Moving away to university and leaving home for the first time can be daunting, but it helps if you love your choice! We’ve put together a list of things to consider when choosing your ideal university:
League tables
There are many league tables out there, the most popular published by The Times and The Sunday Times, The Guardian and The Complete University Guide.
They provide annual comparisons of the different UK universities, giving each a ranking based on a range of criteria, such as: student satisfaction, entry standards, graduate prospects, staff/student ratios and research quality. These should give you an idea about the standard of the university but, bear in mind, the results change each year and depend on several factors, for example the course as well as the proportion of students who completed the surveys the previous year. A university may be high in the tables for maths but lower in the tables for history, so it's really important to do your research if this is an important factor for you.
Location
The ideal location for you will depend on the distance from home and the type of university (big city or campus).
If you think that you will regularly want to return home at weekends, then you might want to consider somewhere fairly nearby or somewhere with good public transport links. On the other hand, if you would prefer not to have mum and dad just popping in at short notice(!), you may want to think further afield!
Another important thing to consider is if you would enjoy the hustle and bustle of a big city like Birmingham or London, or if you would be more suited to a campus university like Warwick or Bath. These all depend on you and your preferences, so don't feel as though you need to do what others are doing.
Interests
Some universities are well known for sport (like Loughborough), others for their great nightlife (like Liverpool, Newcastle and Northumbria). It’s important to think about the societies, nightlife and extra curricular activities that universities offer and check that they match what you are looking for, as this will massively affect your time at university.
Student accommodation
First year accommodation is usually student halls; the price and quality of these vary depending on the university and its location. Make sure that you go on the tours of the accommodation when you attend the open days; it's great to see first hand what they're like before putting your choices down!
In the second and third year, you usually move out of halls and into rented accommodation. I’m sure that you've heard horror stories about the conditions of some student houses! It’s no fun to deal with bed bugs, mould or blocked drains and it can be very time-consuming contacting the landlord to try to sort it out. Make sure you do your research on the different letting agencies in that area and avoid those with a bad reputation. This will make your life SO much easier for the year(s) that you're staying there :)
The best way to find where you would like to study is to go and have a look! Attend the open days, visit friends or siblings already at university and speak to parents and teachers about their choices too.
Also, it's important to remember, university is what you make of it; you will learn to love wherever you end up!