Choosing the right university for you – Advice from Imogen

I really encourage that you attend as many open days as you can for the universities that you are considering. I wish someone had told me just how influential and insightful it would be. It is a fantastic opportunity to see whether the university, the facilities and the city is somewhere you could see yourself for the next chapter of your life! Finding somewhere that can offer you all of those is tricky, so taking the time to explore the campus and the local area is really important. I would suggest trying to picture yourself as a university student there and visit all of the places where you might spend time e.g. your lecture theatres, the library, the gym and the student union.

The RO travel scheme is a resource that is designed to support your attendance at an open day by covering the travel costs for yourself and a guest. I really suggest that you access this! For Cohort 16, this will be available until open days end in November (2025).

Location

I would recommend researching the city and considering some of the things that you are looking for e.g. lots of nature, somewhere near the coast, a big city, a quiet city! I love Newcastle because it has a city centre which isn’t too big, it has a beautiful quayside and beach, and it is also super easy and affordable to use public transport!

I would also suggest researching how you might get to your desired universities. Some will be easier to get to than others; further distance away doesn’t always mean it will be harder/more expensive though!

Looking at the course summary

I found it really useful to read the course summaries for my desired universities. Some courses gave me the option to pick my own modules early-on in the degree so that I could tailor my learning to my interests and career aspirations; this degree of flexibility to choose varies between universities, so it is important to explore.

I was also largely interested in courses that offered the opportunity for a placement year/year in industry. As an aspiring psychologist, I felt as though being in the workplace in a real clinical/research setting would enable me to apply my learning and skills. Now that I have completed this, I am so thankful that I chose to come to Newcastle because they had fantastic links with the local NHS mental health trust in which I completed my placement year with.

I hope you find some of this helpful 😊

Please remember that you can email me at RO.ambassador@newcastle.ac.uk with any questions or queries about university, the programme and your applications!

Imogen 😊