How to select the right college for you

If you’re a second-level student, you would be forgiven for worrying whether you can get the full third-level experience if you get to college, but with the worst of the pandemic seemingly behind us, you can probably relax now on that front.

That said, there are a myriad of factors to consider and weigh up to make sure you choose the right institution to give you the best chance to get the most out of the next few years of your life.

Most of the experts agree that the chief factor to think about is your degree and where it will lead you.

“The university should fit your life vision and yes, choosing the right course is key,” says University of Limerick careers advisor Brendan Lally.

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“Think about what you enjoy day-to-day. You’ll read and write about your area of study and sit in lectures during your degree, so you need to choose one you’ll be happy to throw yourself into.

“There is far too much emphasis on getting into a degree and less so on where you’ll land afterwards.

“When I meet students, one exercise I do is to ask them to imagine their graduation parchment in their hand and then say ‘what now?’ Will completing this course help you to realise your life goals and have you reflected on those goals?

“What is employability? It is more than simply getting a job. Employability is more than skills gained in the classroom; it is about having security in life to stay afloat, well beyond your first graduate job.”

Opportunities

Lally says it is also worth considering factors such as opportunities to study and do work placements abroad. “Experiences like work placement and a study abroad option are important factors when choosing a course or university,” he says.

“Recently, I asked students to describe a recent challenge that they had to overcome. Many spoke of the effect of the pandemic on their student life: studying from home and then the challenge of returning to a hectic on-campus life.

“Many of the students we interviewed were overseas at the time in various European cities. They had elected to do an Erasmus study abroad year arranged by the university. I realised during these interviews that I was watching employability in action.

“Students who had been isolated through the pandemic were now pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. They were developing new life skills and choosing to study and live in a foreign country whilst interviewing for a work placement job for their return to Ireland.

“These are skills that improve their emotional intelligence and strengthens their ability to manage their emotions in a positive way, through communication, overcoming challenges and building resilience. This is what employer’s value.

Outcomes

“Look at the graduate employment rate for the courses you are reviewing. All third-level institutions publish this graduate outcome data on their websites. This shows where graduates land nine months to a year after graduation, which is very insightful.”

Another factor that should influence your decision is campus life, he adds. “We are blessed at UL to have one of the most beautiful campuses in Europe, with Olympic standard sports facilities,” he says.

“You should also take a look at the support services to aid your learning, ranging from library facilities to specialised services that are there to help you with any challenge.

“Thankfully I think Leaving Cert students are more informed today and are not merely following their friends to a particular institution.”

Friends

Lally touches upon a common pitfall for students: following your friends to a particular university or on to a particular course. Sarah Geraghty, director of student recruitment and outreach at the University of Galway, agrees it is not the best idea.

“It can be a great security blanket for students to attend the same institution as their friends, but we hear time and time again from students who stepped outside that comfort zone, were independent and a little bit brave, they never regret it,” she says.

“Students make friends for life at university. We have themed weeks all the way up to January that have a particular focus with the intention of helping students to make friends, to settle in, to get set up, to explore new hobbies, and to develop new skills.

“There is great structure with that, but there is also great freedom to follow whatever path they like. There is as much or as little structure as students want to develop that roundedness as individuals.

“There is something for everybody, whether it be the more academic clubs, or the Harry Potter club, or whatever it might be. If there is no society for you, well then go ahead and create one, and add something that other likeminded students would be thrilled to help with.”

Supports

Geraghty points out that there may also be some more practical factors to consider when making your decision.

“They might also look at what supports they might need,” she says. “They might be disability supports, access supports, financial supports, and then just coming down to what daily life will be like. What part of campus will they be based in and what might the routine look like.

“Normally, by reflecting on these types of questions, students will get a sense as to whether it is the right place for them. We find that students will find the answer to that pretty easily by attending open days, talking to current students and talking to lecturers.

“Another factor could be the distance from home. Is it far enough from home or is it close enough to home? Different students can have different perspectives on location. It’s really down to the individual and the extent to which they want to spread their wings.

“Moving away from the tangible, it can also be about the sense of place. It’s more than just the location. It’s about what the culture of a campus is, and the whole environment. That’s something you can get a taste of at an open day.”

Course choice

On choosing a course, Geraghty has some other nuggets of useful information. “It’s really important to identify if there are any particular subject areas that are going to feature strongly in a course,” she says.

“For example, we find that sometimes students can be surprised by the amount of maths or English on a particular course, and it’s really important they’re comfortable with that.

“There is a huge range of postgraduate offerings available as well, and that is where students have an opportunity to specialise or to change tack and go a different direction. The career outcome at the end will be determined later on.

“Having some broad ideas about the course at the outset is a good idea, but the most we can ask 17 and 18 year olds to do is choose a course that will be genuinely interesting to study.”

Trinity College associate dean of undergraduate common architecture Graeme Murdock agrees. “It’s a new stage of life and a new transition,” he says.

“It is worth looking at what sort of flexibility is available in a course before you go into it. I think a lot of people get very nervous about this one decision they have to take and then think that’s it for four years, but there are flexible options out there.”

Transition to third-level

Murdock also speaks positively about the transition of university campuses back to hives of activity following the pandemic.

“Part of the joy of seeing campuses come back to life is not just that the campus is full of noise again, but there are opportunities again for students in terms of their social lives and organising events,” he says. “They can get back to a normal student life in the full sense of that.

“There is the issue of the cost of accommodation, particularly in Dublin, which means more students are living at home, or travelling further to come in, and many students are seeking employment to help them with financing things.

“It is a changing world, but we hope students can carve out enough time to enjoy being a student and being able to live away from home at least part of the time for that growing-up phase and trying new things and so on.”

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what feels right, according to UCD director of student recruitment Anne-Marie Harvey.

“When choosing a course, students should follow their passion and their interest because motivation is one of the most important ingredients of success at university,” she says.

“Secondly, students should also consider the career and graduate opportunities available so that they keep as many doors open as possible. And finally, consider a place where they can flourish and be themselves.”