What You Need to Know
- Many jobs need a degree and you are likely to earn more with a higher education qualification, over a working lifetime.
- There is lots of choice in what, where and how you study in higher education. You could live away from home and do a full time course, or you could work and study part time at home.
- You can study a subject you love without knowing what career you want it to lead to. For many employers, it’s the fact that you’ve got a higher education qualification that counts, not what subject you’ve studied.
- But you do need a degree in a specific subject for some professions, such as architecture, dentistry, physiotherapy and lots more.
Things to Think About
- Don’t choose higher education just because your friends are going to university or because you can’t think what else to do. You will be making a big investment in your future, so be sure that it’s right for you and compare other routes.
- Higher education isn’t all about degrees. There might be another type of higher education course that would suit you better.
- Higher education isn’t free, but you don’t pay fees up front and you won’t have to repay loans until you graduate and start earning a good salary. To help with living costs, you might be able to get grants and bursaries that don’t need to be repaid. Find out more about student finance.
- Universities want students, so they will sell the benefits of their courses. Check out what students think and what they go on to do with their qualification.
- This isn’t your only chance to get a higher education qualification. Lots of people do a course later in life, often combining it with work.
To Do
- Start looking into the higher education option as early as possible. Your school or college will guide you through your research and application and you can talk to an adviser to get the help you need.
- If you know what career you want to do in the future, check out what qualifications are needed and the routes you can take.
- Get to know your way around the UCAS website. It guides you through each stage of researching and applying for higher education.
- If you’re not sure what course you want to do, do a questionnaire to help you find the courses that suit your interests.
- Find out what options the course you choose might lead to through Prospects.
- Attend as many higher education open days as possible, so you can compare different places and courses.
Other Websites worth exploring
STUDENT SITES
- The Student Room – online student community – help with revision, statements, applying to uni etc
UNIVERSITY
- UCAS – official site where you can search and apply for your degree
- Complete University Guide – does what it says on the tin
- Bestcourse4me – shows link between your course and the kind of jobs you can get/money you can earn
- Unistats – search, review and compare courses and universities; reviews by students
- Studential – university guide written by graduates. Includes examples of thousands of real-life personal statements broken down by subject
- Which?University – what to study, where to go and how to get there
- Open Days – search open days at unis
- Push – independent and brutally honest site about life at uni
- Prospects – helps students consider what they can do after their degree. Includes free psychometric test to determine suitable degrees.
NOT GOING TO UNI
- Notgoingtouni – search and apply for apprenticeships, jobs and sponsored degrees
STUDYING ABROAD
- Erasmus – enables uni students to study abroad as part of their degree
- Fulbright – offers scholarships and exchange programmes to UK students wanting to study in the US
- Study in Europe – guide to studying in Europe
- Hot Courses Abroad – search for thousands of courses abroad
- Study Overseas – focuses on life and studying in various different countries
- Study in Finland – guide to studying in Finland
- Study USA – studying in the US
STUDENT SITES
- The Student Room – online student community – help with revision, statements, applying to uni etc
