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University?

How do you know which university you should go to?

You develop a list of desirable characteristics & requirements in a university.

Use requirements to filter universities out and characteristics to prioritize the ones left. Then hopefully you end up with an easy list to choose between.

Reply 2

University of Kent

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hey,

I would start with knowing what course you want to do and checking the rankings. Do you want to go somewhere closer/further away from home? Then look at the university's websites and see if you like the course/accommodation/campus. You can then create a shortlist to go to some open days. I'd definitely recommend going to open days as I personally found my perceptions really changed once I'd seen them in person!

Best of luck with everything!
Natalie
University of Kent Student Rep (PhD Psychology)

Reply 3

EdgeHillStudents

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi @famahehe,

I would say some tips on this would be:

If you know the degree you would like to do this can maybe narrow down some options or where you can go to do this degree.

Then from here you can start asking yourself questions such as:
1. How far away would you like to be from home?
2. What modules are on offer at the different universities? - Are there any you are really interested in? Are there any uni specific ones? What optional modules are available?
3. How will you be assessed? - Do you have a preference e.g. exams, coursework or a mix of both?
4. Can you do a year in industry or study abroad?
5. Look at the ranking for the university and that degree
6. Look at the career opportunities available and maybe what the alumni are doing?
7. What is the city or town like? What is there to do? Have you been before if so did you like it? Does it have good transport links?
8. Is it a campus or city based uni? Do you have a preference?
9. What is the accommodation like? - Price? En-suite? Shared? Number of people you live with? Same sex or quite hall options?
10. See if you can chat to students about their experience there whether that is a chat to students function or if the university has the ambassador platform.

UCAS usually has you make a list of 5 uni's you are interested in so if you could then try and do an open day at them and see how you feel when you visit if that is possible (e.g. its not too far away). Or if that isn't possible look into if they do virtual tours online of there accommodation and departments and look into what you can find on there website.

Hope that helps! :smile:

Rebecca
3rd Year Geoenvironmental Hazards Student

Reply 4

UCLan Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi there @famahehe, :smile:

Great to hear that you are interested in going to university. Have you thought about which course you would like to study?

I would note down a few universities you are interested in and head over to their websites to have a look at courses, there will also be a lot of information about life on campus and accomodation options which are great to have a look at.

Open days are a brilliant way for you to go and get a feel for what life could be like at each university. You will also get the chance to join a campus tour which is usually ran by current students so you can ask any questions you may have. It's important to find the right university that suits you and attending Open Days can be very helpful with this decision.

Let me know if you have any questions and I'd be more than happy to help. :smile:

Best wishes,
Sarah

Reply 5

Chester Student

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi @famahehe,

When choosing the right university, you end up considering several factors. Start by researching universities that offer programs aligned with your interests and career goals. Consider factors such as reputation, faculty, curriculum, campus facilities, location, cost, and available financial aid. It can also be helpful to visit campuses, attend open days, and speak with current students or alumni.

Ultimately, the best university for you will depend on your personal preferences and needs. For example, when I chose Chester, it was the perfect match for me because of the closeness of facilities and overall campuses in the city. It also meant it wasn’t too difficult for me to visit home, as the train station was right on my door step!

Hope this helps,
Ellie

Reply 6

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hiya,

Choosing the 'right' university is a tricky task. First things first, I would suggest figuring out what you want to study and where you can see yourself career-wise in the future. Then maybe think about where you want to study- somewhere close to home or somewhere new? Have a look at the financial scene for students at different unis- tuition, living costs, available scholarships and bursaries. Look into universities that you meet the entry requirements for and check out the reputation, facilities and accommodation. Also, see if the social scene fits your vibe in terms of societies and nightlife especially.
Personally, I found open days the most useful tool in helping me choose universities. However, if attending is a struggle there are usually lots of online resources on the uni website and other sites like YouTube that help you get the feel of the uni and help you decide if you like it.
-Beth (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Reply 7

Loughborough Student Community

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi @famahehe

Choosing a uni can be a really difficult decision so I thought I'd let you know what helped me to choose!

