Higher Education Options..

I have been looking around for options to further my knowledge of Graphic Design. At first I wasn't liking the idea of going to university and moving away, so I thought I could stay at Canterbury College to study the HND in Graphic Design and Advertising. This has a duration of two years which covers all aspects of design, which I think will suite me as I'm not too sure which area I want to focus on yet.

However, I am in two minds about going to university. I would like to move away and have fresh start as I think this will help me to concentrate on my education as I wouldn't have as many distractions. On the other hand, I would like to stay near home so I can still see my friends and family.

I have researched some universities that could be a possibility. I started by using the course search on the UCAS website but from the descriptions of the courses you cant really tell if it is a good course or if the place is nice, without going to an open day. So I then searched in Google for some opinions of what people thought were the best universities for Graphic Design. From what some of the people were saying it seems that different universities have different reputations, and these reputations can make a difference when applying for jobs in the Graphic Design industry. It seems that the most popular university with the best reputation is Kingston University, London. I would apply for the BA (Hons) in Graphic Design but as this is a very popular college, I would imagine that it will be very hard to get accepted and the level is very high.

Another university that looks good and has good feedback is Nottingham Trent University. But I think this would be a bit too far as it is about a three hour drive from where I live. The course is a BA in Graphic Design, and like the others, covers a range of aspects.

I am still looking at universities and ordering perspectives as I haven't quite decided yet. I am going to go to some of the open days and do more research on the internet to help narrow down my options.

Other than higher education I was thinking about taking a gap year. I would then go to uni afterward. This would be to continue my driving lessons which I am struggling to pay for at the moment, as I would get a full time job for the year, and eventually pass my driving test. Then I would save up for a car as this would make it easier to get to and from uni. I would also buy DSLR camera as this would be very useful for my graphic design career. Also in the gap year, I would love to go traveling or work/volunteer abroad on my own. It would have to be something out of the ordinary and life changing, that would make a change in me. I think it would make me more independent and give me more confidence in myself. This would then help me with my ambition to be a graphic designer as I would have more confidence in my work and presenting it. A place that I would like to go is America as the people are friendly and it is a lovely place. I would also look into graphic design and advertising there as it would give me inspiration and ideas for when I came back. The DSLR camera would be greatly used to show my experience. However, the idea of a gap year is starting to fade as if I got a student loan for university, I could buy a DSLR and car out of it. And going abroad isn't something that I need, but would just be a great experience, and I could always do that in the summer holiday if I wanted to.