How To Choose a UK University

By Nick Sanders

When you are looking to choose a UK university, you will be looking to make a decision that will affect the rest of your life. So, there are going to be a number of deciding factors that you will need to think about which will help you fulfill your dreams and get into the university that you want. You may think the decision will be easy, choosing the one place where all of your friends go, but this won't be your primary thinking if you are looking to study for your future and choose both a course and university that reflects what you want to do.

You will need to establish early on the actual course you are wanting to study, as this will affect which universities could appear in your shortlist of different choices. You want to know what you will need to achieve in college too, to enable you to concentrate and have a goal that you want to achieve in your courses at college - whether these are A-levels or something similar. You will need to look at the different grades that are acceptable, as there will be some of the different universities that will want a combination of A's, B's and C's.

Many individuals are totally unsure about which subject they are suited to, and it will sometimes help for them to talk things through with a parent, teacher or even friend, to review what they are doing (and like) at the moment, and thus what they want to be doing. Many individuals are a little confused when it comes to the different courses - as well as minors and majors - that they can do in any one subject; and at times it can become overwhelming and confusing.

The next thing to look at is the location of the university. Some people dream of escaping the small towns and making a name for themselves at a big university, whilst others prefer to stay closer to home and their friends. How far away you are willing to travel will be a limiting factor, so its worth considering carefully.

The next step should be a review of the accommodation available to you as a student and the different transport links that are available to the university and around the different campuses and shopping areas. You want to be able to travel in the local area and be able to know what you will be doing when you are there. Knowing that the university is in an area with good transport links will be good.

What will be even better, is to travel to the university campus during the day and spend the night there. This will help you recognize whether you feel safe and happy on the campus and know that it will be easy to get back to. Visiting and experiencing the university campus at night and day will help you to establish that it is a place you would like to be.

After you have reached a short list of a number of universities, you should then be looking at the different extracurricular activities that are on offer. You won't just be going to university to attend lectures and study, but you will want to do something in your spare time. You should look to see if the campus has a band or choir if you are a music lover, or indeed a gym or running club if you are a fitness lover.

Next its time to look at the costs involved. How much will your course cost? What extra equipment are you likely to need? Make a list of the basic costs, such as your course cost and enrolment costs, and the associated costs, such as paying for food and transport. Make this list for each university that you are considering.

A good idea will also be to take a look at the different financial help that you could receive from the different institutions. You should look at this in the form of both advice and financial assistance to students, in the form of grants. You should make a note of these and check to see if you can apply, as you will find that there are a lot of different aspects that can make you eligible to receive one.

Finally, look at the reputations of the universities you have left. The opinions of students who are doing or have done your course are important; however, remember that people can be biased. A better indication will be to look at where the university is ranked. You should now have narrowed your choice down to one or two universities, and whichever you choose will fill your needs and give you the best start to university life.

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