How do I choose the right university for me?

When deciding your university, you should think about what’s important to you. Some students prioritise facilities, others prioritise setting and social life. You might be interested in how far the university is from your home, while other students might be more interested in how much a pint costs.

Different strokes for different folks!

So what should you be using as your criteria when you look at universities?Take a look at our suggestions below to help you easily compare the universities and decide what parts of uni life are more important for you.

The course

The course is one of the main things to consider. You want to make sure that the course you’re studying meets your needs. Does the course cover the modules you want to study? Is the way that it is taught something likely to get the best out of you?

All universities will have a full three or four-year plan available, detailing what to expect in the first year and beyond. If, for example, you want to gain a bit of experience before you graduate, then finding a course with a work placement required as part of their course will help inform your choice.

Reputation

We don’t mean the university’s stature when we speak about reputation. Sure, how well-known the university is or whether it is part of the Russell Group of Universities, for example, can be helpful, but it’s worth looking more closely at what this means to you.

Each university is known for very different things - Loughborough for its sports, Nottingham Trent University for its student life - each have a very different reputation and specialist knowledge for different subjects. You’ll want to consider which university are best for your course but also how well they do for the things that matter most to you.

Do they have good links to the local job market? Are they known for a high standard of teaching? What do alumni have to say about them? How is the university thought of regarding the subject you want to learn?

Location! Location! Location!

For many students, location is a consideration. Whether you want to be round the corner from home or looking to experience how the other half of the country live - think about how far away from home you’re comfortable with to help refine your search.

Consider what you’re looking to get out of your student life. If you’re far from home, are there excellent transport links? Do you want to experience a bustling city or prefer something quieter?

Rankings

Sometimes, seeing how a university ranks by other students can useful. Who knows a course better than the people who have already studied it?

University rankings are important when making an informed choice. Our university rankings page has rankings as voted for by students, which include accommodation rankings, course quality rankings, graduate career rankings and social life rankings as well as rankings across each individual country in the UK.

Do they have the facilities for that?

Consider the course you want to study. Does the university have the facilities on-hand to be able to accommodate the course you want to learn? If you’re reading a subject that requires lab-based work, then are the labs outfitted with the latest equipment you need, or is it still using the stuff they promised to change back in 2005?

Facilities can play a major role in how you study. This is also true of non-practical subjects. Is the library big enough and well-equipped? Do you have on-campus support? Is the accommodation nice?

Attend an open day

University open days exist for a reason. They aren’t just a chance for a university to show off (although that helps). It’s a chance for them to show you what kind of environment you are stepping into and what you can expect from the university.

An open day also gives you the most important tool you can ever ask for - the ability to ask questions. Teachers,lecturers and current students are on hand for precisely this reason. They want to be able to answer your questions, so ask away!