Lettie - Psychology Graduate

What do you study, and what made you want to pursue this? 

I have just graduated with a BSc in Psychology (Hons) with proficiency in Italian. I chose to study Psychology because I felt that this was something I had an innate interest in since I was younger - I have always been interested in the science of how things work, and understanding what makes people tick was no different. I initially set out on this path because I wanted to help people, however, along my self-actualisation journey, I realised that I would not make the best therapist, since I would take clients' problems home with me. However, since Psychology is a flexible degree, my door remains open and I have the space to explore various career options. 

How has your grief impacted your study?

My father passed away in the summer immediately following my foundation year.

There is no perfect timing when it comes to the untimely death of a parent at a young age, but I felt oddly fortunate that he passed at the beginning of the summer, as this gave me three months to begin to come to terms with what had happened. Since I did a foundation year, I still had my first year ahead of me, which again did not technically count towards my degree, and in some ways, I felt fortunate that it had not happened a year later when things were 'more serious.'

One thing I am still coming to terms with is graduating without him being able to see, as this is something that I wish I could share with him. 

What did your journey to this degree look like?

After not sitting my A-levels in the COVID summer of 2020, my grades were based on my mock A-level grades which I had not taken seriously. As a result, I got BCC, however I was fortunate to achieve an A in my EPQ. These grades were not ideal, and with my dream of Sussex University, I felt these visions were slipping through my fingers. Luckily, Sussex offers a foundation year for the Psychology degree, with lower entry requirements, which allowed me to get into Sussex. I am grateful to have done a foundation year, as this gave me more time to acclimate to university life, and I wouldn't change it for the world!

What is one piece of advice you would give someone looking to get into this field?

One piece of advice I would give to someone wanting to pursue psychology is that it helps to do psychology A-level, to provide some background knowledge of the subject. However, some of this was repeated in the foundation year. So, if you want to do a psychology degree, and have not done A-level psychology, a foundation year may be helpful.