Tips on Making a University Choice

Hi everyone,

As many of you are starting to make a firm choice on which university to go to in September I thought I would share some advice on how to make those decisions from the beginning stages (deciding on which universities to apply to) to the final stages (accepting your place at a university). If anyone has anymore tips feel free to add below :smile:

Finding universities
First is finding what universities are best for the courses you are thinking of studying and seeing what is out there.

- University league tables
- The course page on universities websites
- UCAS fairs and higher education fairs
- The website Unifrog

Narrowing down/creating a top choices list
Now you have found a range of options you will probably start making a list of the places and courses you may apply for.

- The Student Room! Don’t hesitate to ask reps questions as they are here to help. Also use the 'newest first' filter when doing searches to find the most up to date information :smile:

- Ask college and 6th form lectures for advice or if they know of any other students that have gone to the universities you are thinking of.
- Looking at past student work. Often useful for creative degrees, most courses have an Instagram page and you can also attend graduate exhibitions and shows.
- OPEN DAYS!! (I found this the most useful)

Making finalised decisions and firm choice
Often students get to the stage where they are torn between a couple university.

- Pro's and cons lists
- Decide what are your key factors and priorities.
- Consider logistics (e.g. expenses, distance from home)
- Talk it through with friends and family

Overall making this choice can be overwhelming as it is an investment and the next steps in your life. However, if you put in the research, you should hopefully make the best decision for you.

I hope this helps and feel free to add your tips below!

-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Reply 1

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by Kingston Grace

Hi everyone,
As many of you are starting to make a firm choice on which university to go to in September I thought I would share some advice on how to make those decisions from the beginning stages (deciding on which universities to apply to) to the final stages (accepting your place at a university). If anyone has anymore tips feel free to add below :smile:

Finding universities
First is finding what universities are best for the courses you are thinking of studying and seeing what is out there.
- University league tables
- The course page on universities websites
- UCAS fairs and higher education fairs
- The website Unifrog
Narrowing down/creating a top choices list
Now you have found a range of options you will probably start making a list of the places and courses you may apply for.
- The Student Room! Don’t hesitate to ask reps questions as they are here to help. Also use the 'newest first' filter when doing searches to find the most up to date information :smile:

- Ask college and 6th form lectures for advice or if they know of any other students that have gone to the universities you are thinking of.
- Looking at past student work. Often useful for creative degrees, most courses have an Instagram page and you can also attend graduate exhibitions and shows.
- OPEN DAYS!! (I found this the most useful)
Making finalised decisions and firm choice
Often students get to the stage where they are torn between a couple university.
- Pro's and cons lists
- Decide what are your key factors and priorities.
- Consider logistics (e.g. expenses, distance from home)
- Talk it through with friends and family
Overall making this choice can be overwhelming as it is an investment and the next steps in your life. However, if you put in the research, you should hopefully make the best decision for you.
I hope this helps and feel free to add your tips below!
-Grace (Kingston Rep)

Hi @Kingston Grace !

This is a great idea so I thought I could add some of my tips on here/ emphasise which of yours really helped me!

•

Open days. I would emphasise that this was one of the things that really helped me to finalise where I was going to go to uni. It's really good to just get to talk to people who are doing the course, talk to the lecturers and see the uni! Sometimes just getting a feel for a place is really helpful so I would really recommend doing this!

•

Looking around the city. Doing this on an open day is a really good idea, but if you don't have time on the day, I would really recommend going and just exploring the city. Again, getting a feel for the place is so helpful and is what made up my mind in the end!

•

Talking to people at the Uni. Have a look on The Ambassador Platform as this is a great way of talking to current students. They are great people to talk to as they are actually doing the course so will have a great insight into what is good about the course/uni in general.

•

Talk to lecturers. If you can't do this at an open day, some are happy to talk to prospective students. If they have their email on the website, it is likely they may not mind answering a couple of questions. However, if their email is hard to find/inaccessible they likely don't want lots of emails!

•

Talk to friends and family as they know you best. If you have a few options, talk them through with them as they will be able to help you with this!

I hope some of this helps 🙂

Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Reply 2

University of Bath

Official Rep

Lovely idea for a thread!

Just to add to this, a very short list of the factors I'd advise to prioritise when choosing a uni to firm, in priority order:

Course content/modules - which course has modules you find most interesting? What topics inspire you? Are there any on there which will help you towards any future career ideas you have?

The campus - if you've visited it, what was the vibe like? Did it make you feel at home, welcome and safe? Can you picture yourself living a fulfilling student life here?

The city - do you like the city? Is there enough to see and do here for you? What's the pub scene/nightlife like? Would you be happy living here past first year? What are the transport connections like? The cost of living?

Placement year opportunities - does your course have a placement year? These not only give you the chance to do something fun and different and earn money, they give you some great experience to talk about in your CV which will set you apart from most other grads!

Sports/Societies/Culture - what other things are there to do at the uni? Is there a variety of sports and societies you can get involved with? What about part-time work opportunities? And what is the campus culture and community like? Have you had the chance to speak to current students - what do they think about it?

Note that rankings and Russell Group status do not appear on this list. This is because, although rankings, student satisfaction and employment prospects are something to look into briefly, their importance is dwarfed by the importance of what course/uni feels right for you and your futures.

I hope this helps, best of luck with all of your choices everyone, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions 🙂

Holly
University of Bath

(edited 1 year ago)