Summer School prepared me for uni – here’s why

While I was in my first year of college, I began thinking about my options for higher education and personally this was quite a daunting task. I wanted to start preparing early so it gave me enough time to be able to consider all my options and not get into a panicked rush right before the UCAS deadline.

When researching different universities, I came across an advertisement for the University of Brighton and that they were running various summer schools across many different areas in the university. I always knew I wanted to study a subject that was linked to sport so I decided to apply for the Sport Summer School that took place in August 2019. Fortunately, I was accepted onto the summer school, and it fell at such a perfect time as I knew after the summer holidays, when I returned for my final year of college, I would have to begin drafting my UCAS application ready for the deadline in January.

Living in halls

During the summer school, I was able to meet 30 other Year 12 students from all different colleges in London and the southeast and it was so nice to meet new people and two of which are now also studying at Brighton. Furthermore, the experience involved staying in halls of residence and where I lived during the first year of university. This gave me such a good insight into what it would be like to live in at uni and gave me the confidence to move away from my hometown to study at Brighton. In addition, we were also able to use some of the facilities available on campus, such as the Physiology Laboratory.

Meeting current students

We were also lucky enough to get to spend a day exploring with some of the Student Ambassadors, who were current students at the university, and this gave us the opportunity to ask lots of questions about Brighton as a university and what it was like to study here.

The personal insight into what it would be like to study at Brighton was hugely beneficial for me, as it made me realise that I wanted to choose Brighton. I would recommend getting involved on a Summer School, particularly if you are worried about moving to a new place or simply curious about what Brighton has to offer you.

My final piece of advice would simply be to attend an online open day or summer school and make your research into universities proactive.

Word from the uni…

Since Amy wrote about her summer school experience the university has announced some changes for courses based at Eastbourne. From September 2024 all of our sport and health sciences courses will be based in Brighton at our Falmer campus. Find out more about our plans.