Transition from A Level to University

Making the change from A Level to university can be a real eye-opener and take some getting used to. I went straight from A Level into work for a few years, as it took me a while to settle on what I really wanted to do as a degree. This puts me a little older than my course mates (as they LOVE to tease me about, being the mama of our group), but I’m not so old that I didn’t find the transition a challenge!

College for me seemed a lot like a natural continuation of high school. It was still very structured, and you weren’t completely an adult yet, which meant that the college still had events like parents’ evenings, though parents did play a much lesser role in college education. What I remember about it most is that even with just four subjects, I was still in college from Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 4.00pm in most cases.

University has been a very different experience. For one I have frequent free periods during the day, and even days off during the week! At university there is also much more of a focus on doing your own reading and really taking ownership of your education; which I’ve enjoyed immensely. Sometimes college could feel like I was still being treated as a high school student, so the freedom and trust placed in you at university as an adult was a huge plus in my eyes.

Apart from how the learning differs, there’s other things to consider about the transition to university too. For one, student loans and moving out. I only have experience with the former, as I opted to live at home whilst I studied and commute to university - a choice becoming ever more popular with students!

The commute definitely took some getting used to, as I went from a 15 to 20-minute bus journey to get to work, to getting the bus and train to Huddersfield, then (usually) powerwalking through the town to get to uni - but not being in as frequently as college has definitely made commuting easier.

One thing I did find a lot easier at university than I was expecting was the social aspect. I don’t remember my college focusing very much on social events, possibly because most people in the same schools tend to attend the same colleges so there’s always somebody you know. With university though, you’re encouraged to spread your wings and really step out into a new place. However, the University of Huddersfield makes this very easy; with the various events such as HudCrawl and Freshers’, as well as the various different groups and societies that you can get involved with -  you’ll be making friends in no time. As a plus, if you do move to university accommodation, a lot of the places hold their own socials too! A great chance to get to know the people you’ll be living with.

And the best thing to bear in mind is that everybody on your course will be in the same situation, which makes the switch much less daunting!

All in all, I’d say my top three positives of the switch from A Level to university are:

• The ease of making new friends;
• The freedom and responsibility afforded in how you control your education;
• Focussing on one subject, one course. All of your modules tend to tie in together which makes the revision and learning much easier when you can see the bigger picture!

Going to university was always on the cards for me. I just needed to decide which area I wanted to study, and after a few years of work I finally settled on how I loved working in marketing and wanted the degree to back it up. So off my application to the University of Huddersfield went, and I’ve never looked back!