Inspirational posters. 

You know the type I mean; an ultra-high definition picture of some mist-wreathed mountain peaks, or suspiciously attractive people laughing on a golden beach that’s just out of focus. The text is overlaid in a nice soft font; something like “Happiness comes from within.” 

It’s easy to look at such a poster, dismiss it as cliched nonsense, and go about your day. 

But often there’s some truth in these bland sayings. 
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Happiness, or better - satisfaction and contentment - does come from within, and we’re in danger of forgetting that. 

The 18th May is when you’re able to register and start your application to begin your undergraduate degree in 2022 ready to submit it from September 2021.

Now while the actual date you’d be starting seems like a lifetime away - If you could call 16 months a lifetime (and a quick internet search tells me that only some rodents can). It is never too early to start taking a look at two things.

​What you want to study and where you want to study it.

The two things are equally as important in your decision-making process so let’s take a look at each and what kind of questions you should be asking yourself as you begin to put together your UCAS application for next year.

The purpose of this article is to try and present learning in a new light – to show that learning can be a powerful and enjoyable tool for life. I’m not talking about any specific area of learning – this isn’t an argument that you should become an expert on the mating cycles of sea-slugs. 

​This may well seem like a strange concept – you might ask “why on earth would I want to love learning?” Learning is, after all, school and university, endless classes, exams and stress.  Isn’t it? 

No. 

Schools are once again open. Dust is being scraped from desks, mice are finding themselves evicted from projectors and teachers are trying to remember how to write. 

You’re going back to school, after maybe a year of learning from home (or in bubbles), separated from your teacher and your friends by a screen and the whims of the Wi-Fi. So, how on earth are you expected to concentrate? 
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You’re not alone if it appears overwhelming. A key point to remember is that everyone is in the same situation as you. Even your teachers will be a little stunned by so much human contact. 

University is not the right route for everyone. Push knows that, you know that.

Luckily the rest of the country is beginning to know that too and that is expanding the other options that you have available. With that, apprenticeships are getting more attention and variety.

University admissions are something that the majority of us would agree should be a straightforward and fair process but it isn’t always clear (and is a topic up for debate) on how fair that process is currently.
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What should be considered in a university application? Well the most obvious is the grades of the applicant, a clear indication of academic ability, but is that all admissions should be judged on? After all, everyone has their own barriers to face in life. At Push we love talking about building resilience from your setbacks and using these as a positive element to your self development. The argument is that these barriers are something that should be considered by universities during admissions. 

A report by the Nuffield foundation found that, selective universities are increasingly taking into account  socioeconomic and educational contexts in which applicants achieved their grades but Vikki Boliver of Durham university argues that universities must be even bolder in their admissions process to ensure that students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds are able to access higher education.

Hopefully the past month has given you a bit more clarity as to how your school/ college is assessing grades. You may have been getting more essays or homework set, maybe a new set of mocks have been announced or are even happening now. Either way, it’s safe to say that it’s best to complete each piece of work to the best of your ability. In this blog I’ll be talking about some tips and tricks you can use to keep working through a school of twenty back-crunching zoom calls whilst trying to prep for upcoming exams.

So, firstly for general revision and keeping focus: we have to remember that this doesn’t last forever. A-levels/ BTECs/ GCSEs will end, and so will all this work you're doing… I promise! Yes, we don’t know when or how we’re getting assessed exactly, but when school finishes in 5 or so months this will all be over and a new chapter awaits. The likelihood is these academic grades will be finally determined around May/June time, so summer and sunshine is only a few more months away!

So one thing that 2021 has brought with it is the UKs actual, no gracing period, exit from the European Union. Regardless of how you feel about the situation, it's happened and now we have to get used to all of the changes that has come along with that.

One of those changes is that the UK will no longer be able to take part in the Erasmus+ scheme. Something that allowed students to go study abroad in Europe with no tuition fees and also receive a grant for their living costs. 

It is a fact that one of the aspects of choosing to go to university is unfortunately acquiring some student loan debt. 

So, being a student it is useful to come up with short-term financial goals that you need to look after. If you know the basics of personal finance management, then you would also know that there are some other financial goals that you should focus on while studying!
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But how to set goals when Covid-19 is still hanging around? Does this have any effect on your financial goals? Let’s find out in the discussion.

If you've decided you want to go to uni, then we're going to go ahead and assume you're feeling pretty smug and have already submitted your application. If you haven't, then you've got about four weeks till the January 15th deadline.

So between now and then, stop dreaming of a vaccine Christmas and dream instead about where your chosen degree might take you.

​Researching and supporting a cause that matters to you this Xmas not only helps you. It can massively help others.

Supporting causes can help you work out what you want from life. Careers in the 21st century, when we are likely to work for longer than ever (and for different companies), will be based much more on company values and ethics than older generations - who tended to focus on a paternal "you'll move up through the ranks from apprentice to retirement" arm around the metaphorical shoulder, driven by financial security first, a job-for-life second, and perhaps striking lucky and enjoying your career third. Younger people, via social media, are much more aware of global issues and therefore how they want to fit into them (and ideally solve or improve them). 

If your plan for next year is university then you’re already submitted your application, right? If not, then get a move on. The UCAS deadline (January 15th) may be the official cut-off, but a lot of places will have been filled already. We know how fab you are, but that doesn’t mean the unis are holding a space specially for you. Get your application in before the end of this month.

The pandemic might have changed your plans about going to university. Perhaps you’ve already deferred for a year or because of everything going on you may have already decided that uni isn’t the right path for you in 2021, but you’ll give it a go in 2022. 

If that’s the case, don’t let your gap year go by, in the blink of an eye, leaving you feeling unfulfilled and still not ready for uni. In days pre-covid (remember those?) a gap year often meant jetting off in a plane with a backpack and spending a couple of months in a new country. However we don’t know when that’s going to be a realistic option. So maybe it's time to think a little closer to home during your gap year.  Here are a few ideas to get started: