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Choosing your college or university
It's easy to panic and think that you might have missed some vital information in your hunt for the perfect higher education place. There's a whole host of things to think about including finances, courses and accommodation.
The key message is not to get stressed out: we've been there; we know it is hard and so we have put together some guidelines that should set you on the right track.
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Where to study
When thinking higher education, you need to think geography. No, not the course, we mean location; it's one of the key factors that will influence the success of your university life. As former Leeds student Mike O'Brien points out:
"When working out where to go I took in all the factors. What university had the best rep for my course, how big it was, was the area known to be a good one for students, or was it the back end of beyond. I knew I wanted to be in a city not too far from my home so that helped me focus".
Thinking about where you live now, what you like about it and what you don't is a good way to identify which part of the country you might want to study in, if you are planning to move away. If you love cities but hate wasting time travelling across town, you might want to look at city-based campus universities or colleges like Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh. Alternatively if you love outdoor pursuits you should look at universities renowned for their proximity to things you can climb, raft, walk and fall off. Bangor graduate Will Cobbley:
"I started off studying at a university based in a city and hated it. I liked the course and the people but missed fresh air and found inner city life too grey. In the end I dropped out of my course and went to Bangor, it was a very tough choice to make but ultimately, it was the right one".
Testing the water before you move is always a good way to gauge if you will like a place. Open days are there for that very reason and really are an essential activity when researching your options. If you have brothers, sisters, friends or relatives somewhere near where you think you might like to go, spend a few days with them to get a better feel for the atmosphere and take a look around the university. Top >
Which Course
For some, choosing what course they want to study is easy. But if you are a bit of an all rounder with interests in lots of areas, making a choice can be a bit of a minefield. You could either stick with a subject you've studied already, or try out courses which you haven't studied before.
Often talking to your tutors, teachers, parents and college mates can help ID your strengths. As Careers Consultant, Patrick Johnson notes:
"Different people will recognise different skills in you, so it's worthwhile talking to them to get an outside perspective. It's also good to think about what you have done academically and in your spare time. By thinking about what you enjoy and are good at you should be able to come up with a few ideas about courses."
If your career ideas are at the 'haven't got a clue' stage don't worry as over half of graduate vacancies are for graduates from any degree discipline. It's not unusual to have physics graduates in advertising and history graduates training to be solicitors!
When in comes to choosing what to study, the advice from our team of experts is to start as early as you can. All being well, you should be able to come up with a firmer plan of what you might like to study and where you want to study it.
You should also take advantage of the help available to you at school/college and speak to your tutor/careers adviser. Top > | 
