It's 8pm and I have just got home from an evening of meetings at university. Although I'm taking the current academic year off, the buzz from passing my diploma and qualifying as a counsellor, has already worn off and I feel the need to set a new goal and achieve something new. With that in mind, I hope to return to the next level of study next autumn. So tonight I have been along to the university to find out more about the course I want to do.
I am very lucky to live on the edge of a duel university city and tonight I got a taste of what those universities have to offer. I've been sat in the loveliest lecture halls, listening intently to course information and wandering around the city campus, just trying to take it all in. It's a big place and seems to be very well equipped, and while its not grand like Oxford or Cambridge, it will serve my purposes more than adequately.
First I had a meeting with the admissions team to find out what I need to include in my portfolio and how much of my previous work they need to see. Also I wanted to know more about the Personal Statement aspect of the application process and what to include in that. So that was the first meeting and it has been helpful.
But the second meeting was the best one and the one that I was most looking forward to! This meeting was with the lecturer who runs the course that I want to do. Its a higher level than I have ever studied before, so it will be a bit of a step up, but after listening to all that she had to say about how the course is run and assessed, I feel more confident in my ability to progress through the next level. It will be an interesting aspect of my professional development.
She talked of where we might progress after the course, the networking opportunities that they have available and so on, as well as what the work load will be. There are more essays, as you would expect, and a new portfolio of work to create and build, but that hasn't put me off. It is a subject that I am passionate about and I want to learn more. I want to progress in this field as far as I can possibly go.
From the break-down of the workload I was given, it doesn't look too bad. I did a quick calculation of the overall word count of all the essays combined, and for someone who is used to writing a book in four to six months, meeting this word count over the space of two years is going to be fairly easy. It should be quite enjoyable.
It was also an opportunity to meet other potential students, coming in from different colleges and night schools, with different skills to offer, but all with a common interest and goal in mind. Hopefully, we will all have the chance to get to know one another a bit better, if we are all offered a place.
The third meeting was about the community of the university, what support they have available, what social events there are, and so on. It seems like a really warm, welcoming university. It wasn't stuffy at all - just very friendly and helpful. I was even given a goody-bag, emblazoned with the name of the university across it and filled with a couple of booklets, the latest student magazine etc, plus additional information leaflets.
All in all it has been a really informative and enjoyable evening. I'm glad I went and the meetings have proven to be really useful to me, in terms of the application process. Now all I need to do is put together my new student portfolio and apply for the course! Its a popular university, so there are no guarantees that I will be offered a place, but I'm going to apply anyway and see what happens. This then, is my next goal and I am going to aim for it with all the determination I can muster. And if I don't get a place, I haven't lost anything in the trying, so I might as well go for it.
It's going to be a busy time for me, with my writing, the practice work I have undertaken and now putting together a student portfolio application and personal statement, but it just feels like the next logical step. It is something I feel I need to do and I want to do as much with my life as possible and achieve as much as I can. So I have to give it my best shot. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I really hope to gain a place on this course! So mote it be!
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