Choosing a degree course at UK University

There are over 55,000 courses to choose from at universities spread all over the UK, so take your time and research your options well. There are several things to be taken into consideration:

- What do you want to study?
- Where do you want to live?
- Would you prefer a campus university or a town based university?
- Are you prepared to pay for your studies or do you want to study at a university where tuition is free of charge?

Your answers to these questions might help you to narrow down your choices but most people really don’t know and at this stage the most important thing is to try to work out which subject(s) you want to study.

REMEMBER! As well as single subject courses like German or Economics most universities offer courses which combine two or more subjects, eg.

- Business Economics and Marketing with French
- Counselling with theatre studies.

Perfect if you’re interested in several areas of study!
Most important is that you find something that you are genuinely interested in otherwise you won’t enjoy you time at university. Spend time researching the courses available in your subject area. That way you run less risk of ending up on a course which doesn’t match up with your expectations.

Open days
Check http://www.opendays.com/ to find out dates for open days. This is an excellent opportunity to actually visit the department, talk to tutors and students, and ask questions about the course. Just as important is to get a feeling for the campus, accommodation and the town.

Keep in mind this quote from the Higher Education Advisers Yearbook 2007:

Q (student) - But shouldn’t I do something that’s going to increase my job chances?

A (HE adviser) - But any degree should do this! Between 40 and 50 percent of all graduate jobs are for graduates from any discipline; a large number of employers don’t really care what degree has been studied. They can see that a student has gained various skills from just successfully completing a degree.