How to choose what and where to study...

By James Penn

When choosing which subject to study at university it can be difficult to know where to start.

Here are our top 5* tips for getting started:

(1)     

If you're unsure about which subject to study then try some of the good general websites for some inspiration.

Prospects is the the 'official' careers website. Click on 'careers advice' and then 'options'.

Directgov is the new government website that includes all you need to know about higher education.  It might not have all the answers when it comes to helping you to decide which subject to choose, but it will help you to narrow down the options.

(2)

Try the UK Course Finder website for ideas and the the UCAS course search facility to find out what GCSE, AS and A Level subjects and degrees are required for each course.

(3)

Some people may not be too fussy about which subject they want to study but instead have their heart set on going to a particular university.  The obvious place to start in this case is the university website.  Perhaps the university is well respected in a certain area such as medicine or law or perhaps you need to consider whether you are able to meet the grade requirements. 

A word of warning though - remember that you will be required to maintain a high level of motivation throughout the three or more years of the course so you will need to make sure you choose something that interests you enough.  It is also very important that you are able to show that that you have comittment to the particular area of study so that the admissions tutors take your application seriously.  That said you shouldn't think that just because you have chosen a particular subject to study at undergraduate level that you are confined to a career in that field - many occupations now welcome graduates from all areas no matter what you have studied. What it really comes down to is showing what skills you have picked up and how hard you have worked (i.e. what grades you gained).

(4)

Assuming you are still at 6th Form or College then you should have a careers adviser - use them!  The same goes for you libraries.  These are great resources and often under-used.

(5)

Finally, it is always good to speak to someone who has been to university about what it is like, particularly if the person has been to a university that you are considering or studied a course that interests you.  Many of you may not have anyone in your family that has been to university and I was in the same situation when I first considered higher education. But try asking your teachers - most of them will have studied at university and they will no doubt enjoy telling you all about it if you ask.

*(6)

OK, so we said we would give our top five tips but if you find that isn't enough then drop Limitless London an email.  We would love to hear from you and will do our best to answer your questions.  It wasn't long ago that we were at university so our perceptions will be relatively fresh.  We also have lots of friends and colleages that have studied at various different institutions so it is likely that we will be able to find someone tthat can talk to you about a particular university that you are interested in.

Recommended Links:

www.prospects.ac.uk  

www.directgov.co.uk

www.ucas.com 

www.ukcoursefinder.com  

Other Useful Links:

www.unistats.com 

(c) James Penn for Limitless London 2009