First of all it's really important to choose a course that you're interested in and want to study. Think about what parts of your A-levels you enjoy and what you don't and then start having a look at courses that may be of interest to you. It may also be worth thinking further ahead as to what you would want to do for a job. I did some work experience in marketing in y11 and this led me to want to study marketing at uni.

I then found looking at league tables quite useful to see what unis were the best for the course I wanted to do and began to look at the course pages for each uni. Taking a look at the modules and what I would study helped me narrow down the unis I was interested in and wanted to apply to. Looking at the uni as a whole and what extracurricular activities were offer was helpful to me - there might be a particular society or sports club you wanted to join or something new you wanted to take up so it's worth checking those out. I'd also recommend taking a look at the accommodation and location of the uni and have a think about what you want and how far or close to home you want to be and what you want tour accommodation to be like.

I think the most important thing for me when choosing which uni to go to was to go and visit. Going to an open day is a great way to meet students and to see some of the facilities you would be using. It's also really helpful to visit more than one uni if you can as it helps you to compare as I had no idea what a uni was like until I visited my first one! It's really important to choose somewhere that not only has a great course but also where you can see yourself fitting in and being happy as you will be living there for the next 3+ years.

I hope this was helpful :smile:

Jess

Reply 8

ARUStudents

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hiya,

Choosing which university is a big decision and one I think most people struggle with, myself included. I was between three universities before choosing ARU.

The first thing I’d suggest doing, is finding the universities that offer your chosen course and do some online research. University website give you loads of information online! You can also check them out on social media. Once you’ve narrowed that down, I’d highly recommend attending some Open Days. Open Days are a great way, to explore the university, meet current students, lectures and ask all the questions you have. It’s also a great way to explore the surrounding areas, if you’re planning to move away from home. When you attend open days, you’ll be able to get information on uni social clubs, the library, student accommodation and much much more.

Depending on the course your choosing, some universities also offer taster days. These are a great way to get a feel for what it will be like while studying on the course and you get to spend the whole day with the course lectures and current students.

All of the above helped me make my decision. I got a great feel for ARU. I really felt that I knew what they had to offer and I absolutely loved Cambridge!

I hope this helps. Good luck making your decision and starting university :smile:

Sophie (ARU)

Reply 9

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hiya,

First, it’s great that you are considering university and I’d say that’s the first step to deciding if that’s the right choice for you. :gthumb:

There are many universities to choose from and it’s a big decision and follow the advice already mentioned as every aspect needs to be considered.

To narrow it down I would start thinking about what course you would like to do something relevant to a future career goal, a course you would find interesting and actively engage in :banana:

and within that looking at the modules that are offered in that course. Most universities will offer the same courses, but it is the modules within that can make it completely different as well as the way you are assessed.
Location. Would you want to still live at home and commute to university? :auto:

Or live at the university but still be in a familiar area? Or completely far away? All of this is something to consider as it also links to your living situation. If choosing to live in accommodation, would you want to share with other students :party:

, or would you want to live alone? Look at the different accommodations where are they located are they next to the campus, supermarkets and are they in a nice area? Also consider your budget you can work it out on the Government website as then you will know what’s in your price range. Also, look at the location of the university is there activities to keep yourself occupied? Chance to explore a new area and even get a job? And is it overall a nice environment to be in. :smile:

Try and go to Open Days at different universities, that is what helped me and how I made my decision. Lots of universities will look the same online but visiting the campus and listening to subject talks and speaking to students is the best thing you can do. :five:

The main thing you need to do is research :cyber:

, look at university websites watch their videos, and see if they have a platform where you can chat with current students. This is ours at DMU, see if other universities offer this it's a really helpful tool.

