I suppose now would be the time to catch up on this goal, for a lot has happened that I did not want to talk about too early on. Now that things seem to be rolling, though, I thought I could raise the curtain of mystery just a little.
I’ve been struggling with educational possibilities that Finland has to offer ever since I graduated from high school (gymnasium? lyceum? secondary school?), because nothing seems to be interesting enough. When I was still at school, I had plans on continuing my studies abroad, Ireland was my first option back then. That idea was pushed aside (but not completely forgotten) for a couple of years, and although this sounds rushed, meeting A got me thinking about the possibility of going to university in some other country.
As it is, A will be tied to his PhD for the next four years and that is an awfully long time to not be together, and so I started researching what it’d take to go to uni in England. I know this looks like I’m considering going to the UK just because of A but it’s not like that. Sure he is a factor I need to consider in my plans but the real motivator is studying something inspiring and getting on a course that truly fascinates me. Finnish universities don’t offer such courses, less resources and so on – understandable – so why not go abroad if possible?
Long story short, I sent out my UCAS application couple of weeks ago, and ever since I’ve been waiting for the status quo to change – meaning some decisions from the universities as to whether or not they offer me a place. I know it’s early but universities may offer some candidates a place even before the deadline (which is, by the way, on Jan 15th). I could list the 5 universities I chose but I’m a little too superstitious concerning one of my choices, I don’t want to jinx it by mentioning it too early on, so here’s what I’ll do: I’ll reveal my choices as the status of my application changes.
I’ve actually gotten one conditional offer already, from Reading which happens to be the uni where A is doing his PhD. To be honest, I picked this university sort of as a backup choice as it has somewhat lower entry requirements than my other options, and the course I applied there isn’t quite the one I’m most interested in but very close anyway. And to be fair, studying in Reading would diminish the distance between us massively. As for the conditions of the offer, part of it I’ve already achieved, so now it’s all about the IELTS score, I’m planning on taking the test early next year.
As for the course? It’s somewhat a surprise to myself as well, but I found a course that seems to correspond with my interests so well! Philosophy, Politics and Economics, shortly PPE, it is, and although it might not seem like it’s really my thing, what I’ve read about the course, it really seems stimulating and challenging, and since it combines three different subjects, it also offers a variety of possibilities, which is always a good thing. Not too many universities offer PPE but there are variations, such as Philosophy and Political Economy.
Now there isn’t much else to do than wait, late next month I should get some information from one university but other than that, I might have to wait till next year before anything changing.
