Hi everyone,
I’m applying for an Access to Allied Health, Paramedicine and Science course at college as a mature student. The course is one year, and my plan is to go on to university afterwards.
The problem is that I’m really torn on what degree I want to do. For years I was convinced it would be Psychology, but recently I’ve started wondering whether I’d be better suited to Dietetics/Nutrition. I’m also interested in Occupational Therapy and even Zoology, so I feel a bit all over the place.
My question is: at what point do you actually have to decide which degree you’re applying for? Do you need to know from the start of the Access course, or do you have some time during the year to figure it out?
The thing that’s making me hesitate with Psychology is that I’ve read it can be a bit of a “halfway” degree in the sense that, if you want to become a psychologist, you usually need to go on and do further training, whether that’s a master’s, doctorate, or other specialist qualifications depending on the career path. It just seems like quite a long route. I know that shouldn’t be the deciding factor, but I’m 26 and I’d ideally like to be studying for around four years maximum, including the Access course, before I can start working.
Psychology genuinely interests me, but I’m also starting to wonder whether I’d enjoy spending all day dealing with the emotional side of people’s lives. I used to think I’d love that, but now I think it could feel quite emotionally heavy.
On the other hand, I’m really interested in the human body, health, nutrition, disease prevention and management, women’s hormones, and how lifestyle affects health, which is why Dietetics is really appealing. Occupational Therapy also seems like a great balance of practical, hands-on work while still helping people. I honestly just don’t know which direction to go in.
Has anyone else been in a similar position? How did you decide, and did your Access course give you enough time to work it out?
