5 Big Decisions You Have To Make During University

AD | University is a very formative time in your life and it’s likely that you’re going to change a lot over those 3 years. For most people, it’s the first time that they’re living on their own, managing their money, and really thinking about what they want to do with their life. That can be scary sometimes but it’s also really exciting, but you are going to have to make a lot of decisions along the way. Some of the decisions that you make during your university career will have a big impact on the rest of your life, while some of them won’t be that important. Either way, you need to be prepared for these decisions so you can think carefully about them, especially the big ones. These are some of the big decisions that you will face during your university career. 

What To Study 

Before you get started, you need to decide what you’re going to study and that’s a tough decision for a lot of people. You should be thinking about a future career here and if you have an idea of what you want to do, you need to study a subject that will help you meet those career goals. But the thing is, not everybody does know what they want to do yet and that’s fine, you don’t have to have it all worked out right now. 

If you don’t know what you want to do as a career yet, you should think about what you enjoy doing. If there are certain subjects that you’re passionate about, you could pick one of those to study at university. It doesn’t necessarily matter if you don’t go into a directly related career because the skills that you learn at university are transferable and the degree will still help you to get a job. 

People around you will have an opinion and it’s good to listen to what they have to say, but remember that it’s ultimately your choice. A lot of people will advise you to go for a safe option like a STEM subject that is most likely to get you a well paid job. That’s great if you’re interested in that and you want to do it as a career, but if you would rather do something creative, you shouldn’t let people put you off. You’re going to be studying this subject for at least 3 years, maybe more if you decide to continue to postgraduate studies, so it has to be something that you’re passionate about.

Who To Make Friends With

Meeting new people is one of the best things about the university experience and a lot of the people that you meet will be friends for life. In the first few months, you’ll meet so many people but as you progress, you’ll only form close relationships with certain people, and it’s the friendships that you put time and effort into that will stick. It’s important that you surround yourself with positive people that you can rely on and don’t waste time on people that are not healthy for you. The right friends will be a big help during the difficult times but the wrong friends will make your university experience a whole lot harder. 

Where To Live 

In your first year, you’ll probably live in halls, but as you near the end of term, you’ll have to start thinking about where you want to live in your second and third years. When you’re choosing student accommodation, you need to take your finances into account and make sure that you pick somewhere you can afford. It’s also important that you know how to spot red flags like damp or faulty appliances when you’re viewing a house. You don’t want to end up living in a horrible house with a rogue landlord that won’t fix anything. 

As well as where to live, you need to decide who you’re going to live with, and that’s the most important thing. Living with somebody is a lot different from just being friends with them and seeing them every couple of days. If you don’t pick the right people to live with, arguments will start and it can really ruin your university experience. Think long and hard about whether you would be happy to be spending a lot of time with this person and sharing a space with them. Are they messy? Do they respect your personal space? Do you live a similar lifestyle in terms of going out and studying etc? You need to find somebody that you will enjoy living with and also somebody that won’t get on your nerves. Just because you’re good friends with somebody, that doesn’t mean that you could live with them and sometimes, a bad living situation can ruin a good friendship. 

Should You Go Out Tonight? 

This is a smaller decision, but still an important one. The social aspect of university is very important but remember, you’re there to get a degree. Finding the right balance between studying and going out is so important, especially when you’re trying to manage stress at university. If you spend all of your time studying and never take any time to spend with friends, you’re going to burnout. On the other hand, if you spend all of your time going out and you don’t put the work in, you’re going to be very stressed out when exam period rolls around. There will be crucial moments when you have to decide between studying or going out and your decision could have a big impact on your grade. 

What Happens Next? 

When you finally make it to the end of your degree and you graduate, you have to make the biggest decision of all; what do you do now? You might decide that you want to start looking for jobs but you may also want to pursue a masters degree and maybe eventually a PhD. It’s important that you start thinking about this during your third year so you have something lined up when you graduate. 

As long as you’re prepared to make these big decisions, your university career should be a success. 

So these are the Decisions you have to make during university, let me know in the comments the decisions you made during university!

If you enjoyed this check out How To Get Into University and Preparing To Go To University Away From Home and sign up to mailing list below!