As a 37 year old, father to two precious girls, with a seemingly successful 20 year career in financial services behind me, my desire to go to university has surprised many. However, as is true in life, there is more to a person’s story than can be assumed from merely looking at them or applying presumptions about their stage in life... to understand my dream to go to university now, you need to understand what’s led me to this point.
As an 18 year old, fresh from scraping through my A-levels, I had the opportunity to go to university. At that point, however, I was trying to...
Hi, welcome to what I believe will be my final EPQ advice blog. Sorry this has come later than expected, but, after taking you through researching your topic (read about it here), here are the dos and don’ts of writing your academic EPQ essay (or any academic essay for that matter:
DO make an essay plan – my essay plan was honestly my saviour throughout the writing process. It kept me sane. Without a plan, it’s easy to get lost in all the words and points and research, leaving you with a final product which is illogical and difficult to follow. Even having some basic ideas like different sections to your essay can keep you on track.
I’ve had many different opinions about applying for uni. When I was in my final year of sixth form, I applied much like many other people in my year. After applying and receiving my offers I changed my mind and withdrew my application. I realised the courses I applied for just weren’t the ones I wanted to be doing and at the time uni just wasn’t for me. However, after working for a couple of years I completely changed my mind.
For the last few years I’ve toyed around with ideas of writing, creating little pieces here and there. I’ve run a blog where...
When I first received my unconditional offer I wasn’t as happy as you would imagine.
This year I am hoping to do English Literature BA as an undergraduate. I began my UCAS application in October last year and the offers started arriving within a week of submitting and my final offer arrived a month later. Disclaimer: don’t worry if your offers don’t arrive as quickly as mine, I was just lucky and you should remember that it can vary based on what course you apply for and the universities you choose to apply to. You should also note that the...
Hello again! Welcome to my third EPQ Advice blog! So my last blogs took us through the basics – what an EPQ is, why you might consider it, how to choose a topic and title – but now we’re down to the tough stuff...research. Ever since Year 7 that word has sent shivers down my spine, but this blog will hopefully help reduce the fear. Here’s how I did it:
In my last advice blog, I mentioned that Google Scholar is a good research tool, but now I would like to reiterate: GOOGLE SCHOLAR IS A GOOD RESEARCH TOOL. Your EPQ essay is supposed to be written in an academic style, and that means academic research and references. Google Scholar will ONLY show you academic sources like journal articles or...
Hello and welcome to my second EPQ advice blog! If you want to know what an EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is and why you might consider doing one, please read my last blog here. In this installment I’m giving you the three main things you might want to consider to help you decide a topic and title for your project.
Before we start, I ought to tell you about my own project (which is now near completion). Drum roll please...my EPQ is on The Hunger Games!!! If you’re anything like the people I know,...
So you’ve sent off your university application, what now? Here’s four things that will help the long wait before uni seem a little a more bearable.
Visit Your University Options
Visiting your uni options may sounds stupid but it’s so so helpful, after all if you accept you’ll want to know where you’re going to be living and studying for the next few years of your life. Visiting your choice will help you get a better understanding of where things are on campus and other things like where the best places are for you to live. If you’re not able to visit all of your university options try to visit your first and second choices.
Sort Out Your Finance and Accommodation
It’s never too early to begin thinking about your finance and especially your...
I’m coming to the end of my EPQ project this month, so I thought I’d offer some advice to those of you considering doing an EPQ as I know it’s a pretty big commitment to make. Hopefully this will be the first of a few blogs I’ll be writing about my experience so keep an eye out if you want to know more details!
I wrote an essay for my ‘final product’ so that’s what I’ll be focusing on in these blogs – sorry but unfortunately I don’t know much about the ‘artefact’ option so I can’t offer much on that!
An EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is, to put it simply, a BIG independent project for which...
Applying for university can be one of, if not, the most stressful thing you may have experienced up until that point in your education life. After submitting your UCAS application, the waiting game is very anxious, but you’re not alone. There’s thousands of other students around the country all experiencing the same feelings and anxieties. After applying, there’s not much you can do besides wait for a response. There are a few things you can do to prepare yourself and also take your mind off the process. Here’s a list of things I would advise based on my own experiences:
So everyone's question is always about which uni to go to. Firstly, before you make a decision, it is wise that you have a look at the university as you do not want to be shocked when you get to moving to the uni.
University becomes your second home, so with that in mind you have to go somewhere that you will enjoy your uni experience, besides you don't want to spend three or four years of your life at a uni you don’t feel comfortable at. It's wise that you chose the uni yourself, this shouldn’t be anyone’s decision apart from your own. A lot of...