Orientation: What do you want to be?

Choosing a program of university studies which is adapted to your talents, fits your personality and which you really enjoy, will guarantee you success in your studies. Thus, it is important that you know yourself well.

The best indicator for evaluating certain personal qualities is generally your academic transcript. Analyzing your performance in the subject areas which are directly or indirectly related to the university studies which most interest you, and talk with your teachers and counselors, since these people can help you as well.

Creativity, initiative and personal responsibility are other personal qualities which you need to keep in mind when you are deciding between one or another program of university studies. These are qualities which, without a doubt, you will develop more deeply during your time at the University.

Sometimes, knowing what you really want to do with your life is not as easy as it looks. This is especially true when you don't know all the alternatives. In these cases, you need information that will stimulate your curiosity.

In general, you can determine your preferences or interests from two points of view:

• Interest in the contents of a particular degree program. For example, if you currently have a special interest in Biology, one of your options for study may be the Licentiate Degree in Biology. If you determine your preferences based on this option, it is important that you know the professional opportunities offered by the degree program you find most attractive. For more information, a good source to consult are the family members or friends who have taken this degree program. In addition, it is important that you take advantage of the opportunities which are offered for making contact with professionals or University professors.
• Interest in certain professional areas. If what attracts you is working in a given professional area, for instance, the world of business, become informed about the various options that may give you the skills you need for exercising your chosen profession.

In case you don't have a clear idea about your interests, try to find an answer in the professions of the people that you know best. Look around you. Ask your family members and friends. Find out the professional trajectory of the persons you admire most. Look in the communications media. Exercise your curiosity. Sometimes, the solution is closer than you imagine.

It is a good idea to understand that the main factors for success in a university degree program are the effort and dedication invested by the student. The motor that will propel you during your university studies will be your interest in the program of studies and in the professional career you will undertake.

Your years at the University will be key for developing and forging your personality and basic professional skills. The professional opportunities available for a given degree program are important, but your attitude during your period of university studies is yet more important. The reality is that degree programs don't provide opportunities; rather, it is persons who have opportunities. The university is much more than "job training skills." It is the beginning of a personal and professional path in life.

There are many more professions than there are degree programs. Become informed, analyze what is available, ask questions. Try to discover which careers are most attractive to you, but don't close any doors "a priori." Open them instead.

In addition, it is necessary to know that you should not take the rankings of offer and demand for university degrees too seriously. In reality, when a business or other institution decides to employ a person, the criteria of evaluation depend heavily on the applicant's initiative, creativity, ability to work in teams, their vocation to service... these are qualities that do not depend on the degree program chosen, but rather come from the activity and attitude of the person.

Taking a decision without adequate information increases your possibilities of making a mistake. Look for and request information on the degree programs that interest you.The Internet, your local library and the career counselor at your school are excellent sources of information. Collect information on each degree program in a systematic manner: what its subject matter is, how long it lasts, the profile of its students, class hours, difficulty, professional opportunities... Analyze the information, compare it and ask questions. Don't keep yourself in the dark!

The level of difficulty and dedication required can vary greatly between degree programs and universities. In addition, the degree of difficulty of each subject matter has a large subjective component: the natural talent, vocation or interest that each person has for that discipline.

Nevertheless, the time that must be dedicated to the class, including homework, can be measured in rough terms as follows:

• A subject matter considered "difficult", with 5 class hours per week, may require between 7 and 8 hours of individual study per week.
• A subject matter of medium difficult, taught 4 hours per week, is likely to require another 4 hours of individual study per week.
• A simple subject matter, with few class hours per week, will require between one and a half and two hours per week of individual study.

In recent years, thanks to the current configuration of the university system, it is possible to take degree programs that allow the study to obtain two degrees. In general, dual degree programs broaden the professional opportunities of the study, but in turn require a larger degree of personal capacity and dedication.

Analyze your profile and evaluate whether it is worth while to invest your efforts in a dual degree program, or if it is better for you to choose a single degree program, complementing it with language study, study abroad, cultural and volunteer activities, graduate studies or specialization itineraries...

Choosing the right degree program is not easy. Therefore it is very important that, once you have compiled all of the information that you need, you know how to use it. Some advice:

• Seek an equilibrium between your interests and your capacities. Your preferences, that is, you professional vocation, will help you to increase your performance during your study. Nevertheless, you must also evaluate whether your talents and capacities reach the minimum level required for taking on certain areas of study.
• Compare your secondary school courses to the contents of the degree programs. If you have a hard time drawing parallels, as in the case of Law or Nursing, try to analyze the contents of the courses of the degree program and base your decision on the interest which you have in the areas of knowledge and the professional opportunities that the degree program offers.
• If, on finishing the orientation process, you still have questions, you may choose a degree program which will train you in the global aspects of the area of study that most interests you. For instance, you may choose to study Biology, Humanities, Business Administration and Management, or Industrial Engineering; these are degree programs which allow you to choose a specialization later on.

