Falmouth University as an Insurance Choice: When things don't go to plan

This piece was written by Sustainable Tourism Management BA(Hons) student Lowri about joining Falmouth as her Insurance choice.

Decision-making can prove difficult at every stage in life, however making choices related to higher education can often be the first ‘important’ decision for many to make, including me. Occasionally, a few spanners can be thrown in the works along the way, throwing plans up in the air.

Personally, I’ve always liked to have a plan and consider myself a chronic perfectionist because of this! So, when my initial plans for university changed over the course of the application and acceptance period, I found navigating this to be difficult and I was unsure of how the future would look in this respect.

Firstly, I had always had my sights set on a Geography degree, as this was what I enjoyed and excelled in most during school and I was really excited by a niche Geography course offered by Edinburgh University. With what I thought was a straight-forward plan in mind, I worked hard to achieve all the grades for this course and crafted a personal statement I was proud of. Of course, I had to consider other universities and did so. However, Falmouth University was not one I had heard of at home until I visited Cornwall with family during my gap year. The Sustainable Tourism Management course was new to me, but still ticked some boxes in terms of niche Geography related subjects. With my mind set on my first choice, I didn’t give my other choices the consideration or time that I should have in hindsight.

Moving through the University process, I received all of my offers successfully aside from my first choice which was still undetermined. My only interview was with Falmouth, and I enjoyed the process of meeting the course leader and hearing more about the course in detail. Shortly after, I received an unconditional offer and I was thrilled, deciding on Falmouth as my insurance choice, as I was still awaiting a decision on my top choice. Over the coming weeks, I decided it best to visit Falmouth whilst still feeling in a limbo. I was surprised to find myself liking the campus and town of Falmouth, so when the dreaded UCAS email came with the declined decision from Edinburgh I felt reassured after my recent visit. I was of course upset to have been rejected, as a perfectionist coming from an academic sixth form, this was a hard pill to swallow!

Adopting a positive mindset in response to the change of my plans, Falmouth was no longer my insurance choice and after receiving my welcome packs and information, excitement started to build looking forward to this next chapter. Since the first week, I soon realised that everything has worked out for the best; not only was Falmouth better connected to my hometown of Cardiff, but the fantastic coastline and tight-knit student community here was actually better suited to me. In terms of the academic side of university, my course is smaller than most in the UK, meaning I have greater guidance and relationships with academic staff & peers, and it is a very transferable and simultaneously niche course. Looking back, I am so glad Falmouth has been my home away from home for the past 2 years and believe my success as a soon-to-be graduate could not have been achieved without all of these factors.

So, if your plan is thrown off course, preparing for a different avenue may pay off, as it could be the best decision you never made! It certainly was for me, as I now move away to complete a Masters course, I will always consider Falmouth to have played a key part to my success and positive university experience.