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Dealing with the nightmare of course selection

Living

Research show drivers are most obnoxious on Mondays. Do you agree??

It is the season of selecting courses and a high school student recently called to ask me how she should go about it. She asked if I can also write on the topic.

Kenya is one of the countries where very few students get to pursue a course of their dreams at University level. The Joint Admissions Board (JAB) and its successor Kenya University and College Central Placement Service (KUCCPS) have been dream killers since very few students get a course of their dreams.

In the past, placement was tied down to bed-capacity and many students owing to their poor background rarely succeeded in getting their dream choice; unless they scored a straight A of course.

KUCCPS's in a bid to amend the misdeeds of JAB, says it seeks to establish a criteria to enable students access the courses for which they applied taking into account the student's qualifications and listed priorities, but it is always a big ask, given the limited resources.

Given the limited number of 'good' universities, limited number of opportunities for the prestigious courses, it helps if a student can be a realist in his or her selections. It is one thing to want a Bachelor of Commerce from University of Nairobi and another getting it as a government sponsored student. So when selecting, you can pick University of Nairobi as your first choice, but ensure the second choice is the next best university that you want.

Secondly, be rational in your choices. Now, a university degree is just that and where you get it hardly counts if it is accredited. But legacy institutions still have an upper hand. So limit your choices to universities with some history and reputation. Sometimes a 'bad' course in a good university is better than a 'good' course in a university with no proven record.

Also, universities in towns, will give you a better head start. The bigger the town, the better as I pointed out in a previous column.

Research show drivers are most obnoxious on Mondays. Do you agree??

Lastly, always follow your heart. Nature has a way of rewarding those who persist (within reason) with what they want. Don't settle for less. Aim for the sky, but be ready to settle even in the clouds.

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