This document discusses the benefits of pursuing higher education, including personal and academic development, career progression and choices, and social opportunities. It covers various aspects of choosing a university program and institution, such as available fields of study, factors to consider like location and extracurricular activities, and the application process. The document also addresses differences in learning compared to secondary education and provides examples of student life, including clubs, volunteering, and opportunities to study abroad. Overall, it promotes higher education as an investment that can lead to greater career and financial rewards over time.
2. Session outline
• Introduction
• Why choose higher education?
• What can you study?
• Student life
• Study abroad
• Top tips
• Questions?
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 2
3. Going to university
•A new experience
•Lots of decisions to make
•Possibly moving away from home
•Perfectly normal to be nervous/have
some concerns
•Thousands of others in the same
position
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5. Why choose higher education?
• Academic interests
• Personal development
• Career choices
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6. Benefits of Higher Education
•Explore academic interest
•Personal development
•Career progression
•Career choices
•Social life and new friends
•Travel abroad
•Broaden your horizons
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7. 7
Higher education: an investment
• Degree holders earned an
average of £12,000 a year more
than non-graduates over the last
decade
• Graduate earnings increased
faster for each year of age and
they also increased for longer
9. What can I study?
• Around 51,000 courses on
offer in the UK
• 162 different universities
• Level of study
• How do you want to study?
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 9
10. Choosing your course
• What interests you?
• What subjects are you currently studying?
• Jobs and careers you are interested in?
• Do you want to study something completely
different?
• What degree courses are available to you?
• What can you commit to for a minimum of 3
years?
• Gap year?
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 10
11. Post-it is…or Post-it isn’t
University of Bristol
Aberystwyth University
University of
Birmingham
De Montfort
University
University of Portsmouth
Newcastle
University
Bath Spa
University
Swansea
Metropolitan
Coventry
University
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12. Choosing your university
•Course
•Graduate destinations/ employability
•Study abroad/industry placement
options
•Location and size
– city/campus university
•Facilities including accommodation
•Student life and support
•The city/ surrounding area - part-time
employment
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13. Learning in higher education
• Different from school/college
• Lectures/seminars/practical work
• Timetable and contact hours
• Personal tutors
• Learning resources
• Self discipline and motivation
• Deadlines
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14. Student life
• The Students’ Union
• Clubs and societies
• Exploring a new town/city
• Volunteering
• Consider your workload
and finances
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 14
15. Student life at Nottingham
• Lively and active Students’ Union
• 200+ clubs and societies
• Student volunteering
• Activities – URN, Impact, NUTS
• Entertainment – Mooch, New Theatre
• Sports centres on all three campuses
• Sports bursaries and opportunities
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 15
16. Study Abroad
• International campuses
• Erasmus scheme
• Universitas 21
• Experience a new culture
• Enhance your employability
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 16
21. Summary
• A new experience with lots of
exciting opportunities
• Do your research
• Make sure you pick the right
choices for you
Monday, November 17, 2014 UCAS visit day 21
22. 22
Questions?
Name, Job title
Want to know what it’s like to be a student? Find out at
http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/studentlife
Not sure which university is for you? www.which.co.uk/university
UoNapplicants
The University of Nottingham
UoNapplicants
www.youtube.com/user/NottmUniversity
Editor's Notes
Introduction
Introduce yourself
Say you are from The University of Nottingham
Check everyone can hear you/ see the screen.
How long you will be talking for
When they can ask questions - let them know if they will be receiving a handout or if they might want to make notes.
SMILE
Go through what you will cover in the presentation and that they should start thinking of questions now to ask at the end
Going to university is a new experience, it is completely different from anything most of you will have ever done before. There are lots of decisions to be made, for example, which university to choose, which course to choose, what type of accommodation to choose. There is the challenge of meeting new people for the first time and making new friends and for those of you who are planning to go to a non-local university, there is the prospect of moving away from home, for what may be the first time.
So going to university does bring lots of new challenges and therefore it is perfectly normal to feel nervous/concerned about going to university for the first time. You may feel like you’re the only one who is concerned about it but remember that there are thousands of other people in the same position as you and almost all of them will share the same concerns that you have. In fact, it is very unusual indeed for someone not to have any concerns about going to university.
Ask audience for their responses
No doubt, many of you will have heard a lot about university or ‘higher education’ from recent media coverage, Many of you will have heard about it from your teachers and friends and family that may have gone. But what I want to cover are some reasons why you should consider it an option for you.
First of all: Academic interests
Going to university is a great opportunity to study something you love with other people who love it to and to learn from lectures who are truly passionate about their subject. It’s an opportunity to pursue academic interests you might have now or develop your interests into new areas. With so many university options available to you, It’s the first chance you really get to study exactly what you want, the way you want to study it.
Going to University is also a great opportunity for personal development
It’s a chance to live independently whilst still being in a semi-protected environment, to meet new people and make new friends. It’s a chance to broaden your horizons by studying or travelling abroad, joining societies and clubs and develop new interests as well as all the usual socialising that no doubt you have heard students get involved with.
It’s also one of the best ways you can improve your career choices.
Graduates are specifically targeted by employers as they recognise the skills a degree will teach you. Typically graduates enjoy a greater degree of career choices, are less likely to be made redundant, more likely to progress quicker in their chosen careers and enjoy higher salaries and greater earning potential.
