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Course Choice

Not chosen your A-levels or other post-16 >courses yet?

If you are looking at this site before you have decided what to do after your GCSEs:

  • Browse russellgroup for information on what subjects you will need for certain courses and careers.
  • Visit prospects.ac.uk for study advice, careers advice, application and interview tips, options with your chosen subjects and much more. You can also find out what jobs would suit you and the qualifications you'll need for them.
  • Take a look at the UCAS website for information about which qualifications you will need for all the different degree courses.

Not sure what career you want?

If you are unsure about your future career, there are a number of resources you can use to give you ideas. Considerthe following:

  • prospects.ac.uk — You will find tudy advice, careers advice, application and interview tips, options with your chosen subjects and much more. You can also find out what jobs would suit you and the qualifications you'll need for them.
  • NextStep — NextStep is a government-run website which holds details of over 750 jobs. (Note: these details were last updated in June 2010.)
  • Sector Skills Councils — The Sector Skills Councils are independent UK-wide organisations which have information about jobs and careers in a range of different occupational areas. Visit the links to the individual Skill Sector Council websites and follow the links for careers.
  • Kudos — Kudos is suitable for 13-19 year olds and matches you to careers and helps you explore your career ideas. This is not a free site and you will need a login code; ask at your school or college if they subscribe to this site.
  • Adult Directions — Adult Directions is similar to Kudos but is suitable for people from 18 onwards. This is not a free site and you will need a login code; ask at your school or college if they subscribe to this site.
  • Aimhigher Lancashire — Aimhigher Lancashire has developed an interactive webpage with lots of information about accessing higher education in Lancashire.

Are you not sure which course to take?

Do you want to study full-time or part-time? UCAS only deals with full-time courses only but you can use the Visaroute programme to look for full-time and part-time courses at participating colleges, universities and work based learning providers in Lancashire. There are also links to the college's and university's individual websites. See also the "Part-time study" heading in this section and the "Funding for part-time study" under the "Fees" heading for more information. Aimhigher Lancashire has developed an interactive webpage with lots of information about accessing higher education in Lancashire.

A large number of courses on the UCAS website have entry profiles which can help you decide which universities or colleges and which courses to apply to. Many courses with the same title are actually very different in terms of content and study methods, so entry profiles help you to decide which will suit you best. They provide details about courses, entry qualifications, selection criteria and the admissions policy. They are compiled by staff at the university or college, who understand what you need to know about their courses, and what kind of personal qualities, interests and experiences it will be helpful for you to have, so you can be successful on the course you choose. Go to the UCAS website for more information on entry profiles. The 'best' course for one student might not necessarily be the 'best' for another: people have different priorities. You can use the Unistats website to compare facts and figures on institutions and courses.

You'll find information on:

  • Course completion rates
  • Student achievement
  • Graduate employment
  • Student population (including the percentage of mature, part-time and overseas students)
  • Students' qualifications on entry

Always check the specific entry requirements for your preferred course(s) to make sure you have/will have the appropriate qualifications. You can do this through the UCAS site.

Visit direct.gov for help on:

  • Choosing a subject
  • Choosing a course to suit you
  • Mode of study (full-time, part-time, distance learning etc.)
  • Type of course (joint honours, modular, sandwich, foundation degrees etc.)

UKCourseFinder helps you locate your ideal university degree course. You can complete a study interests questionnaire to pin-point your interests in 150+ degree disciplines. You can choose the location, study style, type of university or college and CourseFinder will search through over 50,000 Higher Education courses from 500 UK Institutions.

If you are still deciding which course and institution might suit you, take the Stamford Test. It is a short questionnaire which can help to match your interests and abilities to possible higher education subjects. Many students find this helpful when trying to make up their mind.

All universities hold Open Days throughout the year.

A full list of events can be found at opendays.com. Try to visit all the ones which interest you—you can often visit the departments which interest you to find out more about their courses.

You can generally apply for a maximum of five courses, but there are restrictions on the amount of choices for some courses.

You can apply to a maximum of:

  • four courses of any one of the following: medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, veterinary science.
  • one course at either the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge (unless you already have a degree or will have gained a degree before September of this cycle in which case p>you can apply to both)

You can use your remaining choice(s) for any other subject. For example, if you have made four choices for medicine, you could still make one choice for veterinary medicine. Visit UCAS for more information.

If you receive offers you can accept one as a "firm" offer and another as your "insurance" offer. It is wise to have an insurance offer with lower entry requirements than your first choice. This is not a requirement as the conditions for your insurance choice can be higher than your firm choice, but be aware that if you're not accepted by your firm choice, it's unlikely that you will be accepted for an insurance choice that requests higher grades.

Visit UCAS for general information and guidance on how to make your choices.

What are the different types of courses—what do they mean?

The variety of higher education courses can be confusing. For example: Foundation Degrees, HND, sandwich courses, single/combined courses, modular courses. For an explanation of the different types of course go to the UCAS site.

You can also study part-time. Use the Visaroute programme to look for full-time and part-time courses at participating colleges, universities and work based learning providers in Lancashire. There are also links to the college's and university's individual websites. See also the "Part-time study" heading in this section and the "Funding for part-time study" under the "Fees" heading for more information.

