Deciding on a university and picking your course is probably one of the toughest decisions you will face whilst in education and if you don’t know where to start it can be pretty overwhelming.
Breaking it down into 5 decisions can help to make it slightly less daunting.
Distance
Consider how far away from home you would like to be whilst you are at university. If it is your first time living away from home you might not feel comfortable going to a university 8 hours away, you may therefore opt for looking at university in your home town. However, if you feel ready to fly the nest, explore a university further afield or even consider studying abroad!
Cost
An important factor you need to consider when deciding on your university is the cost. If you choose to study in your home town you are likely to spend a lot less than if you were to study abroad. However, tuition fees might be less in other countries. It is important to make a spreadsheet and calculate your outgoings and income, this will help you work out if you will be able to afford it. It is also important to speak to your parents and guardians to see if they can support you at all.
It is worth considering getting a part-time job whilst at university if you need a bit of extra money. However, always prioritise your degree.
Course content
At the end of the day, you are going to university to learn. You, therefore, need to ensure that the course you are studying is interesting and relevant to what you want to do in the future. There will be variations in course content and reading lists depending on the university, you can normally access the course content on the university website.
It is also important to consider whether or not you want to complete an internship or placement during your university degree. Some universities will offer sandwich year courses that allow you to go and work for a whole year, this will often count towards your final grade and is a great opportunity to gain some relevant experience.
Societies
Moving away from academics, you will want your university to support socialising. If you have a specific hobby, interest or sport that you wish to continue whilst at university be sure to check their website to see if they offer that society. Or additionally, if you are interested in picking up a new hobby whilst at university, be sure to check out their list of societies to see if there is one you are interested in. Societies are an amazing way to make friends and be part of a group at university as well as adding something to your CV and applications.
Support
Whether you end up needing it or not, it is always important to be aware of the support that is available as a student. For most students, it will be their first time living away from home and in a completely new city. It is, therefore, extremely important to have a good support network around you in case you do need it. If you have any pre-existing mental health condition, a disability or any other additional needs, be sure to check out what support will be available to you at university.
Where to get advice
There are so many things you need to consider before deciding what university you want to go to, however, if you don’t know where to look it can be extremely overwhelming. Here are some useful sources that will help to clarify some of these factors.
Open days
One of the best ways to get the feel of a university is by actually attending one of their open days. However, this is not always practical, but if you can visit a few universities it is always a great idea to do so, as you will start to understand what sort of things you want and don’t want in a university. For example, you may prefer a university that is on-campus compared to one that doesn’t have a campus.
Ranking
University rankings are a good indicator of how well the university is performing overall.Universities will be scored on a variety of factors including: students satisfaction, student to staff ratio, career after 15 months of graduating, and a few other factors.
Speak to current students
Speaking to students who are currently studying at the university is also another great way to get a feel for the university. They will tell you about their experiences at the university as well as how they find the city and other important factors you need to consider when moving to a new city/university.
University websites/forums
There are multiple student forums where people can discuss different universities, courses, the city and so on. It is incredibly important to check out these platforms as people will give you honest and useful advice.
School teachers
School teachers are there to support you, they will be able to offer you advice depending on their experience. Teachers will also have a strong understanding of how you work and your personality, they will, therefore, be a great person to ask for advice.
