No idea what to study at uni - advice please!

[Houseplantmad]

Dd in Year 12, is starting her personal statement, UCAS application etc but she has no idea what she wants to study at uni nor what she would like to do beyond uni. She is doing economics, textiles and psychology for A level and loves them all. She's a mad keen hockey player so that's an important factor. Can anyone advise where to start please as I'm at a loss.

Quite a few jobs do require specific degrees - both mine and my husband's do in engineering and economics and would imagine a lot of pscyhology jobs would. Its something I would research though doing a degree you enjoy should help find a job you enjoy but the degrees aren't always value for money if it doesn't convert to helping you get a better job than you could have at 18. I know a few people who had this issue and regretted spending time at university as they could have got job after at 18 and been 3 years trained. I advise mine to look at careers and work back.

She can browse which degrees lead to which career fields here.
www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/what-can-i-do-with-my-degree/fashion
A few universities do a combined economics & psychology degree so take a look at the actual content of those to see if three years of that appeals?

Here's a field that economics, psychology and sport ! www.sportseconomics.org/sports-economics/behavioural-economics-sports-data

Thanks all and @Eewsprouts - that's really helpful.

What about a combined degree? Very useful for those of us who can't make up our mind. I graduated over 10 3ago and still can't.

I work in the environmental sector and meet a steady stream of graduates who decided they want to do likewise but only after completing a first degree in something totally irrelevant like history, or Japanese. Whilst it is not impossible to change direction post degree it is very difficult, at least in my sector, and generally pretty expensive to boot.

My advice would be to wait.

@disfordarkchocolate thanks for your help. Can you explain a combined degree please - sounds interesting.

Something like Exeter's programme?
www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/flexible/exeter/

Psychology at degree level can be very mathy as well - I don't know anyone who did it without Maths A level.

Something businessy might work for her.

Psychology is one of the most over subscribed degrees and hardly anyone goes on to use it professionally. Why doesn’t she work abroad for a year, look into an apprenticeship, seems like you’re determined to find a course for her to do when it should come from her.

Morning @Houseplantmad
I did a combined degree in social sciences at Durham. There are few core modules, you generally plan your own degree from social science modules. So, I did sociology, anthropology, politics (mainly). They did an Arts on too. Mine was very academically rigorous. It's also interesting in interview because it allows you to show independent thinking. You see links in disparate subjects that add to all your work.

They do something similar at other universities, or more formal programmes like politics and French where you focus on two subjects.

As a Recruiter, there are multiple multiple sectors where to get in you are going to need to have a degree in the first instance. I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone from taking one, student debt or not.

@Porcupineinwaiting I'm about to enter my final year in an environmental discipline and of a cohort of 30 there were just 4 school leavers with the rest of us in 20 - 50 range.
I look at the younger people in our group and wish I'd known that the degree existed in my younger years as they have a well paid and interesting future ahead of them.

I agree with posters saying not to rush into going to university until she has a better idea of what she wants to do. DD started off thinking she wanted to study biomedical sciences, then she decided she was really interested in medicine. So she went through the application process (unsuccessfully), but was offered a place at Nottingham to study medical physiology and therapeutics, but based in Derby. She decided that she didn't want to study in Derby, nor did she want to study this subject. So she took a year out, worked, travelled, volunteered and reapplied to her first choice university for biomed and was offered a place straight away.

She did initially regret her decision to not go to university, after all her friends and boyfriend had left, but soon made new friends in her job. Now she does not regret her decision at all. She feels that she made the right decision university and course-wise (and the lying, cheating BF is now an ex I'm glad to say)

I would advise her to pick a university where you don't have to decide for sure until after the first year.

I think looking at Scottish universities is a good idea as you pick a selection of modules and don't specialise until year 3.

If you can afford it, or would be eligible for financial aid (if she is really good at hockey there might be some help there), the US system would suit her. Might be worth DD doing some research.

My daughter is in the same position. She is not sure what to study at university. Her favourite subject is English literature but she doesn't want to do it at university.
Also as there are no open days she lost enthusiasm for the whole application process.
My advice to her is not to apply this year.
She decided that she would take a gap year and get a job, maybe abroad, for example, in a sky resort.

Possibly not very helpful but my daughter was agonising about the pointlessness of wanting to do a Fine Arts course. I told her that, since I was at school, the world has changed so radically that lots of the jobs that people do these days didn't exist when I was a kid. The PC, Internet and the web have changed things so much. Is there another revolutionary change round the corner? Who knows? I don't. But I don't the think the world is going to be static. Skills we now think vitally important and innovative may well be totally redundant in 20 / 30 years time.

The one thing that HAS remained constant over the 60,000 + years of human existence is that people make art.

Maybe she might like...

Occupational Therapy
Business Studies
Marketing

One of our copywriters at work has a fine arts degree. His day job supplements his income from his art sales (which aren't very high just now)

Physiotherapy (psychology should class as science) or sports science? Criminology or psychology? Business studies?

I'm still not sure (mid 40s), but what is really helpful is the Open University's vast selection of free online courses. I've signed up to loads and am gradually working my way through them.

I’ve not read all the comments and I agree university is definitely not right for all. Having said this has your DD looked at Scottish universities? My DC goes to one the courses are four years, but you pay the same as you do for 3, In the first two years you study the course you apply for at two others at my DCs university one can be from another faculty. Changing subjects after the first and even second year to one of the other subjects you’ve studied is common.
My DC didn’t apply to university when he was at school despite being at a very academic private school And leaving with three A*s in academic subjects. . He didn’t know if he wanted to go to uni or what subject to study although he had decided if he was to go it would be Scotland. He had already decided to take a gap year and he travelled for 4 months and worked and filled in his UCAS form somewhat reluctantly, he applied for a subject he hadn’t studied at A level but chose 1 of his three A levels as one of the others subjects. During his gap year I think he realises uni. Wasn’t such a bad idea he’s an academic as heart so I always thought it would suit him. Two years in and he dropped his original choice and from next year does one subject the one he did at A level (when we looked at the university on its open day I literally had to drag him into that dept as he was determined he’d never study it again) and is enjoying it and is talking about doing an MSc in the subject (again in Scotland).
There are more options for school leavers now and it’s difficult to make these decisions That’s why the Scottish system is so good. I don’t know if they all offer this much flexibility hrs at a RG university and offering this much flexibility is one of their selling points. I know Edinburgh also seems quite flexible.

Economics, Textiles and Psychology isn’t a great combination. If she’s bright, why no maths? Both economics and psychology need maths. She doesn’t have an academic subject that opens doors unfortunately. Whoever advised her to do these subjects wasn’t great at their job.

As a result she will have to look at a less academic course. Or look at an apprentice degree course but plenty of them can afford to be choosy. Visual merchandising obviously isn’t academic.

Although we are no longer allowed to call some A levels facilitating, there is a good reason why the advice was always to do at least one. It opens doors. Not having one closes doors, unfortunately.

Does she have any hobbies? Who does she admire amongst your friends? Has she been exposed to any jobs? If you apply for an apprenticeship you do really have to want it and do the study.

As for a gap year? What opportunities are there going to be? Young people will get squeezed out and even apprenticeships might be curtailed. It’s going to get tough.

Interesting to hear your DS's experience @newbathroomforme thank you.

@My0My she wanted to take maths but it clashed in the option block (down side of small sixth form@school). A gap year is an option as she has dual nationality and the other passport will allow her to work in Australia/NZ where she can live with family, would pick up work no problem and still be able to travel.

Have a look at Worcester.

Great for sports and sports degrees. Lots of options in joint Hons programme (two subjects together) Good for psychology too.