"My individual journey on applying to a university through UCAS"

after weeks of filling up UCAS application, i finally managed to send it. and a month after that, an email came in my mailbox informing me that all the UCAS applicants are welcomed to submit their entries about "individual journey on applying to a university through UCAS". and i willingly participated as I had plenty of free time.

the essay should consist of these 7 things.

1.was it easy to find courses to add to your UCAS form? How similar/different are the courses available.

2.would you be happy to take up an offer on any of these courses, or are there one or two front runners? are there any you've put on the form to 'make up the numbers' but wouldn't take it seriously consider?

3.what have you done to research different universities-what are the things most important to you in a course?

4.who have you asked advice, and how helpful has it been?

5.how are you feeling now? excited, nervous, overwhelmed, happy with your choices?

6. do you have any tips for the students who are still yet to settle on their course choices?

7. what are your next steps? are you receiving offers/ making your final decision?

Here's what I wrote.

Planning to take up tertiary education can be a tough decision to some people yet it is an exciting journey ahead. I am an international student who had applied to several universities in United Kingdom (UK) through UCAS and I found it really hard to make the decision as UK universities are among the top in the world. This excites me knowing that I will be studying in one of those universities soon. The courses offered are very different depending on the university itself. When I was filling up my UCAS application, I was confused between the course names even though the main study is the same which later brought me to a research. I found that they are different even though the main study is the same, but it is just the area of studies is differ. All is well and I have set my focus on what I am going to study.

Since the universities that I have applied are on the top list, I would be very happy to receive any offer from them. It is very important to choose the right place to study because different university brings different quality in their teaching and it guarantees your future employment. I take every application seriously because it would be a waste of money to not to do so since I am an international applicant and the rate of exchange between UK and my country, Malaysia is very high.

Before applying to the universities, I looked for their rankings first because I believe higher ranking brings better quality in education. And secondly, I looked at the rankings of the courses between the selected universities. Thirdly, I compared the tuition fees. International student’s fee is higher than the home students and I would be glad if there is a university offering the same course but at a very lower cost.

Motivation was one of the factors to keep me going. I have been asking for an advice from my senior who is currently a student in Barts and the London School of Medicine And Dentistry for the future of the course that I am going to study. She has been a lot of help for me which she explained very well about course that I am going to study. She also added some tips for living in the UK which I found pretty useful since I have never been to UK. She pointed out that living in a foreign country could be a disaster if ones do not know how to manage their finances and most importantly culture shock. Besides my senior, I also had been asking an advice from my parents which was very supportive.

Pursuing a degree has been my dream after finishing matriculation and I am feeling anxious about getting into a university. I cannot imagine what it’s like to be around the future degree, master and PhD holders. It all makes me nervous but there is a side of me that feels happy. The only true happiness for me is to graduate from a university and having my parents to come for my convocation and make them proud of me.

My tips for students who are still yet to settle on their course choices, just be yourselves and take some time to think of what you want to do in the future. It really does important to know your passion and how you are going to plan for your future. Knowing what you worth is one of the tips. Place yourselves where you should be because you what is the best. Lastly, do not be too over confident and stay humble.

The real journey of a university life starts when I finally received 2 offers out of 5 choices I have made. It was a little success for me but it means a lot. This is going to be the very first step to a brighter future. For the time being, I am still waiting for another three choices and only then I will pick the best out of the best.

Thank you for providing this space for me to write on my individual journey on applying to university. I hope this helps the students out there who are still hesitate to apply to university and I wish all of you good luck!

I hope this helps :) sorry for not being a pro in English but i am working on it. Thanks for visiting!

Aaronn Avit Ajeng, PhD

"My individual journey on applying to a university through UCAS"

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