One of the universities that caught my eye was Southampton Solent University, where I found two courses that I wanted to look into.
When I visited Southampton, I passed the university and always wanted to look inside.
I liked the look of the Journalism course as students had access to the studios at the university and get hands on experience, allowing a deeper understanding of all the sectors within Journalism.
The course also gave students an opportunity to gain work experience and networking possibilities.
On the day of the open day, I was happy with what I saw. Everybody was very welcoming and happy to help.
The staff on the disability team ‘Access Solent’ was helpful and friendly, giving me useful information on their department and the university itself.
I decided upon going to Access Solent first – as I didn’t want to listen to the course lecture and get my hopes up if the access team wasn’t helpful.
When it came to the actual course lecture and meeting the tutors – I listened with rapt attention and the course was everything I expected and hoped. The theory and practice were of the right ratio for me.
The tutors however approached the course lecture in an unusual way. They briefed us on the course and took us to see the studios we would have access to, but the tutor who was giving us the information and the tour dropped several comments about his own life and experience. It soon became a lecture all about him as opposed to the course.
Then something even more strange is the tutor gave prospective students reasons not to choose Southampton Solent University.
Asking what other universities we had looked at and encouraging us to think about attending there.
But the thing that turned me off the course completely was at the end. Although, I didn’t want to believe this, I knew that my disability could prevent me from doing certain areas in the courses. I asked the tutor whether it would be a possibility.
The tutor hesitated and said that I couldn’t request help from others as that would be regarded as their work not my own.
So I ruled Southampton Solent University – Journalism out as a possibility.
Southampton Solent University – Media Culture & Production
Before leaving the Southampton Solent University open day, I bumped into the of the head of Creative Industries department at the university.
We relayed everything to him about the Journalism course. He apologised and asked to know about what my ambitions were and about me as a person.
After I told him I had interest in the media, but I wasn’t sure in which sector I wanted to specialise in yet, he suggested a course called Media, Culture and Production.
This course sounded great. I could study in all the different sectors. Video, Photography, Radio and Online.
In all these areas we would learn about the theory, then how to prepare for our projects. As an example, we would learn how to use the filming and sound equipment and put together paper work and then actually filming a video, then editing into a finished project.
In the first year we would cover units in all areas, then we would pick options in second year to allow us to get a better understanding of where we wanted to go.
There were also guest speakers coming in on a regular basis to share their knowledge and expertise.
This allowed us to get advice from people who worked in the industry, as they could help us get in touch with useful contacts for any possible work experience or a possible job opportunity.
Due to the fact the course covered the media in a broad sense it would increase my chances of employability.
Employers are more likely to hire someone who has multiple skills in all the sectors of the media rather than employ a lot of people to work in the individual sectors.
Though it was living away from home. This course at the university was a strong contender.
The Life of Sophie 