actually super excited about this. I think it will give me a real good chance to just start fresh and get myself really organised, and I am just so ready to throw myself into A2. I feel like I improved pretty much everything about myself in Year 12 in comparison to every other school year, and I've really changed as a person since September, but obviously, there are still some things I wish I could change/do better, and now a whole new academic year is ahead of me, what better way to reflect on the previous year and set myself some goals for this year than to do a blog post, as well as incorporating some little tips and advice for those of you who may be starting sixth form in September, from my own experiences.

Firstly, I want to talk about the thing that upcoming sixth formers probably worry about the most - what to wear to school. It is really difficult trying to know what to do when you've spent the past 11 years or so having your school attire chosen for you. It's completely natural at this time to worry that everyone else is going to look better than you at school and have nicer clothes etc. etc. But, I can honestly say, that NOBODY cares what you're wearing. I probably spent a good hour every night before school in my first week of Sixth Form pulling out various clothes from my wardrobe and stressing about what I was going to wear, especially as my Sixth Forms dress code is smart, which I wasn't too used to wearing, but after all of the worrying, I would just turn up the next day for not one single person to give the slightest care about what I was wearing. It seems so silly now when I look back, but everyone does feel the same way. It's especially difficult for girls because it's not as simple as a blazer and a tie, but just don't over complicate it, and make sure you're comfortable.

Next, one of the most important changes I made when I started the Sixth Form was to throw myself into as many extra curricular activities as I could. I don't ever remember getting involved in one single activity at school from Years 7-11 and I regret it so much now. When you get to an age where you're deciding on your future, you'll realise how important it is to show that you are a well rounded person. I can't say enough how important it is to get involved more with your school. It's so easily done and it's basically like having a brilliant, polished CV/UCAS application handed to you on a plate. It will make your time at school so much more enjoyable, and I think the more involved you are, the more respected you will be from everyone at your school.

Over the past year, my style of work and organisation has changed so many times I've lost count. I started the year just simply doing all of my work with a pen and paper, but the further into the year I got, I hated the way my folders looked. I knew I'd never be able to revise from scruffy, boring pieces of work, so I started to bring my Laptop to school at around Easter time. This involved me having to type out every single piece of work I had already done, because I couldn't stand the thought of my folders not looking consistent. I then continued to do all of my work at school on my Laptop, which eventually turned into me typing all of my work on my IPad as it was easier to carry around. Although it did help me learn a lot by retyping my work, it actually resulted in me being more organised than ever because I would always forget to print my work after each lesson, and then I'd be left with dozens of unprinted documents which I didn't know how to file into the right places and although the work did look nice when printed, it just caused me a lot of unnecessary stress. I didn't really resolve my issue of how to present my work in a suitable, simple way until it came to revising. I made my own revision books for each subject using a pen and paper, but I made sure to include lots of colours and use lots of different styles of writing with different pens just to make it visual interesting. I put little flaps on my work and drew little cartoons to explain what I was talking about, and as a whole it just looked so much better than just lines and lines of writing like I used to present my work. I find that presenting my work like this actually makes it fun to do, and so I will definitely be carrying this through to Year 13 with me.

Lastly, I want to talk about the jump from GCSE's to A-Levels and how to make the work more manageable. If you've not yet started Sixth Form, you've probably been told alot about how much harder it is. After just completing a ridiculous amount of exams for about 10 different subject, you've probably brushed that thought off and marked it as nonsense. I too thought that at one point, but I can honestly tell you, I would happily resit all of my exams for my 10 GCSE subjects than my 3 AS levels. It is less subjects, but there is so much to learn. Take one unit from GCSE's and multiply the work it took to complete that by 5 and you have A-Levels. However, remember that you are now only taking subjects you enjoy, so as long as you have a good attitude and work ethic, it is completely manageable. To make it easier, I highly recommend doing a lot of your own research and reading around the subject. Teacher don't really spoon feed you what you need to know as they did at GCSEs and you are left to your own devices to an extent. I've also learnt that leaving all of your revision to the end of the year is just about as helpful as a calculator without a battery - it will not do you any favours. I am guilty of this to an extent, as I left the majority of my revision pretty late, however, I have made myself a promise to make little revision summary pages every weekend of what I have learnt in the previous week. This way, all of my work will be ready to revise from as it will already be summarised, and I should have hopefully remembered it alot better because of this when it comes to revising. I also recommend testing yourself at the end of each unit to see how much you can remember. I did this for one of my subjects and I found it incredibly useful.

Hopefully my advice will be useful to those of you who are approaching your first year of Sixth Form, and maybe it could even just motivate those of you who are at the same stage as myself. Either way, as long as you work your hardest and apply the right attitude, it should make your time as a sixth form student much more enjoyable, as it has for myself!

Good luck to any GCSE or A-Level students awaiting their exam results!

What are your tips for surviving Sixth Form?

What worries you the most about A-Levels?

