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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask if BSc Exercise Science is a good degree?

74 replies

holiday101 · 20/04/2018 06:30

Dd17 is very bright, predicted 10 A/A grades at GCSE and insists on the above degree. Her first choice is Exeter where the grade requirements are AAA, which is on par (or higher!) than medicine. In my heart it sounds slightly media studies, but don't know of anyone who has done it rather than Sport s Science (some unis combine them). I am not in favour of a degree for the sake of it as the dc will have to be heavily subsidised funded by us for living costs. My physio did Sport Science and said he was told by careers officer that it would open so many doors but it was merely a stepping stone degree and I read ES will be the same.
AIBU to be wary of this course?

OP posts:
BobbinThreadbare123 · 20/04/2018 06:40

Yes. I'm sure someone will be along to say that it's fab but someone with grades like that ought to be looking at more traditional courses. Physics, Biochemistry etc.
They probably open more doors.

Original poster
holiday101 · 20/04/2018 06:44

Bobbin that is how I feel, especially as she is clearly capable of the more traditional subjects.

OP posts:
Original poster
holiday101 · 20/04/2018 06:46

Eh, I thought this was AIBU, didn't even know this board existed Blush

OP posts:
BobbinThreadbare123 · 20/04/2018 06:48

If the desired end is a career in fitness and training, I'd say skip uni altogether and do the instructor qualifications. A lot less debt!

If the aim is a career as a physio, do that!

I used to teach, and I also know too many people who did degrees which are now all too lightweight and they've had to retrain or add to them significantly. It is hard to reason with teenagers though!

MeanTangerine · 20/04/2018 06:49

What jobs might she want to do?

A good degree from a good university will open many doors, regardless of subject.

Original poster
holiday101 · 20/04/2018 07:02

Yes she does want to do something fitness related, which is exactly why I don't think that spending up to £70k on a degree is worth it. My physio said you can do PT courses over a weekend Hmm
Yes Bobbin it is hard to reason with teens . Truth be told I hate the idea of her being so bright and not using it to her full potential. I would much prefer that she did dentistry or another STEM subject. Whilst PT's might be all the rage now I don't see much longevity career wise.

OP posts:
FinallyHere · 20/04/2018 07:52

hate the idea of her being so bright and not using it to her full potential

Rather than thinking about her not fulfilling her full potential, could you think about it as giving her options ? You might listen to her about what she wants or expects to get from doing this course. If you are pushing much less 'interesting' subjects, you most likely won't get to hear what she really thinks.

Having to take a degree in a subject that doesn't interest you, isn't much reward for doing well at school

Original poster
holiday101 · 20/04/2018 07:59

Finally I get that and I'm trying to be supportive, but as I said we are going to need to heavily fund this therefore do not want to see if as money down the drain it we could pay £1k for a good PT course. I suppose I find it hard to comprehend why the grade requirements are so high for a course that openly says leads to career options in IT and do feel it is a waste.

OP posts:
Original poster
holiday101 · 20/04/2018 08:00

"Career options in PT"

OP posts:
FinallyHere · 20/04/2018 08:12

Let's hope that the career options for an 'exercise to music' teacher are different to those of someone with a degree. That is exactly why I would be listening for career aspirations, if they make sense then perhaps they would be worth the investment. Hearing a genuine career plan would help to rule out the possibility that your daughter is attracted by the prospect of the lifestyle associated with three years of fully funded exercise science.

Lots of commercial enterprises still need people with proven expertise, experience and 'letters after their name' to add credibility to their offering in what is a very crowded market place. Your daughter may have an idea of where this is leading, it would be good to know what it is.

FinallyHere · 20/04/2018 08:25

This is an area of great interest to me. I couldn't resist a google, and yes, it would appear that while the focus of sports science is on high performance in a competitive disciplines, exercise science works in the much bigger market of participation. Looks very interesting, I only wish that such subjects existed in my university days.

Again, what would matter to me is what the person i was funding was planning to do, have a great time for thee or four years, or do that plus work towards a role in an industry which will only grow, as more people need to establish healthier lifestyles. Anyone currently practising as a physio may be brilliant at what they do, and not be aware of the current trends in the leading areas of research. You would indeed need a university for the leading areas of research.

Bookishandblondish · 20/04/2018 08:44

Out of curiosity, I tried to google the course but Exeter is a exercise and sports course - can’t see the single option.

On a different note which may or may not help, I’m currently working in a country (not the UK) which is developing national strategies for wellness - with billion dollar investments for implementation. And had a meeting where amongst the conversation was the strategy of prescribing activity for people with comorbidities. And they aren’t the only one, so there will be a huge need for people who can help design and deliver strategies to get people exercising who don’t exercise and have no interest in the current service offerings.

