Find and compare courses/providers
Now you have decided which subject to do (if you haven't looked at 'Decide which course'), you need to consider:
- Which universities or colleges offer your subject?
- How do the modules and course content compare between the courses?
- What are the entry requirements?
- How much assessment is by coursework or exam, and which would you prefer?
- How satisfied were previous students with the course?
- Which is the best university/location/type of campus for you?
You might want to draw up a comparison table for the different courses and providers.
Where to study?
Remember, its important to consider where you choose to study, as well as what you choose to study, to make sure it suits you. You may prefer to study nearer your home, or you might choose to study further afield. You might prefer a campus on the edge of town, or to be in the heart of a city.
UCAS has a great section on its website with location guides to different parts of the the UK, and different cities, to give you a flavour of student life in different places.
If cost is a consideration, this guide from the NatWest Bank has information on the most affordable cities for students.
The university's or college's prospectus, website and open days will also help you get this information but there are also websites that will help you find and compare courses/universities.
Careerpilot Degree course search tool
The Careerpilot Degree Search tool is a good place to start to look at university courses that you might be interested in. You can save courses of interest in your Career Tools so that they can be viewed again when you next log on. Find out lots of information about each course including:
- Entry requirements
- Student Satisfaction
- Average salary of graduates 6 months after graduation
Other useful websites:
UCAS has information about all full-time degrees, Foundation Degrees and HNCs/HNDs. Part-time courses will be found on university's and college's own websites.
For information and entry requirements search on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) website.
Whatuni? helps students find universities and courses and has a University Comparison Tool.
You can search for:
- Degrees
- Foundation degrees
- HNC/HNDs
- Access and Foundation Years
The Complete University Guide has information about courses, subjects, student satisfaction, etc. The site also shows the top courses for each subject.
Discover Uni is the official government website for comparing UK higher education course data.
This includes student satisfaction scores from the National Student Survey, jobs and salaries after study, and other key information for prospective students.
For Open University (OU) courses, contact the OU directly. Full-time OU courses are not offered through UCAS.
Open days, taster sessions and virtual tours
Attend open days and make the most of them. Opendays.com has all the dates and advice on what to do to get the best out of them or take a look at the link on UCAS. Visiting universities is a costly affair but can be really helpful – you could be spending 3 years of your life there, so you need to make sure you like it!
Not everyone can attend an open day, so here's a list of virtual tours and videos from universities and colleges so you can see what it's like on campus and what facilities are available. If the Uni/College you're interested in isn't listed, take a look at their website or YouTube channel instead.
You can also visit Uni Taster Days, a website that advertises university events including university and college taster days, workshops, residentials and open days.