Study Destinations Series
Prospective students do not realize that it is equally important to choose a college or university town or city (or even village or town), before you choose an institution of your choice. In fact choosing a study destination is almost like choosing a holiday destination. But you see, tourists have a shorter stay at their holiday destination than student tourist. In my case, I ended becoming a 15 years student tourist in Bellville and Cape Town. So really, the first thing to do when choosing a study destination is to do a thorough research on the city, town, township, village or hamlet you wish to choose as your study destination.
Conducting your research about your study destination (just like you would do with a holiday destination) means checking out everything including the cost of travelling to and from your place of study at the beginning of the year and during school holidays almost for three to five years or even more. Today a travel by bus from Pretoria to Cape Town would cost about R1000 return or R3000 return by air-travel. So is it a cost you cannot afford to study at any of the coastal student cities of Cape Town or Port Elizabeth or East London or Durban or Richards Bay the next three years or more? Can your parents afford that costs?
When I chose to study at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in Bellville near Cape Town, little did I realize as mentioned above that Cape Town was going to be my new home for almost fifteen years including studying, working and even starting a new family there!
But my memories of Cape Town as world class tourist destination made me realize that in choosing my alma mater UWC, I was not only choosing a university, but also choosing a study destination which became my home for almost one and half decades.
Whilst Bellville was not a great university town to live and learn in, its proximity to Cape Town and all its tourist attractions shaped my life memory and world view to what it is today. The University of the Western Cape was (and will always be) a great place to be: A place of great intellectual growth and shaping of my ideology and philosophy to life and community. A place where I met great teachers and friends who have profoundly shaped my humanity. A place where I touched the hand of Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Chris Hani. Where I shared an audience with Mohammed Ali, Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Even if I was given an opportunity to choose the University of Cape Town with its picturesque backdrop of the Table Mountain and scenic views of Robben Island and the vastness of the Atlantic Oceans from the steps of the Jameson Great Hall. Or offered a place to study at the University of Stellenbosch nestled between the vineyards and the majestic Outeniqua Mountain range, I would have still chosen UWC (or Bush, as it was fondly called), as my university of choice and Bellville South as my study destination.
Other research questions include things that we take for granted like the weather. If you grew up in Pretoria with its moderate winter season, you do not want to choose a study destination with extreme winter conditions like Grahamstown (Rhodes University) or Bloemfontein (UFS, CUT, Motheo College) where it is extremely cold in winter like at the University of the Free State and Maluti College in Phuthaditshaba. Those who have studied at the North West University in Vanderbijlpark, Tlokwe and Mahikeng campuses will tell you how extremely cold the winters can be. Cape Town is notorious for its wet and rainy cold winters from May to August.
Another important factor is that of affordability: is private accommodation and cost of living affordable at the study destination of your choice. Life can be extremely tough in big metropolitan student cities like Pretoria Joburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London, Bloemfontein and Nelspruit. Even if you have NSFAS or a government or corporate bursary, you will still need pocket money from your parents or family to maintain quality living at these study destinations.
When I was at the University of the Western Cape, I was lucky to get a job in my first year as a student mentor/tutor because of my teaching qualification. So the extra third-stream income really mitigated against the high cost of living in Bellville/Cape Town. But imagine being a first year in a faraway college or university town without additional financial support from parents? It is often lack of financial support that contributes to student failure. Or young girls to enter transactional relationships (exchange of sex for cash) with older students or men.
Yes, ultimately it`s your choice (and that of your parents), to choose an appropriate study destination. But do think about these factors in doing so. My advice? Matric students from the City of Tshwane should really consider studying in Tshwane as their first choice. I think the City of Tshwane is the best study destination in South Africa and has the best institutions that offer every possible career option from aviation to zoology.
With two TVET Colleges (Tshwane North and South Colleges) that can register up to 25,000 students each you can pursue a successful vocational career at these two public colleges. The four public universities (University of Pretoria, University of South Africa, Sefako Makgatho University and Tshwane University of Technology) collectively have study spaces for about 450,000 students at its various campuses across the City of Tshwane (including campuses in Mamelodi, Ga-Rankuwa and Soshanguve).
The City of Tshwane also have a lot of vocational academies (SAPS Academy, SANDF Academy, Nursing Colleges, etc) where prospective students can study. There are also many other private colleges (Damelin, Varsity College, etc) in and around the suburbs of the City of Tshwane.
So, explore and consider the City of Tshwane as your first and only premiere study destination before considering unfamiliar and unaffordable destination.
