• Be informed – good decision making is a blend of Emotion & the right Information.

• Tell your family & friends about your choices –  the more you explain and talk, the clearer you (and they) will be that you’re heading in the right direction.

• Choose for you –  try to picture yourself on your favourite course.   If you’re happy you’re more likely to be motivated regardless of where your friends are.

• Be optimistic and real – go for your dream choice and have back-up plans which may get you to the same goal via a different route.

• Be true  –  knowing your preferences and how these tie-in to your talents & strengths is the key to making the right choice for you.

You may have a good idea what you’re going for but have you thought everything through, the why? Remember to consider the following:

What’s influencing you choice, how do you like to learn? Are you more;

• Idealistic               or          Realistic
• Academic             or          Vocational
• Theoretical           or          Applied

• For the Joy of Learning   or  for learning focused on the Job/Career
• If you’d mostly prefer those on the left it might indicate a broad open ended course or would you be best suited to those on the right with a definite more practical or professional qualification

Don’t forget to consider other things like;

• Does the course include an internship or period of work experience and, what will you get from it
• What specific degree outcomes are available
• Will you have to do further studies or a postgrad course to make yourself employable
• If so what are the most likely pg options and what grade of degree is required
• On completion what specific career paths are open to you

Tease out these issues, talk them over and you’ll make a better choice.

• Choose for you, forget about others for now;  Try to imagine yourself doing your preferred course, if you’re happy in the course you’re doing you are more likely to be motivated and successful regardless of where your friends are – you will still meet up socially and remember in order to be successful you must create new friendships wherever you go in life, so start now.

• If the financial reality is that you cannot attend a preferred course in a specific uni/college  then choose something similar which you can do now and see it as a route to moving on & upwards to your dream choice at a later stage.

• Be consistent in your choices;  if you don’t get your preferred option directly, what alternate courses could you take to get to the same end goal?  There are always alternative routes…

• Be Optimistic and Realistic;  go for your dream choice and have back-up plans if that doesn’t work out.

• Discuss your options with your family, friends, guidance counsellor & related subject teacher.  The more you talk about, explain & articulate you choice and your reasoning the more you’re likely to be heading in the right direction.  You will be clearer and more focused.

• Be informed.  Decision making is a blend of the right information, self knowingness & emotion

• Be true to you;  knowing your particular learning preferences, yourself and how these build on your unique talents & strengths is the key to making the right choice.

1. Take Control
   Imagine your future is like a bus journey. So far you’ve been looking out & enjoying the views as a passenger or perhaps you’ve been preoccupied with other stuff or maybe just watching the world as it passes by – either way you haven’t really been focused on where you’re going. Now would be a good time to look ahead. You need to get into the drivers seat, plan a route and concentrate on the road ahead.
2. Be your own Satnav
   Let your inner guidance system tell you whether you are going in the right direction. Where to from here? Which road should you be on? By what means will I get there?
3. Empower yourself
   You know, check out the Uni/Col prospectus, website, maybe their calendar or other college & career choice literature – this might include specialist or even professional publications. Read it, think about it and talk about it. The writer John McGahern had it right when he said “We’re all oppressed by ignorance, knowledge gives us power”. Be empowered.
4. Get the full picture
   Read the course description but do more than that – get the full course detail. Look up or request the Module Information and
   Choice/Options – usually this can be accessed via the Faculty web page> then course description> then Module Info section. What are the entry requirements, check them out? Some colleges don’t provide this information online or it can be hard to find so you might have to request it by email or phoning directly – don’t be afraid, most will be happy to help you.Look at the kind of stuff you’ll be studying, their teaching methods and how you will be assessed. Are there any other features of the course such as opportunities for work placement or study abroad?Make your open day visit productive by planning in advance – which talks and where, what questions would you like answered from your visit? Don’t be afraid to talk to current students. This detailed information may prove crucial in your decision to take it or not.
   Remember the 3 R’s Research, Research, Research.
5. Free Yourself
   Take responsibility for your decision, you’ll enjoy the fruits of your efforts. This means you need to recognise that only you can do the leg work. Give yourself time to talk to family & friends and discuss your plans. This is essential to choosing your own destiny.
6. Choose something you’re suited to.
   If a course isn’t suitable for you then you won’t work as hard and it follows that you’ll get less out of it. Howard Gardner in ‘Frames of Mind; the Theory of Multiple Intelligences’ stresses the importance of having a viable model of oneself. Honestly assess your strengths and your level of interest & patience for what’s involved.
7. Be Prepared
   One of the main reasons students give for dropping out of courses is that they didn’t realise they would be studying certain subjects, subjects which they had little interest or ability in. They were unprepared. If they were like farmers it’d be like neglecting to till the land. What do you need to do to be best prepared? Take control and plan where you’re going for the next few years.
8. Check out the Landscape
   Let’s say all courses can be represented as branches on the ‘tree of knowledge’. Stand back and take a walk around. Can you visualise which branches you’re more likely to be sitting on? Have you identified what the attraction is for you? Make sure you have a genuine interest rather than just a curiosity for something that sounds interesting or exciting. Base your decision on facts and a true
   understanding of what’s involved.
9. Life is like an adventure
   Your attitude towards this adventure largely dictates your level of success and satisfaction. You can choose to see it this way or pretend otherwise. Surely this recent economic meltdown reminds us that things are constantly changing and the world is less controllable or predictable that we thought. So we need to have a more flexible, adaptable and dare I say adventurous approach to managing the issues, tasks, problems & opportunities of today and tomorrow. This approach will make your journey more fun & enjoyable.
10. Seize the Opportunity
    Choosing is an opportunity for self autonomy. Self autonomy is important if you’re going to carry it through and
    succeed. Prepare for and make a conscious decision. See it as your opportunity and take responsibility for activating that choice. It’s up to you to prepare yourself, no one else can or will do it for you. So go on get started, now.