First University Open Day

Last Saturday I went to my first University open day at Warwick University. Initially I was not excited about the open day, or any open day at all. I thought that it would add to the confusion, the confusion being WHAT ON EARTH DO I DO WITH MY LIFE and that it would be an all-round scary experience; but I loved it. The open day was wonderfully organised, the student guides were friendly and the whole atmosphere was really relaxed and homely.

 

Once dropped off by the pick-up bus the first thing I realised was, if I choose to attend Warwick, to attend this strange, huge place, it is going to be my home for the next few years and some of these strangers are going to share the whole experience with me, now that was frightening. I felt like I was in Year 7 all over again, with the butterflies and overwhelming feeling of being in an unknown place for a significant part of my life. Once the butterflies had settled and I had soaked up the surroundings it was time to attend the talks about the degrees on offer.

I had the opportunity to attend the Politics and International Studies (PAIS) and English Literature talks. Right now, my major battle is which path to pursue, Politics which I am really interested in and seemed to provide a much clearer pathway career wise, or English which I am completely obsessed with and would miss dearly if I leave it after Year 13. A little bit of me wanted to hate the English talk just so that PAIS ,which seemed like the course that provided the clearer path, would become more attractive to me. Unfortunately (ahh who am I kidding it wasn't unfortunate at all) I loved the English talk, the degree sounds incredibly flexible at Warwick and as you progress with the degree you gain a lot more freedom on what you want to study. There are also various opportunities to meet with experts in the different areas of English, whether it’s poets or authors. The English and Creative Writing talk blew me away, in that you are immersed in the whole English world but there is also the focus on the creative aspect and how to develop it.

After realising that dumping English (I have a strong emotional attachment to the subject if you haven't already guessed) would be harder than I thought it was time for the PAIS talk. The quirky professor, the cool students and the encouragement of debate within the audience made the whole degree seem amazing. With a focus on both British and American politics, PAIS seems like the wonderful degree to expand my limited knowledge of politics and gain a deeper understanding of the world and how it works. The political buzz in the room was intimidating especially for someone who pledges no severely strong allegiance to any political party or leader, however, the debate, disagreements and different viewpoints served to show just how challenging and interesting PAIS would be as a course. I also realised that just like English, the course does not offer a straightforward career path, both subjects are equally flexible and can lead you to a variety of careers in the future.

I left Warwick with a fresh outlook on the future and prospect of leaving my little town for the strange world of University. I am still scared and not entirely sure what I want to do, but pursuing what I love seems like a starting point, so we'll see where it goes from there.

Have you attended any Uni Open Days yet? How did you find it? Are you still not sure what course to pick or are you the complete opposite? Feel free to comment below :)