DURHAM SCHOOL - UCAS DAY 1

NOTES ON FINDING A COURSE

UCAS website - http://www.ucas.com/ Click the search for courses button

This will open the UCAS search tool. Complete the details as appropriate (you can search by course or by institution or by city / area. NOTE – you do not need to fill in ALL of the options

The TABS at the side allow you to filter the results. Make sure you click on ‘2014’ under ‘year of entry’

On the ‘How to Study’ tab, you can filter the courses. Full Time courses normally run over 3 years (4 years in Scotland). ‘Full Time with Sandwich Placement’ means the course involves a year / placement in industry or at another institution. These courses are normally a year longer but are an interesting option if you want to experience the world of work during University.

On the right hand side of the page, you will see all of the courses for your search. You can view these by institution (click ‘providers’), courses or you can even view the location of the each institution on a map (click ‘map’)

When you find a course you like the sound of, click on it and it will generate all of the important information. Record the entry requirements (look to see if it requires specific grades/points in certain subjects and if it accepts general studies / critical thinking). Also look at the summary information as this will proved extra information about the course.

NB. If you click on the NAME of the university at the top of the screen, it will link to important information about the uni in general – worth having a look!

If you decide the course is appropriate, you should then go to the UNIVERSITY website and find out more about the modules, course structure, assessment, etc. This is very important as there is only the bear minimum about the course on the UCAS website. When on the university website, you can also look at other important information, like accommodation, extra-curricular provisions, the local area, etc; of particular note should be if the university is a CAMPUS or CITY university as you will have very different experiences at each!

OTHER INFORMATION

TARIFF TABLES

If your course requires POINTS and you cannot remember how many points are given for each grade, look at the tariff table on the UCAS website.

You can find this by hovering over the ‘How it all works’ tab on the home page and it will appear under the ‘getting started’ heading. Click on the link and will generate the tariff table.

UNISTATS http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/

UNISTATS allows you to look at key information about every course. You can see things like average starting salary after graduation, overall student satisfaction, etc, and you can compare different courses. This is definitely worth a look when you have a ‘shortlist’ of courses.

RUSSELL GROUP / 1994 Group

A list of some of the top universities can be found on the Russell Group website at http://russellgroup.ac.uk/home/ . This is a good starting point if you want to study at a leading university or on a competitive course. Download the ‘informed choices’ booklet as this provides extra information about applying for competitive courses at the very top Universities.

A similar group is the 1994 group (http://www.1994group.ac.uk/)

WHAT UNI http://www.whatuni.com/

‘What Uni’ is a less formal web site which includes testimonials from students about courses and universities. Use the ‘STUDENT CENTRE’ to search for courses; this will also generate the ‘Times Good University rankings’.

GUARDIAN Good Uni guide

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/universityguide

The link above will take you to the Guardian University guide 2014 where you can view the most recent University rankings. Click on SUBJECT TABLES 2014 to see subject specific rankings.

If you want to look at how the universities rank in general (i.e. not subject specific), go to the link http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2013/jun/03/university-league-table-2014

OPEN DAYS – use www.opendays.com to find out when the next open days are for your potential universities

UNIVERSITY NOT FOR YOU AT THIS TIME?

Have a look at http://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk for careers advice and vacancies. See www.jobzoo.co.uk for more information and advice. Go to ‘choosing a job’ for details about careers in

specific areas There is lots of information for students who are considering not going to university on the UCAS website. If

you hover over ‘how it all works’ and then click ‘explore your options’ and ‘Planning Your Future’, you will find lots of information to help you with your decisions. In particular, there are some really good ideas if you are thinking about a GAP YEAR.

UNIVERSITY COURSE RESEARCH

University CourseEntry

RequirementsAny Specific Entry

RequirementsKey Module Information

Other information (e.g. course length, sandwich, entrance

test needed)

Open day

UNIVERSITY COURSE RESEARCH

University CourseEntry

RequirementsAny Specific Entry

RequirementsKey Module Information

Other information (e.g. course length, sandwich, entrance

test needed)

Open day