For what it's worth, I thought I'd throw my twopenneth in...
I've seen some really helpful posts on this forum since going through the application process but in the past couple of months the recruitment-themed threads have gotten... well, depressing.
A few months ago and during the previous round of acceptances it was all optimism and looking forward to getting stuck in, now all I ever see is resentment and moaning. Myself and my colleagues on course 202, and those throughout the college and even NATS as a whole, it seems, know how annoying it can be to try to get into this line of work. We've all been there. It's a long process, things chop and change, you never really know what's going on.
But what did you expect? A walk in the park? We're talking about a career that is described by the vast majority of those who do it as 'the best job in the world'. Of course it's going to be tough getting in. And getting through college, for that matter.
I know you're all cheesed off at being 'forced to choose' but you're missing the point - you're doing the choosing! Not many previous courses had that luxury, including 202 (though luckily for us the [provisional] numbers line up with what we want). Even if the numbers didn't add up I'm pretty sure there's not a TATC among us who'd turn down ANY position as an ATCO, because it's WHAT WE WANT TO DO! You've got the golden ticket for god's sake, grab it and run with it!
I don't know, stick me on top of a hill with a radio and MATS 1&2 and I'll be perfectly happy. Where has all the enthusiasm gone?
G