Hope this helps, please leave a message if you have any more questions
-Maddie :heart:

(edited 6 months ago)

Reply 10

Manchester Met - Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi there
a big element for me for definitely distance from my house! Firstly I applied for UEA, which is 5 hours away, but realises that isn’t what I wanted and wouldn’t be best for me to settle into uni. So I changed to Manchester Met, which was just a 2hr trip!Some universities are in cities or towns ? Maybe decide what type of vibe you want from your night life, how safe the places are? My course has placements so I looked at where each uni would send me for placement! So many factors!
so what are you looking for is what you need to ask yourself, what are you prioritising with a uni?

Best wishes
Emily

Reply 11

University of Bath

Official Rep

Hi there,

Choosing a university can be a difficult decision and take a lot of deliberation. There are lots of factors to consider and weigh up.

Firstly, assuming you know which degree course you want to do, a good place to start is narrowing down which universities offer your course and are within your grade boundaries. You may want to look at the rankings, employability rates and reviews from other students doing the courses to figure out which are right for you and sound good to be in.

You also want to remember that you'll have to live in the area for years. Have a look at the surrounding environment. Do you like cities and big nightlife? Is there transport access? Restaurants and grocery stores? Living costs? These are all important questions for moving to a new place that may help shape your opinion on your options.

Along with looking into the city, you want to consider a more about the university than the course. Have a look into the societies and clubs you can join within your free time. What kind of support is offered for students from financial to mental well-being? You may want to compare campus universities vs city universities and how easy it is to get around from class to class. What accommodation is offered from the university.

Good luck with your decision,
- Sophie (uni of Bath)

Reply 12

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hey there @famahehe !

There's loads of factors that can influence your decision. For example, how easy is it for you to get home on the weekends? What are the travel routes like? Does the course have exactly the content you want and are interested in? What is the percentage of graduates that go into a relevant job in the first year? This sort of information is especially important and can usually be found on the course's webpage. I personally wanted to make sure that the modules were all relatively interesting to me and that I would have something in every year of study that I'd really enjoy. To me it was important to visit the city before I went. I actually chose to switch my firm choice to my insurance after I visited both cities as my insurance choice had more of a homely feel and was somewhere that I could see myself living. The campus was also a lot better at my insurance choice (SHU).

We were always recommended to choose our options based on their entry requirements. For example, my sixth form college recommended that we choose two aspirational universities, 2 safe universities and 1 that would be easy to get into so that we had a backup for every possible outcome that could occur. It also gave us a lot of choice if we changed our minds at last minute so I would recommend doing that when it comes to deciding. I wrote down a pros and cons list for every course I was interested in and that helped me whittle it down. I believe you get a choice between applying for 1 university or applying for 5 and I would definitely say it's better to pay the extra and apply for 5.

Hope this helped!
Lucy - Digital Student Ambassador SHU

Reply 13

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi there,

As you can see from this thread, there are a lot of factors to consider when picking a university! For me, open days were the most helpful in my decision making (as well as a lengthy pros and cons list) because they helped me get a feel for the place and see if I would enjoy living there for the next 3+ years. They also helped me realise that I preferred campus universities rather than city ones. My advice would be to start going to open days soon as possible, then you have plenty of time to visit the cities (perhaps multiple times) and narrow it down to a few choices.

All the best,
Chloe
(Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Reply 14

Manchester Met - Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by Lancaster Student Ambassador

Hi there
I’m the opposite! How come you prefer campus?
brilliant advice

Best wishes
Emily

Reply 15

University of East Anglia UG Student Rep: Danielle

Official Rep

Original post by famahehe

How do you know which university you should go to?

Hi @famahehe :h:

The way I would do it is once you know which area you'd like to study in, you can have a look around at different uni's course pages and module breakdowns to see which one appeals with your interests and passions most! Once you've narrowed that down to a list, you can then begin to look at what each uni offers, where it is, and how it will suit your lifestyle and wants! Then I'd start booking to attend open days to get a feel for the uni in person, meet people who work there, and chat to people who study there. It can be a big decision to make but definitely worth it :h: