Picking a degree in Kenya is like adulting. At first, you can't help craving it. Can't help getting excited the closer it arrives. Once it does, though, things quickly take a turn for the worst.
Of course, there are people whose experience picking a degree in a Kenyan university has been all rosy.
For me, though, and most of the people I know, we quickly regret it the minute we get to campus. Some drop out within the first few weeks. I'm "some." Others sit tight until they find a better opportunity. Even if you're halfway, through. While there's yet another group who make it through to the end. And then, the true test of adulting begins.
There are many hurdles that rise from picking a degree. Not only in Kenyan universities but abroad, too. Today, we're looking at the process currently in place and what you can do to beat the system. So, let's get started.
First Chance
I remember choosing my degree in high school. Specifically, the first term of my final year. We were given a place to scribble down which course we'd like to study. Then, list two more alternative courses if you didn't reach the requirements for your first choice.
There's a reference point we were given. A list of Kenyan universities, the courses offered in each one, and their respective cut-off points. Cut-off points are like the course requirements for the minimum score you need to join the course.
It was always a thing. That courses like Medicine and Engineering would have high cut-off points. The higher the points, the more prestigious the course. Or, at least, that's what we were made to believe.
Kenyan high school put all their focus on grades. If you achieved the highest grades, you were headed for greatness. It didn't matter whether you were good at drawing, football, or tailoring. None of that mattered past high school.
Personally, I was always a quick study. Would score the highest grades. I didn't like Physics, though. So, picking a degree was a no-brainer for me. I was going to study Medicine!
The Moment of Truth
When the national examination results came out, I passed. My score was above the cut-off points required to study Medicine. There were some friends of mine who chose Medicine but didn't get enough points that met the requirements.
In that case, you had the chance to amend your previous course selection. I have to stress this because most of us were unaware that it was possible to do so. What's more? If you felt your score only barely reached the cut-off required, you could still take your chances.
Because the cut-off points we were using were only a base. They were from the previous year. If our year performed worse, then the cut-off points would be lower and you might still make it through!
It's all a bargain. Generally, if your score is a lot lower, I would advise changing your course. Otherwise, you may find yourself at a Kenyan University to which you can't pronounce the name. Someplace in deep rural. Or a faraway county. I know plenty of people from my school who were called to universities to study degrees they never chose. I assume it's because your course selection didn't meet the requirements, and so the system reassigned you to the remaining spots elsewhere.
Remember that if you decide to take a chance with the system, it can come around to bite your ass. So, I would advise minimising the risk as much as possible by selecting the courses you're sure you'll get called to study.
Parallel Programs
So far, we've only covered government programs. But there's another option you can consider called parallel programs. The government programs are usually much better. They pay nearly all of your school fees, which can really stack up.
I remember only paying around 20k per semester to study Medicine at the University of Nairobi. Plus, around 3k per semester for hostel accommodation. But I had classmates on parallel programs paying nearly 600k per semester.
On the flip side, parallel programs give you the freedom to choose the course that you prefer in the university you want.
How to Choose a Course in Kenya, or Elsewhere
It's quite difficult. Because, Kenyan high schools, at least the ones that use the Kenyan system of education, don't quite tell you about the courses available at the university. And no, I don't mean telling you, hey, choose Medicine, it's prestigious, and it pays the bills. No. Actually learning what the course is about. Which units will you take in each year of your study? How many universities offer that course and how do their programs compare? What does the schedule look like for each year? Will you need to sit for exams every week, month, or at the end of the semester? Do you need to do an internship to pass the degree? Does the program offer internships for students or do you outsource for yourself? How about when you graduate? Do the skills you learn in school apply to your career? Or, will you need to do more learning on the job? How relevant is the course to today's job market? How much does it pay, exactly? Are there jobs available? The ones that are available, and what does the day-to-day look like? Is it something you can enjoy doing for the rest of your life? Is it something that will bring you satisfaction after having put all your work in through college?
