Decisions and revisions
Some people would argue that I'm insane. If I’m honest, I'd probably agree. I finally got my letter of acceptance from Edinburgh, where we all know I was dying to go to, but I hesitated. I went to the UCAS website loads of times to put down my firm and insurance offers, but couldn't bring myself to do it for two weeks. I thought it would be easy once I got my offer from Edinburgh (or if I got it) but it wasn't. It all seemed so final. Sure I had five offers, which most people would kill for, but once I declined three of them, there was no going back.
I didn't mind saying no to Sheffield and York St John because I knew I didn't want to go there anyway, but it was hard to pass up Bangor in favour of Lancaster.
So why did I do it then? I loved Bangorand the course seemed great, but it came down to which one ‘looks’ better on a CV. It shouldn't come down to that, but it can't be helped in the end.
When I finally clicked ‘confirm’, Edinburgh was my firm choice and Lancaster was my insurance.
On the bright side, Edinburgh is amazing. I went there in the Easter holiday to a post-application visitors' day and got to see some of the accommodation. I asked about room sizes, which helped me make my choice on the application form – you can apply for ‘smaller’ rooms, which are much cheaper and (according to staff at the Uni) not that much smaller than the regular rooms. I opted to be cheap so my bills are less and my loan lasts longer.
The next step on my University Quest was to apply for my loans and grants. I tried to apply online but it wouldn't work properly so I printed out the paper version – twenty-nine pages! It took ages and gave me a headache but it's finally ready to be sent once I add the evidence they want. The worst part is finding the evidence – I have to find some way of proving my parents are divorced and, as it happened sixteen years ago, I have a feeling this won't be easy. It's times like these you could regret applying for Uni in the first place.
Last updated on: 11 April 2008