What are the different levels of courses—what do they mean?

You will probably have seen courses described as being Level 1, 2, 3 etc. Examples of courses at each level are:

Level 1—GCSEs Grades D-G, NVQ Level 1

Level 2—GCSEs Grades A*-C, Intermediate Apprenticeships, NVQ Level 2

Level 3—A levels, Advanced Apprenticeships, BTEC National Diplomas, NVQ Level 3

Level 4—Certificate of Higher Education, NVQ Level 4, Higher National Certificate

Level 5—Foundation Degree, Higher National Diploma, NVQ Level 5

Level 6—Degrees

Level 7—Masters Degrees, postgraduate certificates and diplomas

Where should you study?

This is just as important a decision as what you study. You will be at university or college for between two and five years depending upon the course you study and you need to choose a place where you will feel comfortable and happy. All universities and colleges hold Open Days throughout the year. A full list of events can be found at opendays.com. Try to visit all the ones which interest you—it will help you get a feel of the place and whether it's right for you.

You should think about what is important to you besides the subject. Go to Direct.gov for help on:

  • Deciding where to study
  • Deciding whether to live at home or move away
  • Facilities at different universities
  • Accommodation and costs
  • Support during your course
  • Facts and figures on universities and colleges

If you want to live at home/keep your job you may want to consider part-time study. Use the Visaroute programme to look for full-time and part-time courses at participating colleges, universities and work based learning providers in Lancashire. There are also links to the college's and university's individual websites. See also the "Part-time study" heading in this section and the "Funding for part-time study" under the "Fees" heading for more information.

Look also at the "Things to consider" section of this website.

PUSH is an independent guide to universities covering not just courses but all things related to student life including:

  • male/female ratio
  • number of students
  • number of applications per place (this is an average across the university, you may be able to get information on specific courses by contacting the course leader—see the relevant university website for contact details)
  • cost of housing
  • cost of beer

Visit the PUSH website for this and more.

Visit thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk for help in choosing by location, type of university, facilities, cost, reputation and more.

Visit thestudentroom.co.uk and look at the student guides to find out what students at each university have to say about it. You can also find information about careers, courses, employment rates, salaries and much more at bestcourse4me.com

Aimhigher Lancashire has developed an interactive webpage with lots of information about accessing higher education in Lancashire.

There aren't any official UK league tables for universities and colleges, though many newspapers produce their own, unofficial tables.

Who offers higher education courses?

Higher education courses can be studied at a variety of institutions, not just universities. Many colleges of further education now offer higher education courses and some have a dedicated university centre. Full-time and part-time courses are available. Apply for all full-time courses through www.ucas.co.uk. Apply for part- time courses direct to the college or university offering them.

The Visaroute programme to look for full-time and part-time courses at participating colleges, universities and work based learning providers in Lancashire. There are also links to the college's and university's individual websites. See also the "Part-time study" heading in this section and the "Funding for part-time study" under the "Fees" heading for more information.

Distance learning, where you study at home in your own time from materials (books, DVDs and TV programmes provided); blended learning has some attendance at the college or university and core distance learning. The Open University http://www.open.ac.uk/ offers a wide range of distance learning courses; other colleges and universities offer an increasing range of distance or blended learning courses. Aimhigher Lancashire has developed an interactive webpage with lots of information about accessing higher education in Lancashire.

Searching for courses?

For full-time courses go to http://www.ucas.ac.uk/ where you can search for courses across the UK by subject, course type, institution or geographical region.

The Visaroute programme to look for full-time and part-time courses at participating colleges, universities and work based learning providers in Lancashire. There are also links to the college's and university's individual websites. See also the "Part-time study" heading in this section and the "Funding for part-time study" under the "Fees" heading for more information.

Part-time study

Things to consider about part-time study:

  • It is likely to be cheaper per year
  • You may already have a job which you could keep.
  • You could get a job whilst studying (although many full-time students also do this)
  • It can be difficult to juggle work and study, but nowadays many full-time students work as well.
  • Any job you get will count towards your workexperience which will support future applications.
  • Use the Visaroute programme to look for full-time and part-time courses at participating colleges, universities and work based learning providers in Lancashire. There are also links to the college's and university's individual websites. See also the "Part-time study" heading in this section and the "Funding for part-time study" under the "Fees" heading for more information.

Aimhigher Lancashire has developed an interactive webpage with lots of information about accessing higher education in Lancashire.

Distance learning, where you study at home in your own time from materials (books, DVDs and TV programmes provided); blended learning has some attendance at the college or university and core distance learning. The Open University www.open.ac.uk/ offers a wide range of distance learning courses; other colleges and universities offer an increasing range of distance or blended learning courses.

Apprenticeships offer the opportunity to earn and study part-time. See the Apprenticeships section under the 'Employed and Apprenticeship route to higher education' heading.

See also the 'Funding for part-time study' under the 'Finance' heading.

What if you decide not to go to college or university?

If you decide not to go to University the following website can help you make informed decisions about the future. It provides a range of information on routes including apprenticeships, foundation degrees, diplomas, gap years, distance learning, jobs etc.

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