I kid you not, these are not the only questions I would ask if I were to go back in time to my final year in high school. I actually would have loved a tour of the campus I intended to go to. Which is something I love about universities abroad. Here, we haven't quite reached there yet. At no point did anyone in my class have the chance to visit the universities they aspired to go to, meet the professors, see what life would be like, and sit in some of the classes. To actually get into an anatomy class and have a feel for what slicing a cadaver would be like? Is it something you actually want to pursue? I can't think of a better way to answer that question than physically visiting the campus and seeing what life would be like for you.
This is where I failed. In choosing Medicine, I secured my future. I would enrol on a government program that allowed me to pay lower school fees. I could have some sort of assurance of landing a job that paid enough to sustain myself. But, from the moment I attended my first class, I knew I was in the wrong place. I wanted out!
The Inter-Faculty Transfer Process
There do exist ways to change your degree in the first few weeks of school and not lose your government "scholarship." It's called an inter-faculty transfer process. You will need to inquire with your university's administration to find out whether this is something you can do. I only paid 1k for processing, which of course, has likely changed with the current economy.
But then again, I still didn't know which degree I would be rather studying. I hadn't done my research on other degrees available, even though I lived in the same hostel as students doing other degrees. I could have walked up to them and asked how their experience has been so far. But at that moment in time, I had sunk into a depressive state of giving up on my dreams. I had imagined myself studying Medicine for decades since I was so young. How could I feel this way about my dream course?
Honestly, my reason for choosing Actuarial Science was that I loved numbers. I loved Math. Needless to say, I learned soon enough that Actuarial Science was about so much more than numbers.
Greener Pastures
I ended up attending the African Leadership University in Kigali, Rwanda for my undergraduate studies. Originally, I signed up to study Actuarial Science. But, the faculty there crushed our dreams by literally telling us Actuarial Science has no jobs. Well, unless you're willing to do 10+ professional exams. Really hard stuff.
So, they gave us a choice. To either choose another degree, not knowing the gruesome experience I had just gone through to finally land on Actuarial Science, or, go to another university. I chose Computer Science.
Looking back, I don't regret leaving Medicine. I will say, that yes. Medicine is a great degree. If you are aspiring to become a doctor, go for it! But before you commit to it, make sure that it's something you truly want for yourself. Most of my friends who studied Medicine did it for the wrong reasons. Some dropped out way deep into the program. Others struggle with exams so much because their heart isn't in it anymore. While the lucky ones, the ones who chose Medicine, then decided to change it to something else simply because they couldn't imagine dealing with blood, are living happier lives.
Actuarial Science. My two cents is to only choose the course if you're willing to do the degree, then sit for nearly ten professional papers and pass each one to finally become job worthy in the field. It's a very tough course. Extremely, tough. I won't sugarcoat it. And the degree is the easier part. The exams? Wueh. I could make it through the first one. Plus, it's quite expensive to pay for each exam, too.
Then there's computer science, a very marketable course these days. Here's the thing. Computer science ought to be a passion. Do you love computers? Let's start there. Do you enjoy designing technological things? Do you feel like you'd have plenty to give in regards to developing systems like apps, games, machines... Nearly everything in today's world is run by computer programs. The devices we use, and the applications we download, all collect data that needs programs to synthesise. Writing these programs isn't rosy. You'll find computer programmers spend most of their day staring at a computer, stuck on a bug. A bug is an annoying error that often keeps you from completing a program. You have to fix it, sometimes without knowing where it's coming from and why, so your program can perform smoothly. Employed software engineers have to work on projects like these that can take months to complete. Because of the pressure, and the intense coding hours, they're paid a whopping amount of cash. Though mostly if you're lucky enough to land a job in the big tech giants companies like Microsoft and Facebook.
Hey, I'm not here to crash your dreams. Rather tell you the reality so you can have all the knowledge at your fingertips and so that you can know whether this is something you'd want. Of course, my college journey is my own. Others have different experiences. The point here is to do the research. To visit the actual universities and see what the courses are like before making that huge decision that will change the rest of your life.
Feel free to check out our "Pastor Paul Mackenzie and the Biblical Perspective of Right Versus Wrong." Meanwhile, everyone goes through challenges in choosing what to study in college. So, don't beat yourself up at all. Let us know of any questions and we'll be sure to help!