Tuesday 15 December 2015

Are we there yet?

I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm coming to the end of a really long car journey. I need to get up, stretch my legs and take my foot off the pedal for a bit. This term has been so busy, yet I can't believe that September was only three months ago! I'm really looking forward to having a break from coursework, homework and just college in general so I can spend some quality time with my family and friends.

Christmas really is my favourite time of year, but I feel like this year I am seeing it in a completely different light. In the past, the endless Christmas crosswords and the classic movies were enough to get me excited about the big day; but with many of my friends being away at university since September, I'm really looking forward to catching up with everyone and finding out everything they've been up to. I've been surprised how much I've missed them and even though we've been in touch regularly, nothing beats a face-to-face catch up! Not only this, but also with everything that is going on around the world, I feel like I have a new-found appreciation for how lucky I am. Even though things might not always go perfectly, I have it a lot better than many people in the world. 
So this year, Christmas for me is about the season as a whole, rather than 25th December.

Even though I love Christmas so much, I hadn't really got into the spirit until this week. With the college term almost over and the decorations finally going up at home, I am now well and truly in the mood for Christmas and can't wait for the celebrations to begin! This past weekend I finally got my shopping done (well, almost) and now the wrapping and giving must begin.

Although this season may no longer be filled with Christmas plays, carol concerts and puzzles, I can't wait for the celebrations and catch ups to begin this weekend!

Wishing all my lovely readers a Merry Christmas, and I hope that 2016 brings everything you wish for!

See you in the new year x


If you would like to vote for me as UCAS blogger of the month, please click here, it would be much appreciated!




Thursday 10 December 2015

Saying "Yes"!

So I've finally done it... Just under a month ago I received my fifth offer, and yesterday I replied to them all! I have accepted Liverpool Hope as my firm choice (BBC offer) and York St John as my insurance (unconditional).

As I've mentioned before, my college had recommended that we wait a while before replying, but I was certain of my choices before I even had the offers and so wanted to respond asap! Even though I've been desperate to reply, I also wanted to follow college's advice and wait a while. However, I felt rude not replying to the unis after receiving my offers so quickly, and so I replied yesterday.

But I can't believe how terrifying it is! I was so surprised by how nervous I was to actually click "confirm". I was so worried about clicking on the wrong one, I had to get my friend to double check that I had selected the right unis (Cheers Hannah!!)! I was so concerned that my eyes might have been deceiving me! The best part of replying though, is that you don't actually have to click "reject" to the unis whose offers you're declining. For some reason, I felt really uncomfortable at the thought of rejecting my offers, and so I was extremely relieved that UCAS does it for you! You just choose your firm and insurance, then the other offers are automatically declined.
Albert Docks, Liverpool. Fingers crossed, I'll be living in this beautiful city next year!

So for now, its all over and done with! All that's left is to attend applicant days and then get the grades in the summer!

I hope I haven't made it sound too scary, but my advice would be to have a good friend/family member/someone you trust close by who can reassure you that you have selected the right unis (even if just to calm you down and make sure you know you're not going crazy!!!).

If you fancy voting for me as UCAS blogger of the month, please click here, it would be much appreciated!

Anna x




Monday 30 November 2015

The Power of Four Thousand

Hi again!


Call me the queen of procrastination, but blogging seems much more appealing than that coursework I should be writing at the moment! 
Today I want to talk about my experience of applying to uni (so far, anyway!).

It all kicked off back in summer, when college began to mention the dreaded personal statement (PS). I have many friends in the year above, so I had already heard about how stressful it is to get 4000 characters and I wanted to put off writing it as long as possible. But in all honesty, with exams just finished and the whole summer ahead of me, I quickly dismissed the idea of actually starting it. After all, who would rather write a PS than make the most of the sunshine that we rarely get up north!

The one thing that I had actually done well in advance was order prospectuses. I had tonnes - in fact, under my bed was Mount Prospectus, giving Everest a run for its money.
But despite having so many, I wasn't really doing much with them. I read them, marked the pages of "my" course, but then they would go and join the collection under the bed.

The original Mount Prospectus, on one of the rare occasions it saw the light of day. It kept growing after this photo was taken.

So I decided it was about time we went to see some universities. I had no idea what to expect, but I just kept booking them. It was Lancaster, Northumbria, Liverpool Hope, Salford, Bangor, York St John, Chester, Lancaster (again), Hope (again) and Staffordshire. On some occasions, it would be a whole family day out, but most of the time it was just my Mum and I. We went prepared: with plenty of food, drink and our Meghan Trainor CD so we could have a little dance in the car on the journey! We also took my little black book where I made notes about every uni. I think it is so important to talk about the visit with your parents or whoever you go with, as sometimes you may have preconceived ideas about somewhere that your parents may not have. They may also notice things that you might not necessarily see - for example, at one university I visited there were several spelling mistakes on the English presentation. This sent alarm bells ringing for me. After every uni visit, I would make a list of positive and negatives about each one, so that when I had to decide my top five, I would be able to make a more informed decision.

When we went back to college in September, the application process got underway immediately. Early applicants had to be done by 15th October, and I was determined to get mine sent off as soon as possible. As quickly as I could, I had filled in the application. My final choices were Liverpool Hope, York St John, Lancaster, Chester and Bangor - all for English Literature and Creative Writing. My PS was written, checked by four people, and redrafted four times before I was happy with it (and everyone else as well). Luckily for me, I had it completed by 16th October so my tutor had time to help me with it without her attention being pulled in too many other directions. A few days later, it was officially sent and I just had to wait for offers.
Unbelievably, an hour after my UCAS receipt I had an offer from Chester! A week later, Lancaster also sent me an offer. The following week, I had offers from both Liverpool Hope and Bangor within twelve hours of each other!
During this time, I developed a little habit. Or maybe an addiction?! "My name is Anna, and I am an obsessive Track checker"! So one lunch, when my friend had to check her application, I automatically logged in as well. I got such a surprise! An unconditional from YSJ! I think my friend thought I was going crazy because I made her check that my eyes weren't deceiving me!

The beautiful York Minster

So that brings us to now... College have advised that I don't reply to my offers straight away, but I think I'll reply pretty soon. I'm really excited for the applicant days coming up in the new year so I can visit my unis again!

Liverpool Hope
That's all from me for now, but I'll be back soon. I hope you've enjoyed this post and feel free to leave a comment if you have any feedback.

Anna x






Tuesday 24 November 2015

Hello!

Hey, I'm Anna!

I'm eighteen and currently in my second year at college. I actually quite enjoy college because I love the (mostly) relaxed atmosphere and my teachers are all really supportive. I study English Literature, English Language and Modern History and am planning to study English Lit and Creative Writing at university next year. I sent off my application just over a month ago and unbelievably, I have received all five offers already!

Outside college, I have quite a busy social life! I have a part-time job in a supermarket and I enjoy spending time with my friends and family- especially my two younger sisters. I love listening to music, watching football and also baking. I am the biggest Ed Sheeran fan you could ever meet (Photograph and Tenerife Sea are my current favourite Ed songs) and a passionate supporter of Preston North End FC. Although I do love baking, I am slowly learning how to cook "proper" food but my repertoire at the moment mainly consists of pasta dishes! I love taking photos and my sisters would probably describe me as an obsessive selfie-taker, but the truth is that I just love documenting memories!

I'm really looking forward to blogging about my uni application experience and hope you enjoy reading my blog!
If there is anything you would like me to blog about, or if you enjoy reading my blog, please get in touch!

Anna x