How did you get into Business and Marketing?

My interest is in education - so my PhD is in History, but my undergraduate degree was in the economical faculty in ‘People Economy and Government International Relations’.

I’ve spent time working at different universities in different countries and after I spent some time working in a university in Cambodia, I went to University of Oxford to do some research on degree apprenticeships and that’s how I came to work here, at Pearson College London. I have a great interest in work integrated learning and research. I look after the Business Management and related programmes.

What's the best thing about your subject?

What I really love about these programmes is the flexibility within them. The way students can choose what they want to focus on, whether this is a range of topics or to specialise in a particular area. I think the way that we teach is really practical, which means students are well equipped for industry.

What I love teaching is the final project that you do at the end of your degree. This is where you can choose something that really interests you and is related to what you want to do for work. You can study that topic in depth and produce some high quality, original research.

What can applicant do to stand out on their UCAS application?

What we are looking for at Pearson College London is people who are motivated and have a genuine interest in their subject area. You can talk about clubs and societies, your part time job, or topics that you’ve read in newspapers or magazines.

We want to see that you’re motivated to study that topic and that you're hardworking. We also want to see that you are a problem solver and you're proactive. Here at Pearson College London, group work and teamwork are something that we value. Any instances where you’ve had to work with other people, it could be at school or college, we are interested to hear about it.
Making your application stand out is about being authentic and being true to yourself but demonstrating you’ve got some of those key skills that higher education providers are looking for.

Get someone to proofread your application, it’s important that spelling and grammar are good and that you’ve got a logically flow of ideas. Similarly, to when you’re being interviewed, you need to think about how you’re presenting yourself and are you speaking clearly?

What's one thing you wish you knew before you entered this industry or applied to do a degree?

I wish I’d had a greater appreciation of the rate of change and the way that things never stay the same. I wish I was more comfortable with uncertainty and knowing that things won't be perfect and that’s okay! Things like group work can be really challenging and again, that’s okay. You don’t have to be perfect at everything. What you must do is do your best and accept that you won’t know every answer.

When applicants are having their interview, should they say the same thing that they’ve written in their personal statements?

This is a great thing to do. Don’t assume that the person who’s interviewing you has read your personal statement. If they have, they may be interviewing a lot of people in one go and will have read a lot of personal statements. It never hurts to repeat yourself and reinforce those key skills.
The interviewer may ask questions about things they’ve seen in your application, so be prepared to talk about it. That means don’t make things up in your application!

Are there any general tips you would give to applicants if they’re confused about what to study or where to study?

If you’re not sure what to study, think about what interests you. That’s what I did, and it paid off for me. If you choose something that you enjoy spending time thinking about, you’re going to be in a much better position when you’re studying.
Choose an institution that mirrors your style of learning. Do you want to be somewhere bigger and more formal? Do you want to be somewhere smaller and more intimate? You’ve got to think about what really suits you as an individual learner and who's going to best meet your needs.

For more information about making your UCAS application, take a look at this webinar filmed with myself and current Business Management student Katie: