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Going to uni?
Do I want to pay those tuition
fees? Do I want to graduate with a load of debt? There aren't enough
jobs for graduates anyway? What kind of job will a degree get me?
Ouch!
There's been a lot of bad press around about the cost and the benefit
of going to uni just lately. The Government are torn between providing a
Higher Education system that gives us an international competitive
advantage and being able to fund it adequately whilst not being accused
of removing opportunity for bright but economically disadvantaged
people.
OK, let's get real. Deciding whether to go to uni or not
shouldn't just be about it leading to a particular job. Many graduates
will tell you that they learned a lot more than what was offered on their actual degree course. There are lots of degree courses that are
vocationally linked and offer job opportunities to move into directly. There are many that are considered more academic or have less obvious direct links to a career.
However, if you've decided that you want to go to university when you've completed your 'A' Levels, here is our selection of the most useful resources to help you make the best choice. Given the cost of fees (both present and future) and the cost of living, you'll want to make sure that you choose the right course at the very best uni you can get into, in a location where you'll enjoy living and studying.
Choosing your course and your uni: Where you study matters not only to your student experience but also to your future job prospects. Every university has its own history, character, traditions and ways of doing things.
There are six categories of university
| Category | Origin | Ancient universities
| The seven universities founded between the 12th and 16th centuries: Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen,Edinburgh, Dublin.
| The University of London, University of Wales, Lampeter and Durham University
| Each chartered in the 19th century. The University of London includes Birkbeck, UCL, King's, Royal Holloway, Goldsmiths, Queen Mary, SOAS and Goldsmiths. Imperial College is now independent.
| Red Brick Universities
| The six large civic universities chartered at the turn of the 20th century before WW1: Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Bristol, Manchester.
| Plate Glass universities
| The universities chartered in the 1960's (formerly described as the 'new universities') includes UEA, Essex, Kent, Lancaster, Sussex, Warwick and York. Find more info here.
| The Open University
| Britain's 'open to all' distance learning university established in 1968.
| New Universities
| The post-1992 universities formed from polytechnics or colleges of higher education including Anglia Ruskin, Coventry, London South Bank, Huddersfield, Oxford Brookes, Lincoln, Plymouth. Find more listed here.
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In addition, these universities belong to certain special interest groups such as The Russell Group (the 20 top research intensive universities), the 1994 Group and The University Alliance. Some universities are not members of any of these alliances. In terms of your future employment prospects, many top graduate employers concentrate their recruitment efforts in certain sectors such as The Russell Group - it pays to look at this carefully when you are choosing your course type and location.
There's lots of useful information on UCAS about how to choose - Unistats, WhatUni? and The Complete University Guide are all worth checking out in terms of league tables and student reviews. You can't do enough research
really; take your time, talk to people you know that may have been to
those unis already, make sure that you go to the Open Days and that way you won't waste your UCAS choices.
Manage your application: We've included a useful free tracking sheet to download below to help you to keep tabs on all the info you need to make, track your decisions and the progress of your application. Once you have applied, you will be able to track the status of your application on UCAS too.
Apply on time: Remember that, if you want to apply for Oxbridge, their application deadline is much earlier than all the other unis - October rather than, in most cases, January.
Admissions tests: You may also be asked to sit additional tests such as UKCAT & BMAT if you want to study medicine and veterinary science and LNAT if you want to study Law. Admissions are getting tougher every year - a fistful of A* grades will not always guarantee your success.
Making your application stand out: Make sure that you get the help you need from your school to put together an impressive Personal Statement (watch the UCAS video on Youtube here)and remember to spare some time for extra-curricular activities such as sport, charity activities or a part-time/holiday job that shows that you're more than just an exam machine.
Student loans and bursaries: Every University has a page about the bursaries on offer and eligibility rules on their website although according an article in The Guardian many neither understand nor apply for the benefits available. UCAS carries info on student loans and tuition fees as does Universities UK.
Happy hunting!
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