Applying for Physiotherapy or Sports Science and mixing university choices

[Fiftiesishard]

My DC (just finished Yr 12) is undecided about whether to apply for Physiotherapy or Sports Science. Has anyone's DC been in this position and what did they do?

Had previously decided on Physio (has lots of WEX including in the NHS / customer facing part time job etc), predicted grades good enough - now after a couple of uni open days (attended talks on SS and Physio) they're considering SS followed by a 2 yr masters to qualify as a Physio. Rationale - thinks they will get a broader knowledge / potentially enjoy uni experience more / if ultimately they decide physio isn't for them, they have more options. Obviously that's 5 yrs of study / expense rather than 3 but we're happy to support their choice.

Anyone been in the same position?

As an extra question, does anyone have a child that has applied for both courses in their 5 choices - understand competition for physio is fierce so ultimately its better to use 5 choices if that is the path, but has anyone for example used 3 options for Physio and 2 for SS?

Universities cannot see which other courses at other universities the student has applied for so that's not a problem. Tailoring the personal statement (or whatever it is now) would be more tricky.

My best friend’s DD did sports science at Loughborough. She went on to complete a Masters and a pHd. She’s now a lecturer and attends conferences all over the world.

My DC did physio, as they wanted to be a physio. The only thing I would say was that when we were visiting unis we were advised to make it clear that physio is not just sports physio, and that they would need show understanding of that in their application. Applying for both could weaken their application as they will need to cater for both choices in their application. So that would need to be carefully done. But that said, physio is very oversubscribed and getting jobs at the end is even harder. My DC has a nhs job, but so many of their friends haven’t got one yet. But not sure what the job market is like for sports science grads.

Yes the personal statement question is tricky. I don't think the grad market is great for any course / sector at the moment but hoping in 3 yrs / 5 years it will be slightly better.

There are lots of aspects to consider...Are they only interested in sports? My DD has just finished her physio degree. There are several branches of Physiotherapy and they all need to be studied and there are placements for all aspects...DD was particularly interested in respiratory physio. From early in year 2 they are on 6 week placements which may or may not be in their uni town. They might need to live away from uni and their friends and societies. For healthcare degrees there is an NHS learning support fund of £5000 per year. This is not a loan and does not need to be paid back.

If you have any questions about the physio degree, application etc feel free to ask.

The question I would be asking is who gets employed after the degree? Doing what? Yes some get the bells and whistles work but many don’t. Is the nhs taking the physios or are they scrambling for work? I think sports work for both degrees is limited. Many sports scientists don’t get work in sports science because we have too many grads in that subject, so dc need to be flexible in terms of careers and I would research employment very carefully.

@KeeepWalking she's predominantly interested in sport but through work experience in all 3 physio sectors, she's widening her interest now (loved her neuro placement). The NHS learning fund is available for the Masters too so although its a factor, its not really a deciding factor if you see what I mean - so much to think about!

@MeetMeOnTheCorner yes, employment is a concern but there are very few routes for any graduates at the moment where prospects are "good".