Catch up: UCAS, Realising opportunities and Primark

I haven't blogged in absolutely ages and I have been quite busy since college started so here's an update on my life so far.

Let me start with UCAS. My university application got sent off on the 25th of October after waiting a whole week for my college to approve it. My official five choices to study Economics Bsc are:

University of Surrey
Queen Mary's, University of London
University of Kent
University of Essex
Royal Holloway, University of London

As you can see I've picked universities that are really close to home. I just don't want to be that far away in case I get home sick and if I want to come back for a while it's cheaper and easier. All I can do is wait patiently for all the universities to review my application and give me their decisions in hopefully the next couple of weeks. For some reason I always feel the urge to log into track just in case a university has replied to me but it's very very early for that.

Surrey university open day! 08/09/2012

Let me just say I have fallen in love with this university. Today I went with my dad to go and visit the university and I am impressed. Firstly at registration I was given a badge and a bag full of booklets about accommodation, student life and more. We decided to go and look at the accommodation on campus first. We didn't manage to visit all 5 buildings on campus but we went to two of them, Twyford court and Cathedral court. My favourite out of the two was Catherdral court because the bedroom was more spacious and you share with less people.

After looking at the accommodation we went to a talk on Economics. Economics students at Surrey have a great employability rate and I was impressed by how much in depth detail we were given about the subject. Today has taught me that it is really important that if you have a chance to go and visit the universities you want to apply to because it influences your decision a lot. After today I'm really fond about the idea of not going to a uni in London. I just love the atmosphere. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that after 2nd year we have to move out but apart from that I love Surrey :)

Quick update.

I just wanted to do a quick post on my first proper day at volunteering and college. I started two of my lessons today, Economics and Politics and I guess it went well. I've already been hit with homework so I guess it's time to start working hard. I also started my first volunteering session today. I had to sort out the clothing on the shop floor to match a certain colour scheme. It might sound boring but it was nice to receive positive feedback from the shop manager commending me for how quickly I've picked up things and how well I've done on my first day.

Tomorrow I am attending an open day at Surrey University so I will do a post on that.

Realising opportunities/ Volunteering

A couple of months ago I posted about a programme I joined called Realising opportunities. Well one of the tasks I have to do in order to pass the programme is an academic assignment.

I have to write a 1500-2000 word essay on any topic of my choosing. On Tuesday (21st August 2012) I met up with my tutor who will help me with my assignment. Together we decided to come up with the question "Who has the Olympics benefited the most?" as my essay question. I have to take into consideration  my essay structure and other things just as if I've been set an essay in college or university. This is great preparation of what I will be expected to do in university so it's good to get a taster on what it'll be like.

                           
During the summer holidays I was really frustrated that I wasn't finding a job and I really wanted something to keep me busy. My friend suggested that I started volunteering. I thought about it and realised that it's not such a bad idea so I went on the internet and looked at different charities and came across British Red Cross. I was mainly interested in volunteering in a charity shop close to college so I could work there for a couple of hours a week during my free period. What attracted me to British Red Cross the most was that they are the only charity shop that offer a certificate for young shop volunteers.

Firstly, at the Standard Level I have to complete 40 hours of volunteering on the shop floor and discovering what goes on behind the scenes. If I want to progress to the Advanced level this takes 100 hours to complete where I get an introduction into management, organise my own project and explore what goes on within the Red Cross. My aim is to complete the Advanced level because it'll be great to learn new skills and actually take control of something that I can take credit for if it's successful. This will also help improve my confidence in leading a team which is really important when applying for a job and can help me stand out.

I'm so glad I came across this and if anyone is interested in volunteering they should really get involved. It's great that whilst helping out a charity that changes peoples lives at the same time it's benefits you in terms on future success. I just started yesterday (24th August 2012) but I'm excited to get involved with in the coming year.

I will definitely keep posting what I take part in.