How to Choose the Right University for You

According to UCAS, there are over 300 Higher Education institutes in the United Kingdom. The prospect of determining which of these you should entrust with the next (and likely final) stage in your education is daunting to say the least.  Here we hope to help you along your way a little by offering you three easy steps that will hopefully help you choose the right university for you.

1. Ask Yourself Questions

Whether you do it out-loud (slightly odd), in your head (more normal) or on a piece of paper (probably best), your process of deciding which university to attend should begin with asking yourself questions. Through asking questions you will be able to identify the things that are going to be most important to consider when trawling through your options for higher education. Some examples of useful and productive questions for you to ask might be:

1. Where would you like to go to university? - Do you want to be close to home? Or far away from your family? Or does it not really matter? Whatever the answer, deciding a general location might be a good way for you to start.
2. What kind of university would you like to go to? - Are you more suited to the intimate life of a secluded campus? Or the hustle and bustle of a city university? It is important to know what kind of university life will suit you and your personality. 
3. How good is the university at the subject that you want to do? - This one is really important. Although a university might not do particularly well in overall league tables, you might find that they are the best of the bunch when it comes to a specific degree or subject area.
4. What are your predicted grades? - One key thing to know before you can apply for any university is what your predicted grades are (or at least a rough idea). This will help you determine whether or not any given university is a viable option for you to consider. General advice is to choose one 'reach' university that falls in the upper end of your predicted grade range, one 'insurance' option that allows room for potential error, and three that fall nicely in the middle.
5. What special requirements must each university meet? - Is there anything out of the ordinary that you will have to consider specially when applying? Are you a dancer who would die without a studio? A foodie who needs a range of cuisines at your fingertips? Or a thrifty shopper who thrives on charity shops and market stalls? Whatever it is, make sure you take your individual preferences into account.

 

2. Write a Shortlist

Now that you have (hopefully) identified a set of criteria, you can begin trawling through university websites and judging them against it. Make sure that you don't just go for the big, well-known names. Yes, some universities more established than others, but you might find that newer universities have better facilities or more updated teaching methods, so consider as many as you can. Come up with a shortlist of somewhere between 10 and 15 universities that you would be interested in looking at further, and breathe a sigh of relief, the hardest part is out of the way.

3. Open Days

Without a doubt, the best way to decide whether or not a university is right for you is to go and visit it for yourself. Although arranging to attend Open Days can present significant financial and logistical challenges to students still at school, it is definitely worth the effort. Through visiting the universities that you are interested in, you should be able to tell whether or not it should remain on your shortlist. Getting the 'feel' for an institution and its surrounding area is of vital importance. After all, university is so much more than the next step in your education; it is a veritable change in lifestyle.
At the end of the day, no matter how influential your teacher, how convincing your friend's point of view or how weighty your parent's expectations, the final decision as to which university you choose should be left to you. We can't make the choice for you, but hopefully these steps will make the process a little bit easier.