Donating Blood

I am the biggest scaredy cat ever when it comes to any thing involving blood, needles or anything that might cause me a bit of pain. The thought of having an injection or even just taking off a plaster grosses me out and makes my skin crawl, so when I decided to finally make an appointment to donate blood, I was quite shocked with myself!

I've always been funny about any sort of medical procedure, and it does make me feel ill. One time, things got so bad that I fainted just because I cleaned my belly piercing when it was first pierced, and I've had to let a lot of piercings close up because I can never manage to put in new jewellery once I've taken another set out without going light headed. I can't bare the thought of coming into contact with any sort of cut, or pierced hole or anything similar found on our bodies.

It wasn't until my Mum was pregnant with Ronnie that I considered donating blood. There were complications in her pregnancy because my Mum wasn't given an Anti-D injection after one of her previous births, putting Ronnie at a high risk of having his blood contaminated with my Mum's rare blood, which concerned the Doctors. They were prepared to have to give Ronnie a blood transfusion as soon as he was born, as it was likely that he would be born very poorly. Luckily, this wasn't the case, but I registered myself as a blood donor just in case. I felt that if we should need to use somebody else's blood to help Ronnie, then I should donate myself, as it felt wrong to just take and not give back.

Since then, I kept receiving phone calls from the donation centres asking me to come and donate, but I always got too scared and just said that I would do it next time. I finally plucked up the courage and made an appointment to make my first donation for today (1st June)! Baring in mind I have never even had a blood test, I was absolutely terrified because I didn't know what to expect.

I made my way to my local donation centre with my Mum after school. I went to one of the donation lorries rather than an actual building because it was the closest centre to me. I went in and had to fill out a form and read through some leaflets. A man who had just had his blood taken came to sit next to me and we were chatting about what it was like and why we wanted to donate. He was really nice to talk to and calmed me down because I was a bit panicky. 

Next, I went into a little room on the lorry to have a consultation with one of the staff. She asked me various questions about my health and myself in general, and then took a little sample of blood from a finger prick to check whether I was anaemic, which would have meant that I couldn't donate. Some people told me that this is what they found to be the most painful, but I didn't even realise it had been done because I was looking away and I didn't feel anything. 

After this, I went and took a seat on the donation bed as one of the ladies tried to find my veins which she seemed to struggle with. After several attempts, she found a suitable vein and it was time to lay back and let the magic happen. I was so scared, it is ridiculous. 

I closed my eyes and looked away, and before I knew it, the needle was in (gulp). It did hurt a little bit, like a sharp sting, but it wasn't too bad, and as soon as it was in the pain was gone. I always thought that I'd be able to feel the blood flowing but it just felt no different to normal. 

As my blood was taken, I was chatting away to everyone in the room, and I was as calm as ever. I was so happy that it wasn't bad like I thought it would be, and after about 15 minutes, it was all done! They removed the needle, and told me to stay lying down and put pressure on the hole with a cotton pad. This is when things got eventful.

I was still talking to everyone and telling one of the staff about how I wanted to be a History teacher. Then all of a sudden I blacked out and when I woke up I was so confused about where I was. The staff were putting fans on me and trying to make me sip through a straw to take some water. I was so embarrassed and just generally a little bit puzzled about what had happened. One minute I was feeling absolutely fine and really proud of myself for getting through it, and the next I had fainted.

I had to stay lying down for another 10 minutes doing some exercises which are supposed to stop you from feeling faint. After that, I slowly made my way up and was asked to walk up and down the lorry for a bit. As soon as I did this, my ears started ringing, I was shaking and my sight started to blur. This time I knew it was going to happen and down I went again, out like a light. Only I would manage to faint TWICE whilst donating blood *face palm*.

I had to lay down agaaaain, and I've never wanted to just go home more before in my life. I didn't really like being fussed over by everyone, even though I obviously really appreciate the staff for helping me. I knew the staff were waiting to go home and I felt so bad for holding them back. People had come in, had their blood taken and left whilst I was still laying there. The lady said that the reason I was fainting was because my blood pressure kept dropping then raising, which all just got a bit much. I also think that if I hadn't had to put pressure on the hole, I wouldn't have been so bad, because it seems to be that whenever I personally deal with a cut or a wound or anything like that, I seem to feel ill. 

So as first experiences go, I didn't have the greatest, however, I won't let it put me off donating blood in the future. I've already booked my next donation for October, and I hope to continue to do so for as long as I can. I know what I can to do prevent any fainting in the future, and hopefully the more I do it, the better it will be for me.

Hopefully my experience won't put anybody off giving blood. It is such an amazing thing to do, and it honestly isn't too bad at all (even if you do faint). On the bonus side, you also get free biscuits, so it's a win win situation - save a life and get free food. 

To register yourself as a blood donor, please visit www.blood.co.uk. 

Have you ever donated blood?

Have you even received donated blood and if so,

 how did it save your life?