How do you choose the best uni from your offers?

CONTENTS

1. Make a list of your priorities

2. Research the universities that have offered you a place

3. Visit the universities open days

4. Weigh up the pros and cons of each university

5. Make a Uniselect shortlist

6. Make the big decision

Make a list of your priorities

If you have received a number of university offers, then you’ve got some choices to make. So how do you decide which university would suit you best? The key is working out what is most important to you by thinking about your priorities.

Course

Course titles might sound the same, but content will vary from uni to uni. Consider the length of the course; for example, is there a foundation year, an industry placement, or time abroad? Look at the modules in depth and check whether they cover the areas you’re most interested in with enough detail.

Location

Where to study is often as important as what to study. Do you prefer an urban or rural environment? How close do you want or need to be to family and friends? Knowing the answer to these sorts of questions will help you prioritise.

Cost

While everything seems to be getting more expensive, there are still cheaper places to live and study in the UK. University accommodation varies in price and quality, so look into this during your research. You may want to live on campus in your first year, but think about how expensive private rents are for later years. Factor in travel costs too, both to and from campus as well as trips home.

Extracurricular activities

There’s more to university life than lectures. Do some digging into what sorts of extracurricular activities, clubs and societies your potential university could offer, as well as what’s available off campus.

Students' Union

Students' Unions can play an important role in university life. They provide representation, advice and support on lots of key issues such as accommodation, finances and wellbeing. They also help organise social events. For example, Freshers’ Week is often organised by a Students' Union, so consider how active it is at the places you hold offers.

Research the universities that have offered you a place

You can get some sense of a university from doing research, but nothing beats a visit in person, or if that’s not possible, a virtual tour. A university that looks good on paper might feel very different in real life.

Visit the universities' open days

University open days and virtual events can be held very early in the academic year, so look out for these opportunities from the get-go. You’ll usually need to book in advance and they are often very popular. Don’t panic if you miss out; you can still visit a university on an unofficial open day by contacting the university and arranging something with them yourself.

It's often a good idea to take someone else with you; a parent, guardian or friend might offer a different perspective.

Talk to current students and staff at the universities

This is your opportunity to get a sense of what university life is really like from the people who know. Think of some questions to ask based on your research and read our pointers to help you.

Weigh up the pros and cons of each university

Making a list of pros and cons for each university based on your research and a visit might help your decision-making process. You could also explore our league tables ranking 130 UK universities against different measures. Compare universities by subject or place, along with other factors like student satisfaction and graduate outcomes. You can sort the results by clicking on the relevant measure in the league table header.

You might decide that you have a firm favourite and an acceptable back-up choice from this process. 

Make a Uniselect shortlist

Our Uniselect tool allows you to create your own shortlists of universities based on a series of questions. Select your requirements such as the subject you want to study, the sports you like to play, the type of location you’d like to live in and the budget you have to spend. You can save as many shortlists as you want so you can test out various scenarios.

Make the big decision

Once you’ve made the big decision, the next step is to go onto your UCAS Hub account and inform the universities.

You can accept one offer as your firm choice, often called your conditional firm (an offer providing you get certain grades) or an unconditional firm (an offer that is not dependent on results).

If your firm choice is conditional, you can accept a second offer as your insurance choice or back-up option. Many students opt for a lower or unconditional offer as their insurance choice.

After this, you must decline any other places offered by universities. These places can then be offered to other students.

Remember, no decision is set in stone. If you do change your mind or things don’t go to plan, there are always alternative routes to explore.

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