Starting your research into

Higher Education

The importance of researching your courses

Over 370 universities and colleges throughout the

UK

Over 37,000 different degree courses to pick from.

Students can only apply to 5 courses

UCAS timeline

Year 12

January – on going

Students research courses and universities – attend open days and taster days

June Applicants can register and start to complete their application.

Year 13

Start of September

Schools can start to submit completed applications to UCAS.

15 October Deadline for applications for Medicine, dentistry, veterinary med and Oxford or

Cambridge.

15 January Application deadline for most courses.

24 March Some art & design courses (check each course for deadline).

30 June Applications after this date held for Clearing.

Stages in your research

1. Decide on the subject(s) you would like to study

2. Consider your current working grades and target

grades

3. Research the universities which offer your course

4. Book some open days

5. Complete additional preparation activities

1. Deciding on your subject(s)

Key questions:

What do I enjoy?

Do I need to study a particular degree subject for

the job I want?

Where will my A-levels take me?

Which course offers modules in the areas I am

interested in?

BA History courseManchester University

• The Global History of the

Present

• History Matters

• Presenting the Past

• Religion, Politics and Society,

C. 800 to C. 1700

• Modern Britain: Democracy,

War, and Modernity

• Politics, Economy and Society

in Modern Europe

Newcastle University

• Compulsory modules

• World Empires

• Varieties of History

• Evidence and Argument

• Optional modules

• European History

• Aspects of British History

• The History of the Americas

• Stuff: Living in a Material World

• Prehistoric Britain

• The Archaeology of Britain from the Romans to the 20th Century

• West meets East: Greek History and Society, 776-323 BC

• The Road to Empire: Roman History 510-31 BC

Unitasterdays.com

Whatuni.com

Whatuni.com

The ‘I want to be….’ tab will show you the courses you could study if you have a

specific career in mind

The ‘What can I do?’ tab will show you the

courses you can do with specific A-levels

Whatuni.comYou can tell the

website your intended career/job

www.nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk

2. What are my targets/working grades?

Points based offers

Some universities use the UCAS tariff table.

The offers will ask for a certain number of points,

e.g. 120 UCAS points.

Many will take points from AS levels.

Grades University offers

Some universities will want

specific grades to gain a

place on their course.

E.g. AAB, with an A in

Mathematics.

Grade A-level AS EPQ BTEC Year 12 BTEC Year 13

A*

Distinction*

56 28 28 56

A/

Distinction

48 20 24 24 48

B 40 16 20

C

Merit

32 12 16 16 32

D 24 10 12

E

Pass

16 6 8 8 16

https://www.ucas.com/ucas/tariff-calculator

2. What are my targets/working

grades?

3. Research the universities which offer my course

Online research is a good place to start,

and there are a number of useful websites

to use:

www.whatuni.com

www.ucas.com

www.which.co.uk/university

www.UCAS.com

You can then see all the universities who offer your course

Which? Magazine

The Which? University site will allow you to search for courses and has lots of independent advice about each

course. It also has excellent tips on how to write a personal statement and tailor it for specific courses.

The which site will show you really useful information,

such as employability rates for each curse, student

satisfaction scores, and

average graduate salaries.

www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/

4. Book some open days

Once you’ve completed some online research, and

started to make a short list, open days are a useful way to

see which university is right for you.

Speak to staff and current students

Ask about any work experience they would like

Look at the facilities/accommodation

www.opendays.com

Opendays.comOn

opendays.com type in the

university you would like to

visit, the website will then display

all the upcoming open days

and will allow you to book on the open

day.

5. Complete further preparation activities

To help with writing your personal

statement, and decision making, you

could:

Read some books/journals linked to your

course.

Complete an online Future Learn course

Complete an online Open University

course

Complete some work experience

www.futurelearn.com

www.futurelearn.com

https://www.ucas.com/events/north-and-west-

cumbria-higher-education-exhibition-308211

Research gridUniversity

name and the

course title

Entry

requirements

(E.g. AAB or

300)

(Do they

accept BTEC

qualifications

)

Living costs

for the

university?

Transport

costs?

Course modules

of interest

Are any extra

entry

requirements

needed?

E.g. UKCAT test?

Any work

experience?

BMAT? LNAT?

Does the

university hold

interviews?

Is there any work

experience which

is useful?

How are you

assessed on the

course?

How much contact

time do you get

each week?