The tight squeeze for university places

I remember that time three years ago, the dreaded walking up to the college office to collect my envelope which undoubtedly decided my future. Luckily for me though it was a simple enough process.

Fast-forward 3 years and it seems a much harder and complex process to secure university places. According to the BBC more than 300,000 students have received A Level results with a further 150,000 students either failing to make the grades or have not had an offer. Even if you did secure a place, this year proved to be the most challenging and competitive year for university places, as colleges and universities tighten up their belts.

UCAS the governing body that runs and manages university application procedures said 56% of the 674,000 people who applied for undergraduate courses this autumn have been accepted. This suggests that just over half of the students who applied actually secured places to their University of choice.

Mortar Boards, Gowns and degree ceremonies aren't everyone’s cup of tea

So what about the rest….

Approximately 186,494 are thought to be without a university place and thought to have to go through the dreaded clearing process of finding a course similar or different to what they first chose. Comparing this to last year’s figures, about 135,000 were in this position. But there are other options that could be life changing too and University isn’t for everyone even if you did apply to it in the first place

Take A Gap Year: More and more students are opting to take a year out, to gain some personal life experiences. Travelling to far flung destinations such as Australia (a popular and familiar choice) can sometimes develop your personal skills and also defuse the stress from not making it to University and of course you can also re-apply again next year. There are hundreds of gap year organisations waiting for your call including STA Travel & Gap Year.

Gain Some Work Experience: Experience is key in this day and age in whatever profession or industry you land yourself in, employers look for experience. Whether it be marketing, business or another industry, experience is crucial to secure your future job prospects. Useful websites include WEXO and Enternships, which offer a range of paid internships.

Carry on Learning: Some students opt to re-sit modules that either they thought could have done a lot better in to bolster your grades. There are also a number of other options including foundation degrees and Open University courses, which can even be taken from home. Options include the Open University.

Most of all stay focused, it’s not the end of the world as you know it, just because your friends got into University doesn’t mean you can’t. Universities and future employers will be more impressed if you did something pro active on your year out or what ever you choose to do than sit back and brush up on your video gaming skills.

Snapshots from Holiday

As some of you may or may not know, I have been on my travels the past 2 weeks in Tuscany in Italy. What a great place it was too, sunshine (for most of it and showers for only a few days).......... I thought I would use this blog post to share with you some of my latest snapshots from my vacation.

As you know I am starting to get into photography and recently was given an SLR camera for my birthday. It was a great opportunity to try different shutter speeds and settings. I hope you enjoy the pictures and I look forward to hearing your comments.

I promise there not all of the lovely sunsets ......

If you are interested in using any of these pictures for further reference i.e. for websites, company images etc then please do not hesitate to contact me further.

Making use of Transferable Skills

It began by a steady delivering of around 50 leaflets to neighbours and other residents in the area. A few days later we got our first call and soon after we had reached a total of 6 catering request services.

Its about using your passion and your initiative to go out and find out whats out there. So far we have made over £200 just by waitering at local events serving drinks and canapes to guests and making sure everything runs smoothly.

Having just recently just done a catering event over the weekend, what I am trying to get across today, is that what ever skill you posses whether it be in the Hospitality sector maybe even sports related there is somebody out there that wants your services. Its just a question of delivering the right service at the right time.

Skills are important in everyday life and as I have proven they can be easily made into transferable skills. Every employer in this environment that we live in is looking for people with a potential to use their initiative and use the ability of transferable skills. This is just one example of how you could use your skills and be very effective. Try it for yourself, even if you get one or two sign ups it proved it worked and one is better than none.

As I mentioned, there won't be a blog next as I am away on holiday for a week with family and friends but fear not normal blogging service will be resumed on the 16 August.