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The following blog may or may not apply to you, depending on which country you’re from and what your school’s term dates are. But if you’re like me, and your last high school year has
already ended, you may be wondering what to do with all your free time during these long, unnamed months before University.

I’m from Korea, so that means my high school graduation was back in March. It also means that I’ve already achieved the grades I need for my uni offers (although this, of course, may not be the
case for every Korean). So what do I do with all my seven(!) months before I finally catch that Heathrow-bound plane?

I’ve had highs and lows. I’ve spent entire productive days studying a new language and mealprepping; I’ve stayed all day in my room, listening to Pet Shop Boys and cuddling with my dolls. Mostly, though, I’ve been trying to make the best of all the opportunities and resources that this sort-of-gap year (I still can’t think of a good name for...

When filling in your application, one part you may need a little extra help with is entering your Nationals, Highers, and Advanced Highers. In this blog post, we’ve compiled some of your frequently asked questions, to help you complete this section!

Where do I find the option for SQA qualifications on the application?

Once you've added your school/college in the Education section, you'll have the option to ‘add qualifications'.

Type the name of your qualification into the search box, or select it from the shortlist if your school/college has created one. Advanced Highers and Highers also include the curriculum code, so you should be able to find the exact subject you’re taking.

Do I need to add my Highers on the UCAS application, even if I am taking Advanced Highers?

Yes, if you’ve taken a Higher, the unis want to see the grade you received. Even if Highers are not included in the course entry requirements, they will still add value to...

It might seem somewhat early to cast our minds ahead and think about the (hopefully!) glorious summer which awaits us, especially when assignments are due and upcoming exams occupy our thoughts. Last Easter was a blur of exam revision, countless essay plans and Lindt chocolate (Easter would not be the same without a Lindt bunny!) for me as I prepared for my then-upcoming A-level exams, which began even earlier than for most students because I had to sit my French oral exam at the end of April.

Although the pressure of being a university student is remarkably less than being a prospective student reaching the end of Year 13, coping with the last few weeks and months of the academic year at university is still stressful. OK, I might be slightly procrastinating by writing this post instead of writing another essay, but there is nothing wrong with stepping away from your books and revision notes to dive into a more pleasant subject – your plans for the summer...

So, as you can see from the title, I dropped out of university.

The one thing I found hardest about it was telling people that I was leaving. In fact, I still haven’t told all my friends that I’ve left, and this is 4 months afterwards. But why not?

The thing is, I think many people view dropping out of university as such a negative thing, like ‘Wow! You’ve left, how awful’, when actually for me it was one of the best decisions, I think I’ve ever made.

One friend who I bumped into recently and didn’t know I had left said to me ‘I’m proud of you for leaving’ and this really resonated with me. It is human nature to not want to admit to being wrong or making a mistake, but the weird thing is that we all do. Yes, some may be bigger mistakes like picking the wrong course but it’s still fixable. My friend was pointing out that it takes guts to admit you’ve made a wrong choice and correct yourself.

Personally, the main reason I left was that I didn’t like my...