Your guidance counselor or advisor from your local educational center can help you greatly during the process of choosing your degree program. Don't hesitate to consult them. They can offer you the best professional counseling.

If, in addition, you have the possiblity of directly contacting professionals in your areas of interest, or with university professors, take advantage of this opportunity!

In addition, you can request advising from our panel of specialists in educational psychology, by writing to the following email address:orientador@unav.es

What if I'm not admitted? Sometimes the decision about your university studies may need to wait until you find out whether you will be able to study the chosen degree program or not. In these cases, it will be clear that your decision is not yet sufficiently mature, an occurrence which can cause a student to to choose an incorrect degree program. It is important that you keep this point in mind. By showing interest in your future during your secondary school studies will help you to reach your objectives. Don't forget that your own personal dedication and interest will be the engine that will propel you through your university years.

It can also occur that, despite your having very clear ideas about what you want to study, you are not admitted due to not meeting the minimum grade point average or passing the admissions exams. In these cases, there is no single solution. Sometimes, it is advisable that you repeat the entrance exams the following year, and, meanwhile, you continue to work to improve your level of preparation. On other occasions, it can be recommendable that you choose another course of studies which is similar to what you originally wanted to study, but in a different program or university.

Each case is different. If you can, talk to your career counselor or academic advisor and take another look at the information you have collected during the entirety of this process.

A low student-teacher ratio does not always guarantee that you will receive personalized attention. The university itself must have developed a system of advising and orientation for the student.Your best bet: talk with students who are studying at that university you are interested in and ask them about the accessibility, helpfulness and the interest that the professors show in the students.

Internships are an important part of your university formation, and they help greatly in gaining access to the working world. It is advisable to perform internships both within and outside of the university.

Internships on campus: be sure to ask about the content and the focus of the internships offered, and request information about the university facilities: laboratories, workshops, simulation labs, etc. Get all the information you can, and visit the facilities if you are able!

Internships outside the university:Internships outside the university: whether you perform your internships in Spain or abroad, it is important to choose internships which meet your professional objectives, and/or which enable you to expand your horizons. In this regard, it is very helpful to speak with someone who is able to provide you with counseling and advising on the opportunities available.

From a given degree program, you can find employment in multiple professions. It is very useful, in this regard, that the university offer good advising on this topic.A high percentage of workplace insertion is a sign that the graduates of the university in question are highly valued in the job market.Ask about the career placement services offered by the university: advising, professional development programs, job boards, etc...

Computer labs, email, virtual hard drive, Internet access... today all of these things are absolutely necessary. Be sure that the university you are interested in offers you these tools without charge, and that it has sufficient computer resources for its students.A rapid way to check: visit the web pages of the university.

Studying outside of your home town means an important change in your life. It will involve a new situation which can contribute to the development of some aspects of your personality and your future professional skills. Don't follow the pack:choose the best environment for you.

Once you have chosen your university, you will need to find housing. A good choice will guarantee that you are in the best condition possible to take the maximum advantage of your time at the university. The choices are many and varied: halls of residence, university residences, living with a family, shared apartments, university clubs. Obtain information and ask for advice prior to choosing.

And, above all, don't forget to find out what the deadlines are for applying for admission to each university, its admissions requirements, etc. These will vary according to the university chosen.

Conferences, expositions, film series, theater, spiritual direction and volunteer activities, among others. The possiblity of participating in one or another of these activities is a sign that a given university is genuinely interested in your integral formation. You should also evaluate the opportunity to study one or two semesters abroad; this will round out your curriculum and contribute to your personal formation. Look to see which foreign universities (and in which countries) have agreements with the university you have in mind.

This is a highly important issue. Research is a sign of the "health" of the university. Research implies seeking to deepen and broaden one's knowledge. If, in addition, this research is undertaken in an ordered form and in harmony with the necessities of the social and business environment, the results will have a strong and positive repercussion on the quality of teaching.

University research is undertaken through doctoral dissertations, as well as through specific research projects. A strong tradition of research at an institution will be visible in the classroom. It is not the same to take direct part in studies on the Human Genome, as to have a professor lecture on the "History of the Human Genome".

What kinds of facilities does the university offer? Sports facilities, a good library, a language teaching center: these are means that will help you to study and to take better advantage of your free time. Also look at other aspects: how far is the university from where you live? Is the campus integrated, or are the university buildings spread out through the city? This last point is important for attending elective courses, since the necessity to travel large distances to other buildings may impede you in taking advantage of the elective courses offered; in addition, if the sports or library facilities are distant, they will also be harder to take advantage of.

Don't discount going to a good university just because it is more expensive. Analyze the various options for financial aid: scholarships and grants, both public and private, as well as the different manners of financing your studies with loans. If it is possible, request a personalized report about your possibilities for obtaining a scholarship or grant.

In order to obtain a more objective vision of the situation, be sure to evaluate, along with the price, the average time you will dedicate to your degree program, and the information available about workplace insertion. In the long run, you may come out ahead.