GnomeDePlume · 20/04/2018 09:16

I think at this stage the best approach is to guide your DD towards making the next choices - A levels - ones which leave as many doors open as possible.

It's good that she's thinking about higher education. Help her to explore courses and institutions. Future dreaming is a good process to go through. It allows different ideas to take shape.

Original poster
holiday101 · 20/04/2018 09:45

Bookish it is the combined one and there is the 'sandwich' option of a year in Us/NZ/Australia which sounds great but obviously will incur a lot more expense. After reading the £50k+ salary thread it really are me think about cost of education versus return. We will have 3 at uni at the same time potentially so I'm trying to make them aware that this is a lot of money for their future, it really isn',,t about a four year knees up.

Her AS are maths, chemistry, bio!ogy and physics so will in theory leave a lot of doors open.

Book I can't see her going into any strategy based career, she would love to be a coach for an Amerian football team. Considering we have never been to US and the scope for the game in UK is fairly limited, I don't really see that happening Hmm

OP posts:
Biologifemini · 20/04/2018 09:50

She could do biochemistry our medicine then Exercise science postgraduate
She would then have more flexibility later perhaps
I don’t think it is a bad degree but she sounds very bright

GnomeDePlume · 20/04/2018 09:58

If she has an aptitude for STEM that is a good choice for the next stage. Both my DDs were quite certain of their degree choices but that evolved and changed as they got into the more advanced courses.

You don't need to reason with her at this stage. The more you try to talk her out of it in likelihood the more she will stick her heels in. Go to lots of open days. Let her see the choices on offer.

Cornishmumofone · 20/04/2018 10:01

Would you be happy for your daughter to have a gap year and pay for her to do fitness instructor and PT courses in that year whilst working in a gym. That way she'll know whether it's really the career she wants or not.

rogueantimatter · 20/04/2018 10:08

I'm impressed that she's already looking at specific uni courses. My possible concern about the exeter course would be that it's quite a specific focus right from the outset, although it will presumably touch on lots of different subjects such as psychology, bio-chemistry, anatomy etc. So would she finish her degree knowing a little about a lot of different areas but not have an in depth knowledge of anything. Would she be interested in something like bio- chemistry, which might have applications in more areas then do a specific masters in sports/exercise science after?

Has she looked at scottish unis? I ask because they usually offer two or three subjects in first year, two in second year then specialising in third year. It's often possible to start one course but switch to one of the other subjects in second year.

However, the very high entrance requirements of the exeter course must mean it's in great demand. And bio-chemistry also has very high entrance reqs.

rogueantimatter · 20/04/2018 10:09

Ahh x posted.

MNHQ
DawnMumsnet · 20/04/2018 10:22

Hi, we're moving this thread over to AIBU now at the OP's request.

amusedbush · 20/04/2018 10:31

She could do biochemistry our medicine then Exercise science postgraduate

Yes, I agree with this. It would be a shame to pigeonhole herself with such a specific undergrad degree.

flowerslemonade · 20/04/2018 10:38

It depends what she wants to do. My sister really wanted to do this course, she has a lifelong interest in sport and competed at a high level. She also got 10A* in her GCSEs. She was steered away from it (very strongly) and into a pharmacy degree. She told me the other day she spent the past 10 years hating every day of her working life.

She still wishes she had done the degree she wanted.

As far as I can tell, there are academic options at the end - working at university in sports research for example. And with the Commonwealth Games in the UK in 2020 there will be a lot more doors opening I'd have thought.

Honestly if your daughter really loves the look of this degree I'd let her do it.

She needs to fully research it though. What's the difference beween this specific degree and Sport and Exercise Science?

Does she want to work in sport development? Coaching? Anti drug/doping? Etc.

honeyroar · 20/04/2018 10:40

Could she do her Pt exams while doing A levels and do some work in that field? If not have a gap year? I'm with you on your thinking. I was insistent I was going to be a riding instructor, I realised a few years later when I was that there was no money in it. Luckily in those days most people worked for sports related qualifications and going to uni and racking up debt wasn't an option.

Ginmakesitallok · 20/04/2018 10:45

My dp lectures in sports and exercise science - I could ask him about the career pathways of his students if you like? Think a fair few go into coaching, use it as a stepping stone to sports physio, or continue in research (his field is high intensity research).

flowerslemonade · 20/04/2018 10:45

I've just looked and I think it's Sports Science, just worded differently?

www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/sport/