Hi! I’m Robin, and I have just finished my third year at the University of Strathclyde studying International Business and French. International Business is about managing companies which operate in different countries as well as learning how to work with people from lots of different cultures. In French we learn the language as well as skills like translation and interpreting.
I chose to go to university because I really enjoyed school (weird, right?) and wanted to keep on learning after 6th year. However, I did not always want to study Business: over 6 years, my career plans included chef, classical musician and lawyer. In 6th year I decided to study Business because it would give me more flexibility after graduating. Being the first person in my immediate family to go to university I didn’t have a good idea of what it was like, so I was surprised by a few things. For example, you don’t have a full day of classes like you would at school – instead classes are spread out over the week. Also, you have a lot more responsibility for your work so it’s really important to be organised.
Ultimately, I ended up enjoying the university experience and would recommend it to anyone who feels like it is the right choice for them. But I’d ask my past self to consider other options as well: college courses and apprenticeships, for example, can be great alternatives if you want learning that is a little more skills-based and often doesn’t last as long as a four year degree. I would probably have chosen uni anyway, but it is a good idea to have an open mind to everything!
Going on to study after school is equally, if not more so, about all the non-academic experiences you can have. You can choose to stay at home or move closer to the university. I did both in my first year: for the first semester (half of the year) I stayed at home in Ayr, and then moved to private student accommodation in Glasgow for efficiency - I struggled to get up to catch a 6am bus for morning lectures - and to be able to get more involved in student life and activities. This was good for me as I was able to gradually transition to a more independent lifestyle which I really appreciate; it would have been difficult to adjust to if it happened overnight.
Living 5 minutes away from the university has given me so many great experiences and opportunities; I have been able to take part in social and sports clubs (I play in the university Concert Band and Symphony orchestra), start learning German outside of university and spend more time with my uni friends. Living with some amazing (and some not-so-amazing) flatmates has really taught me all the skills I need to survive “in the real world”. I also worked at Tesco during my first two years, for around 15-20 hours each week. I found it stressful to balance uni, social life and work and although I managed it, I decided to pursue more flexible ways of making money last year.
I hope you found this interesting and it gives you more of an idea about what it’s like to study after school. I’ll finish by giving you my three pieces of advice which helped me get the most out of university.
- Talk to everyone. The sooner the better - everyone feels the same way at the start. I am still friends with people I talked to in the first two weeks!
- As with anything else, expect ups and downs– but if you’re really not enjoying your course as much as you expected speak to university staff, family, friends as there is always something that can be done to help you.
- Go into everything with an open mind; your experience will be different to everyone else’s – this doesn’t mean it’s wrong or bad, it’s just part of the uniqueness of higher education.