Why I chose to study Economics at Warwick

Hi everyone! I’ve been asked many times by friends, family and other students why I chose to study at Warwick; and with the UCAS deadline looming, I thought I’d answer this question. Like most people, I started researching universities via league tables and out of the ones which ranked well, I looked on their websites to learn more about the course content. After narrowing my choices down to about 6 universities, I attended their open days which gave me a chance to travel across the country and visit a range of places. Overall, I chose Warwick because after attending the offer holder day, I felt I would thrive and grow as a person here, whilst I found the course content fascinating. I’ve summarised these reasons in more detail below:

The course:

The best advice I got when looking at universities was from my Dad who told me to “follow the course”. I didn’t fully realise the importance of this until I started at Warwick but I am so glad I based my decision on the course content as I’m actually find learning and revision enjoyable. Economics degrees vary a lot amongst universities. At Warwick, Economics is a BSc (so it is more mathematical and practical based compared to BAs which are more essay and theoretical based). In addition, module choices within an Economics degree vary amongst universities. In my first year I studied: Quantitative Techniques (which consists of: Mathematics, Statistics and Computing), Macroeconomics, Microeconomics and The World Economy: History and Theory). First year modules are pretty standard across universities but at Warwick in your third year you choose from many different optional modules which count towards 75% of your degree. Therefore, I’d highly recommend looking at second and third year optional modules available, which can generally be found on university websites.

Gut feeling:

Although I attended open days at different universities which enabled me to see the residences and study facilities, I don’t think they were the best representation of a university as my favourite ones tended to be the places which gave out the best freebies and the days when it was extremely sunny. On the other hand, the offer holder day at Warwick was extremely useful as I experienced what a typical day as a student would be like by having taster lectures, and seeing campus on a typical day (unlike the open days which are held once term ends so there are no students around). I loved every second of the offer holder day and it instantly clicked that I wanted to study here. I was more excited than ever to start learning about Economics beyond A-level and I thought I would fit in well here. From this day on, my goal was to get the grades to get into Warwick so my Dad bought me a Warwick hoodie from the gift shop for motivation to wear when I revised for my A-levels. The photo below was taken on my offer holder day nearly two years ago with my new jumper in curiositea (a coffee shop on campus where I get my white hot chocolate fix from)!

Below I’ve also included a couple of factors I didn’t consider before choosing Warwick but I’d recommend thinking about them:

Location/ Campus University:

Warwick is a campus university which has enabled me to experience the best of both worlds. It’s about 2.5 hours away from Preston (my hometown) and there’s a direct train Coventry to Preston which is great. Last year being on campus was the perfect transition between moving away from home and living off campus in second year as I learnt to become independent. There is a lot on campus including: a post office, pharmacy, hairdresser, restaurants, cafes, a bar, cinema, arts theatre, gym, sports facilities, societies, parks, travel agents, grocery store and it is just 10 minutes walk to Cannon Park (a shopping centre with a huge Tesco). Second year students normally live off campus; either walking distance from the University or in Coventry or Leamington Spa. This year I’m living in Leamington which I’m enjoying even more than last year!

Support:

I have definitely become a better version of myself since being at Warwick and this has a lot to do with the support from other students and staff. Academic support includes: revision cafes where we can ask tutors any queries we may have; office hours where tutors and lecturers dedicate time for you to go to their offices and ask for help, and an online forum (howcloud) where you can post questions which are generally replied to quickly. The careers services are also amazing. I’ve had a couple of meetings with the Economics Careers advisor (Stephanie Redding) who has helped me with applications for internships and helping me realise my strengths and weaknesses. I also can’t recommend the wellbeing services enough, including the counselling drop in sessions and mindfulness/ meditation sessions.

I’d highly recommend researching the course content beforehand and attending an offer holder day. I’m finding university an amazing experience and I can’t believe how quick time is flying by! I finish my first term as a second year next week and I am enjoying every moment (despite having three tests and a lot of revision left to go). It’s a good job I listened to my Dad and followed the course I loved 😉

See you all soon 🙂 x