Why I'm so glad I did a foundation year as part of my Chemistry degree

Like many students in the UK, Nadia started her degree with a foundation year. In this blog she tells us how she really benefited from that extra year.  

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do 
Like a lot of students, I didn't know what I wanted to study at university while I was in sixth form, before I began my degree. But I did know that I wanted it to be STEM related. When it came to support and advice, my school was not very helpful, and I even ended up taking a gap year to help me decide. To help me choose what I wanted to study for a degree, I checked on every website under the sun. When I came across Queen Mary's page on science degrees one day and saw the chemistry foundation year, I knew it was the programme for me. As soon as I could, I applied, and when I learned I had been accepted on results day, I was overjoyed. 

I really didn't know what to expect
I had no idea what to expect from the course, and because it was offered online due to the pandemic, I also had no idea who else was doing it. The truth is that doing everything online at first was rather nerve-wracking, but as you get used to it, it becomes fun.

There's a real emphasis on developing transferable skills
The course teaches you many skills that you can apply later on for your degree. I gained formal essay writing skills, for instance. University essay writing differs greatly from high school essay writing. I had to create a 1500-word article for one of my modules but had no idea how to do it because I didn't even know what referencing was. Fortunately, my course lecturer went over how to write an essay with quoting, referencing, etc. in depth, and it was simple. You can apply a lot of the other things you learn in your foundation year later in your degree. The foundation year served as a sort of introduction to what your chemistry degree would entail. 

Lab time was great for meeting people
After the restrictions were lifted and the world was somewhat going back to normal, the school gave us permission to visit to complete a lab so that we could get a basic understanding of the what the practical part of our degree would be like. As it is the most engaging and interactive part of the degree, labs are where you can make the majority of your friends in your chemistry course, at least for me. Since all I could see on my screen were names, it was interesting to see everyone who was enrolled in the course.  I was able to strike up conversations with strangers and make some friends with whom I am now close.

Foundation year gives you an all-round education in the sciences
Another thing to keep in mind is that I had no idea that chemistry involved a lot of maths and physics. The foundation year definitely helps since you have some physics modules if, like me, you didn't study physics in high school. Additionally, you can apply the knowledge you gain to following physical chemistry courses in your degree programme.   

All in all, the foundation year helped me get a good start on my chemistry degree. Because it differs from sixth form, the foundation year teaches you how to balance the work you must undertake at university. In my first and second years, I went over the lessons I learned in my foundation year in great depth, which helped me completely comprehend them.  I have no regrets about deciding to take the foundation year