Choosing the right offer

As I mentioned in my previous post (Surviving UCAS), receiving an offer took a good long time. There’s nothing like the “Something has changed on your UCAS application”-email to make your heart skip several beats, and when I got the first one in mid-February, I very nearly had to go and lie down in a darkened room. That was from my second choice, and I was ecstatic! It proved my application wasn’t awful, and gave me hope for my first choice. The offer was conditional, I had to pass an IELTS test. I thought about it for a day or two, and came to the conclusion that my first choice would probably have the same condition if they sent me an offer, I promptly signed up for the test in March. I spent the next couple of weeks reading up on the town and even looking up flats near to the university (you can’t say I don’t research my options thoroughly!).
Then the second email arrived, along with one from the admissions officer of my first choice university. Hands shaking, I opened UCAS track, and caught sight of that glorious sentence: “The university or college has offered you an unconditional place”.

Now, I’d made my mind up earlier, so I clicked the “firm” button and that was that. HOWEVER I had nearly six months to mull over my choice. I’d been to Bath before, I’d read up on the course and past student experiences, gone through the virtual open day, and had compared it to my second choice prior to receiving any offers at all. This is not the case for all applicants, and I wouldn’t want to advocate making an on-the-spot choice like I did unless you had thought it through as long and hard as I had. So here’s some of the reasoning behind my choice:

• The course is Graphic Communication, offering a variety of different things to study during the first year, and with an option to specialise in illustration or a variety of other mediums in the second. The other courses I’d applied for were solely Illustration. 
• The first impression I had of the staff was helpful and genuine. Everyone I emailed seemed capable and understanding, no matter how many questions I had to ask. My second choice wasn't bad, but not in the same league. The third however was condescending and extremely unhelpful, so I binned it as soon as I had the first offer. I am a strong believer in going with one's gut feeling, and in this case that's definitely what I did.
• The facilities are modern, with appealing spaces for both studying and practical work. 
• I wanted to live and study in a highly cultural area. My other two choices were in Bristol and Brighton, both equally arty. 
• A safe place was a must. Bath is ranked as one of the safest cities for students in the UK, whereas Brighton and Bristol are lower down on the list. 
• Although marginally more expensive than Bristol, the price range for the type of flat I'm looking for, in the right area, isn't too bad. Brighton is heaps more expensive.
• As a dog owner the place needed to have good access to nice walks, and having spent a day walking around Bath, I knew there were some nice routes to take. The surrounding area is also beautiful. 
• The local dog community is very friendly and welcoming, as I discovered through their Facebook page. I’ve already joined in preparation for the move! 

Those were my priorities for the choice, but yours may be different. Take all yours into consideration before making a choice, because you'll want to go to the best possible place to study!