You might be thinking at this point there’s an awful lot to take in and start researching about student finance, but in the end is it all going to be worth it once you go to university and finish your degree? The answer is absolutely yes. Higher Education is an investment in your future, and over the past decade degree holders have earned an average of £12,000 a year more than non-graduates – with earnings increasing faster for each year of age and for longer.
The work you can do now to secure funding for your time at university, be it through Government loans and grants, bursaries or scholarships, will more than pay off in that not only will you be financially stable while you’re a student but you will also be able to start your exciting career without the stress of an unreasonable and unmanageable repayment system.
Explain the graph. Study conducted over the last decade by the Labour Force Survey.
So… if you do decide to go, what can you study
There are tens of thousands of higher education options available in the UK and increasingly some students are opting to study abroad as well. So there probably will be a HE course ideally suited to you, its just a question of doing your research.
The UCAS website is a great place to start with this, as is looking at the university or college websites of places you might want to study at.
You might want to think about what level of study you want to do and what kind of HE qualification is right for you. The most typical qualification in HE is a three year Bachelors degree but there are also 2 year work-based Foundation degrees, Higher National Certificates and Higher National Diplomas, Diplomas of HE and so on.
You also have the option of studying full-time, part time, via distance learning options. Or you may want to consider a sandwich course that involves a year in industry or work placements, or a joint honours degree which involves studying two subjects together. You might want to consider choosing a course or university which allows you to study for a year or a term at another European university through the Erasmus Scheme or even further afield.
Play game:
The incorrect courses are: Perfumery, Ballistic Engineering, Bovine Management.
So lets have a look at what you should consider when choosing the right University for you.
First of all the course has to be right , thereafter you could consider:
Graduate Options – Mention KIS information – what do people go on to do – don’t focus too much on starting salaries but you can consider this if you wish.
Study abroad options – are they part of the Erasmus or Universitas 21 programme – explain what these are
Where the University is in relation to home/ travel links
City or campus university – which will suit you – explain what these terms mean and give examples.
Facilities e.g. gym, computers, library etc
Accommodation guarantees?
Student life , clubs, societies, disability support etc
Have to like the city, accommodation options etc.
Go through each point giving examples of good clubs and societies.
Top tips for exploring new cities and about staying safe in student cities.
We have one of the most active student unions in the country with over 200 different clubs and societies. Now these range from what you might expect like our numerous sports societies but also to the weird and wonderful like Kettle Society and Extreme Frisbee
Our student volunteering scene is hugely active here with Carnival one of the organisations raising over 1.4 million last year for good causes.
We have our own radio station, University Radio Nottingham, which was named Best Station (Gold) at the 2011/2012, 2012/13 and 2013/2014 National Student Radio Awards; our own Student newspaper, Impact, which was voted The Guardian’s Student Publication of the Year for 2013 and our own student run television station Nottingham University Television Station (NUTS) which was voted National Best Broadcaster at NASTA 2013.
Mooch is our very own student bar and club here on campus and even though we don’t offer any performing arts courses we do have our very own totally student run theatre (New Theatre), which won seven awards including Best Actor, Best Design, Best Director and Best Actress at the National Student Drama Festival.
As I mentioned earlier there are sports facilities on all of our campuses and we have lots of sports bursaries and opportunities available for our sporting students. Even though we don’t offer any sports courses we are in the top ten of the university sports league and offer our students the chance to play a range of sports both recreationally and competitively. Each year we hold the Tri-Campus Games which is a sporting competition between the UK, China and Malaysia campuses With each campus taking it in turns to host the games. Some of our student who have received these bursaries in the past have gone on and are going on to compete in the Olympics.
Nottingham has one of the most lively and active SU’s within the UK.
Volunteering – 70 different organisations with over 1000 active students!
There are over 200 clubs, societies and student run events including 73 clubs within the AU and a huge range of choice amongst societies, - see below for examples!
The Sports For All policy ensures there is something for everyone with teams playing in the Wednesday afternoon BUCS leagues and over 170 teams competing in the Intra Mural Competition. There are sports facilities on all three campuses and a swimming pool at University Park (not Olympic-sized though please don’t say this in the presentation).
In addition there are student volunteering opportunities, arts & cultural facilities and sports bursaries available for the super talented!
Beijing Olympic winners Tim Brabants and David Florence (canoeists) were both recipients of sports bursaries from the University’s Department of Physical Education and are grateful for the University’s support, praising the facilities that Nottingham has to offer.
Society examples
Shock Soc - is aimed at anyone in the SU with an interest in Electrical/Electronic/Communications/Computer Engineering. They also provide links to professional institutions for academic and social development.
Rocksoc - is primarily a social society, where students that enjoy rock and metal music and the alternative culture associated with it can get together and experience both rock and non-rock events.
Allot Soc - A society to bring people interested in growing their own vegetables together. They run and maintain the allotment on University Park campus.
OpSoc – is the University of Nottingham Student Union's opera society. They provide opportunities for all students to partake in, understand and appreciate opera.
Hide and Soc - The Society of Childhood Games They are a society who invite members of the Students' Union to come and re-live the fun of their childhoods - after all, who wants to totally grow up so soon?
For more information check out the SU website!
UNMC main campus in Semenyih which is 30km outside of KL
Teaching Centre is in Kuala Lumpur (point out world famous Petronas Towers in the background of the image on the left)
UNNC
Offer the chance for people to ask questions. Draw student’s attention to the UoN applicants facebook and twitter pages and encourage them to join. Also, insert any social media channels that you run in your School and draw attention to them.