Pandemic brings some unexpected bonuses...
Applying for university places in a pandemic brings challenges, says sixth-former and News Telegraph columnist REBECCA BURTON... but it also has some unexpected advantages
CURRENTLY, students in their final year at QEGS Sixth Form are in the process of applying to university or apprenticeships.
I recently sent off my application to study Politics and International Relations, and I have been reflecting on how the pandemic has fundamentally changed this experience, even as restrictions have been lifted.
Many universities are still not running ordinary open days, so many students this year have decided which universities to apply to based on virtual events.
I have found that there are some benefits to virtual open days, particularly the convenience - my parents certainly appreciate that I was able to attend a talk about the University of Exeter online, rather than having to travel 300 miles to get to the campus.
It is also easier to get detailed information about your course in online events. Despite this, there is no substitute for actually visiting a university in person, and you can’t really know where you will be happiest until you get a feel for the campus itself.
As not all universities are running full open days, in the summer holidays my family decided that we should travel to as many universities as possible and look around them for ourselves. As I have a twin sister who is looking at totally different universities to me, our parents were delighted to discover that we would have to travel to over 10 different places spread across the country.
This experience was very useful, and I consider myself lucky that, unlike many students this year, I was able to actually visit every one of the universities I’ve applied to.
However, because we were visiting outside of term time, some of the universities were virtually deserted, and most were undergoing construction work.
While we could still look around the buildings, it was difficult to get a feel for the atmosphere of each one.
Since the end of the summer holidays, I have been able to attend a couple of normal open days, and this has been a totally different experience. Being able to actually speak to students studying my course in person was invaluable, as well as being able to go inside some of the buildings.
However, these events were still very different to normal, and notably it has not been possible to visit any accommodation.
While I think that all rooms in halls of residence look essentially the same anyway, it is definitely strange to know that I’m applying to university having never seen the places where I could be sleeping.
The pandemic has also changed the process of writing a university application. After finishing my personal statement, I realised that almost every experience which I mentioned in it to demonstrate my passion for my subject had been virtual.
From an online taster lecture to virtual work experience, I have developed my interest in my chosen degree from behind a computer screen.
Even though this is a slightly scary thought, as with virtual open days, there are benefits to this.
In a rural area like Ashbourne there are never going to be as many opportunities for things like work experience as there are in large cities. The increase in online activities and events has meant that students here and in other rural areas can access the same range of opportunities as those in urban areas.
Applying to university has become something of a hybrid between online and in-person activities. I think that this will stay the same even after the pandemic, and that virtual open days in particular will continue in conjunction with in person events.
This mix is also likely reflective of a university education currently, as many are still holding some lectures online. The pandemic has deeply affected the experience of applying to university, but, in my view, not necessarily for the worse.