Making the Decision

Compile a short list of possible universities.

• For some, location will be critical and this will immediately narrow down the choice.
• Others may be keen to go to a prestigious or high-ranking university and then have to consider whether they can meet the entry requirements or not.
• Some students may be particularly keen to carry on with an obscure martial art and so will want to go to one of the two or three places where they can do this.
• For most, it is a combination of factors such as these that will result in the elimination of most universities, so that a manageable list of perhaps ten or fifteen will emerge. Then the detailed work begins.

The first source of information will probably be the undergraduate prospectus.

• This is the main recruiting document that universities produce and should include most of what you will need to know, including details of courses, facilities and entry requirements.
• However, you need to bear in mind that it is not an impartial document; it is a form of advertising designed to make the university seem attractive – strangely, the sun is always shining in prospectus photographs.
• They are rarely factually incorrect, though there have been a few legal cases where disappointed students have successfully argued that the course they experienced was not the same as the one advertised in the prospectus.
• However, prospectuses can be incomplete and frequently make generalised claims of quality without much supporting evidence.

Tricks of the prospectus trade

• Universities only exist in a place where the sun always shines – you are unlikely to ever see a picture of a university on a wet day in early January, although you will be studying there through the most inclement part of the year.
• Attractive people attend university – some universities have hired in models to feature in their publicity material. Do not select your university on the basis that the person on page 15 of the prospectus appears to be giving you a winning smile.
• Graduates always get interesting jobs. There may have been one student who twenty years ago became an astronaut, but what are the usual employment routes available to graduates from the course? Data and 'graduate level employment' or the graduate data from our subject rankings is a better guide.
• Famous bands or top media personalities hang around the Students' Union – but when did the chart-topping act whose photograph features in the prospectus actually come to the campus? On a typical week (as opposed to the freshers' week or summer ball, when all the stops are pulled out) what will be the entertainment or guest lecture programme?

Other sources of information

• In addition to the prospectus, many universities will produce a series of departmental booklets, which will give more detail about individual subject areas.

Another easy way of obtaining a pile of prospectuses and departmental booklets is to visit a higher education fair where most universities will have a stand to give out information.

Alternatively, universities usually have prospectuses available on their websites (our University Profiles include links to the individual university websites).

• This will generally have the most up-to-date module choice and financial details.
• You can also often take a virtual tour of the university. Departments will usually have their own sites, too, and you can often access student handbooks aimed at current students for all the detail you will ever need about courses, options, teaching methods and assessment.

If you are still unclear about entry requirements, check them out in University & College Entrance: the Official UCAS Guide or the entry profiles on the UCAS website.

• If you want more information about employment or about how happy students are with their courses or about what external examiners have had to say, you can go to the Unistats website.

A personal visit to the university can also be very helpful.

• You can get a feel for the atmosphere of a university and find out just how far you will have to walk between the lecture theatres and the students' union when it is raining.
• Don't forget that open days are designed to make you want to apply and so you should be critical of what you see and hear, just like when you read a prospectus.
• If you can't make the date of the open day, many will make arrangements for you to visit more informally during the summer.
• A few will offer residential visits or accommodation viewing days, which allow a more extended and comprehensive look at the university.

While trawling through all these sources of information, you will no doubt talk to friends, parents, teachers, careers advisers and anyone else who comes within range.

• While it is good to talk, be critical of what you hear.
• A parent or teacher may know what they are talking about, but they may be telling you things based on their experiences of 20 or 30 years ago.
• Universities have changed a lot since then.
• Alternatively, your next door neighbour, whom you rarely see, may just happen to work in a university admissions office and be a real source of good advice.

Checklist – choosing a university

• Which universities offer your chosen subject?
• Where are they ranked in the Complete University Guide League Tables?
• How far away from home do you want to go?
• Which facilities are important to you?
• Have you got a copy of the prospectus(es)?
• Is there an open day you can attend?
• What are the costs likely to be?
• Does the university cater for your hobbies or interests?
• What are the career prospects like?
• Is there a culture of students taking placement years or year abroad programmes, if that is important to you?
• What is the campus like – location, single site, low travel costs?

Next page: Overseas Universities