Selecting a University and a Course
The purpose of these cascading questions is to help you make an informed choice about which university and course is right for you as an individual. You have to have five courses on your UCAS application, and ultimately you will need to choose to accept two: one as your first, ‘firm’ choice; the second as an ‘insurance’ offer in case you do not gain the grades required for your first choice. Work your way through the following questions by ticking the appropriate boxes, so that by the end you have a more focussed set of priorities to use when searching for a course. You might also want to discuss these questions with subject teachers, your form tutor and/or a parent.
- Don’t rely on the course title – courses with the same title may differ both in terms of the subject content, options and teaching and assessment methods.
- Think outside the box don’t just stick to your A levels – do you want a subject based degree?
- Forward plan: Does the degree will allow you to attain your chosen career aspirations?
- Key information sets can make research easier
www.hefce.ac.uk/whatwedo/It/publicinfo/kis/
Compare course content:
Take a look at how courses are delivered, search for different courses in the subject you want to do and check out the details.
What are the modules like?
Which are most interesting, or most relevant to your career direction?
How's the course assessed?
Exams, coursework, presentations etc – what do you prefer?
What are the tutors like?
Are they experts in areas you want to learn about?