It’s something that is extremely important, especially for the next four years. In the long term, choosing between some of the best universities for Computer Science in the county is not going to make or break my career prospects if all else remains the same. But whichever I go to will be my home for at least three years – if I don’t enjoy it, it’s going to suck.

I’ve tried rationalising it all with numbers, but that’s the problem really – Numbers are, in this case, no replacement for good old gut instincts. I know what you’re thinking: “You’ve not even applied yet! You don’t even have to choose your five until September!” (October if my AS results are sub-Cambridge standard, in which eventuality the five would choose themselves thanks to the lack of Cambridge)

But it’s something I can’t help thinking about. Oh well. The provisional order is thus:

1. Cambridge
2. Manchester
3. Durham
4. York
5. Bristol

From my point of view though, the more I think about Cambridge the less appealing it seems really. I mean, why do I want to apply other than the university snobbery? It’s more than just a name, but if I graduate with a First Class Honours degree from Manchester, Durham or Bristol it’s not going to make the slightest bit of difference.

My favourite course is Manchester’s or Durham’s, depending how much weighting we give to the Industrial Placement, and I like Durham most out of all these cities with Cambridge and York close seconds. I like the idea of a collegiate uni (i.e. Cambridge and Durham) though ideally, I’d want to be close enough to home that I can visit but far enough away that I’m not expected to often.

Then there’s costs to factor in, but I can find no consistent standard to compare them all to. I really don’t know what to think really. So tell me, what do you think? Any comments are much appreciated.

~ Godders.

Thursday began at 5am, getting up to go to Bath University. Now, I fully expected to love Bath, but it left me feeling a bit flat to be honest. It had none of the buzz that seems to accompany the cities with old universities, and they spent far too long trying to sell me the sports facilities and not enough time trying to sell me their course. The city itself is pleasant, but a bit too hilly and a bit too touristy. I’m fairly sure it’s not going to have a place in my Top 5 universities even if any prospects of getting into Cambridge go down the drain.

On Friday, I went to Bristol and visited the university there too. Wouldn’t have made any sense to have two 5+ hour journeys when I can visit both. I really liked Bristol – it’s undergone a large urban rejuvenation quite recently and there’s plenty to do. I was annoyed when we went into the Arnsdale Centre and the second shop on the left was a perfume store though (allergies, how I love them so.) but I’ll remember to avoid that entrance if I’m ever there again.

On Friday evening, we went over the Severn and visited my Nan in Wales. I adore Mid Wales, even if there’s no internet, no decent TV and hardly any phone connection to be found. Unfortunately, I was stuck inside all day watching tennis because the weather was horrible.

On Saturday, we wandered down into the town nearest to my Nan’s to do a bit of shopping. Nan suffers from arthritis, so my mum goes down every other weekend to help with the everyday things that she’s beginning to find difficult.

Sunday was a little boring, I basically just sat in front of the TV all day once we were back in Yorkshire. Still, it’s all a bit hectic at 6th Form at present so it was a welcome break.

Today was… chaotic to say the least. Which is strange considering I only had an hour’s worth of lessons all day. Computing in Periods 1 and 2, which I used doing some coursework and then messing around in Fireworks (whoops).

In Periods 3 and 4, we had a talk on Research Skills and using the 6th Form’s library, which was obviously thrilling. Then, in Period 5 a bunch of us had to go get the bus into Leeds for a visit to the Brotherton and Edward Boyle libraries (part of Leeds University), which we’ve been granted access to for our Extended Projects. I’d have been impressed except the Computer Studies and Mathematics sections were relatively tiny.

Then, I had to come back to Hecky for Hockey practice, which in this kind of heat was a bit unpleasant. And I bashed my knee falling over like an idiot.

I find it slightly outrageous how we’re actually scheduled for lessons at the moment, it’s utterly pointless. I missed 80% of today’s lessons, I’m going to visit Durham University tomorrow and then from Wednesday lunch onwards we have the Challenge of Management course, which then consumes Thursday and Friday. That makes a whopping four hours of lessons in total over a whole week. And then there are people who aren’t actually in for a single day next week. Pointless.

So, there may or may not be an update tomorrow, pending on how knackered I am after visiting Durham. I’m really looking forward to it though.

~ Godders.

(PS: Over 600 words on a blog post. Five thousand for my Extended Project seems like nothing at all, haha.)

I’m Godders. I’m an A-level student at the 6th Form of Heckmondwike Grammar School. I study Maths, Further Maths, Computing and Physics. I studied Chemistry to AS-Level but there’s not a force on earth that can make me take it any further than that.

In terms of hobbies, I like to sing, code, and procrastinate from doing real work. Though I’m going to do something about that last bit. I also play far too much in the way of computer games and listen to music 24/7. Of course, most of you will know this already.

The title of this blog, Like The Angel, is a reference to my favourite band on the planet, Rise Against. They’re amazing, and you should listen to something by them right away.

Today, I went to the Open Day at Manchester University. The talks about Accommodation and Student Finance were boring but informative, and the talk on Computer Science was great. Still, I’ve only got Cambridge to compare it to thus far, so I’m not sure where it’ll fit in my list. Also, I’m generally unsure about if I want to study Computer Science by itself, or with Mathematics.

And that will do for this moment in time. More thrilling posts to follow!

~ Godders.