Most students dream of studying one particular subject at university. As a result, they apply to many universities with this one specific course. However, what about the students whose goal is to study at a particular university regardless of the subject? Maybe they just love the campus of one specific university and just can’t imagine having to study anywhere else. Are they able to apply for multiple different courses at the same university? To increase their chances at studying at their dream campus?
The simple answer to this question is yes. You can apply to multiple courses at the same university. Theoretically you could use all of your five choices with UCAS to apply to one university. However, this may be difficult to do so, as your personal statement will have to cover all of the courses you are applying for.
If you want to find out more about applying to multiple courses at the same university and how you are able to do this, check out the rest of this article!
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How do you apply to multiple courses at the same university?
It is true that you can apply for multiple courses at the same university, as shown by this page from the Complete University Guide. However, don’t be thinking that the application process is any different!
You can apply to the different courses in the same way that you would apply to courses from different universities – most easily done through UCAS. All you need to do is to create an application on UCAS in the same way as everybody else.
Then all you need to do is to select up to five different courses (in this case, these would all be at the same university) and submit your application after you have filled everything out. If you want to discover in more detail how you actually create a university application through UCAS, check out this article from the UCAS website.
Can you apply for completely different courses when applying at the same university?
When applying for multiple courses at the same university, they all have to be separate courses, as you are unable to apply to the same course twice, using the same application. As a result, if you want to use all of your five course choices at the same university, you need to make sure that they are all different.
You don’t have to use all of your five choices when applying with UCAS – you can choose less! However, you can only choose a maximum of five. This is discussed in more detail in this article from Think Student.
These courses can be similar to each other however, and this may be a useful strategy. This is because you have to write a personal statement as part of your application.
Universities expect your personal statement to be specific to the course that you want to study. This can be difficult when applying for five completely different courses, as you will be unable to show the university your passion for every course in only 4000 characters!
If you do want to discover how to write a personal statement for multiple courses, check out this article from UCAS for some tips. Alternatively, this article from Think Student has some useful, general advice for how to write a personal statement.
Why would you apply to multiple courses at the same university?
Some students feel set on studying at one particular university. As a result, they don’t give other universities a chance!
Instead, they make a beeline for their chosen university and use up all of their choices on this one particular university. Therefore, some students may apply to multiple courses at the same university just because they think their chosen university is superior to any others.
The different courses that a student applies to at one university may all be similar to each other. As a result, the lecturers could overlap. Consequently, if a student would like to be taught by a particular lecturer, they may apply to similar multiple courses at the same university to increase this chance.
It is true that some universities are more popular than others. Check out this article from Think Student if you want to discover the most popular universities in the UK.
Should you apply to multiple courses at the same university?
Many students may think that applying to multiple courses at the same university is a good thing. After all, you are showing that you really want to go to this particular university. Your determination to get into this one university means you are more likely to be accepted, right?
However, this is not the case! According to this article from The Uni Guide, universities don’t see applying to multiple courses at the same university as a positive thing. This is because it shows that the applicant is not committed to one course.
As a result, they are less likely to be chosen because less passion and focus will be shown in their personal statement about one particular course subject. Therefore, it is not recommended to apply to multiple courses at the same university. This is also true for applying to completely different courses at different universities!
Instead, you are more likely to be accepted if you focus on one particular course and then apply to multiple universities with the same course. Consequently, your personal statement will be tailored to this one course, so you will have a greater chance of getting into university!
Can you study multiple courses at the same time in one university?
It may technically be possible for you to study multiple courses at the same university at once. However, some universities may actively forbid you from doing so. For more information about this, check out this article from Think Student.
Trying to complete multiple degrees at university would be an extremely difficult task. Some courses require students to complete a high workload anyway.
As a result, trying to complete more than one course could lead to an astronomical amount of work. You probably could attempt to do two degrees at the same time. However, this would be extremely taxing on you!
If you do want to study two different subjects, there are other options that you can take. For example, you could study a joint honours degree. This basically enables you to study two completely different subjects!
However, less content will be learned for each one, compared to whether you took one of the subjects on their own. You can find out more about dual degrees and whether you can take multiple university courses at the same time if you check out this article from Think Student.
How do you decide which course to take at university if you have multiple options?
As you have already read, it is not the best thing to apply to multiple courses at the same university. However, what do you do if you can’t decide which course, you actually want to take?
The best thing you can do if you ever in this predicament is to research! Thoroughly investigate which courses you are interested in to find out what exactly is involved in each one. Once you have done this, it can be useful to create a pros and cons list for each course or subject.
For example, how do you prefer being assessed? If you enjoy writing essays and like to be assessed via written exams, then choose a course which employs these teaching methods. However, if you enjoy being taught and assessed in a more practical way, consider a course which is more practical based.
Think about every aspect of each course and compare them all together. Eventually, you should find a winner. For more tips on how to find the best course for you, check out this article from Save the Student.
Alternatively, check out this article from Think Student to understand how you will know whether a course is right for you or not.