Choosing an university is a step that can be considered a life-changing event, a turning-point, the beginning of the rest of your life. At university you get to choose the path of your life, get unlimited opportunities for the start of your career, get a chance to meet your love, you get to do many things that eventually will shape who you really are.
Choosing the right university and the right course it's not something you get to mess with, you either do it right or don't do it at all. Making wrong choices can screw up your life for many years ahead, mistakes that for some people are simply unaffordable.
That's why I'm gonna help you get it right, I'll give some advices just to get you started, because you'll be the one who'll have to do most of the work. Applying for studies is a long journey but if you manage to do it right it can bring you joy and excitement.
Before you get to apply you must figure out what to apply for, for that you need a career adviser but it may cost you so taking some psychological test may bring you the same results but a lot cheaper.When I did my research I stumbled upon a pretty nice UK Course Finder Questionnare , an incredible website that offers you an amazingly precise and simple test that once done it gives you a list of domains that may be suitable for you. UKCourseFinder.com is a website operated by The Morrisby Organisation, who have been providing subjects, course and careers guidance systems for over 40 years, dealing mostly with Careers Companies and other Professionals. You can benefit directly from their expertise free of charge via this website.
Some alternatives to the aforementioned UK Course Finder Questionnaire are these psychological tests taken from "Aptitude, Personality and Motivation Tests" book written by Jim Barrett that provides you with comprehensive, well-proven, psychological methods that enable you to understand and make full use of your abilities. I selected a few and you can find them on my "Career Choice" blog page.
The next step would be consulting each domain that has been offered to you on UK Course Finder Questionnaire and the list of courses attached to it, or consult the "University guide 2012: University league table" that shows you all UK universities ranked by "the Guardian" according to teaching excellence. Example:
Some universities from the list (Top 100) offer Undergraduate course, some of them offer Postgraduate, but not every university offers both, so if you want to apply for Undergraduate or Postgraduate you take every university's website and look for the courses they offer. Looking for Prospectus may be the most important thing you need to look for on their website, it includes info about the courses, financials, accommodation, student life, student services, "how to apply" guides and all other information you may possibly need. You can download them in your computer or order a print version right to your home address, whether you live in united Kingdom or any other country.
A hint about whether a certain university is fit for you or not may be the design of their website, if they care to hunt down the most promising student they will invest a lot in their website (just saying).
Financials.
Without a doubt British universities are the best ones in the whole world, but also are the most expensive ones. Some of us will need to choose according to their pockets. If you were born in one of many European Union countries than you may consider yourself lucky and privileged. If you, or any of your close relatives have worked at least three years in at least one European Union country than you may easily qualify for financial aid from British Government meaning that no matter how expensive some course may be you won't have to pay until you graduate and your annual salary reaches a certain level.
If you qualify as International Applicant it may be a lot more difficult to pay for your studies as the amount of money you can get from different scholarships and bursaries may not be enough. for more information consult your Prospectuses.
Application.
If you have decided to apply you need to start as soon as you can making your application which consists of one Personal Statement, 2 Reference Letters and other essential information about you and your background.
Most universities accept application through Universities & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) which "is the organization responsible for managing applications to higher education courses in the UK. Not only do we process more than two million applications for full-time undergraduate courses every year, but we help students to find the right course. We try to make things run as smoothly as possible by providing innovative online tools which make it easier for students and higher education institutions (HEIs) to manage applications and offers."
Also you may wish to watch video.
The entire video gallery from UCAS you find here:
What are the UCAS deadlines for applying?
Completed applications, including a reference, should be sent to UCAS by the following dates.
- 15 October for dentistry, medicine, veterinary science and veterinary medicine and for all courses at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge.
- 15 January for all other courses except those above and art and design courses with a 24 March deadline.
- 24 March for art and design courses except those listed with a 15 January deadline.
- 30 June - the final deadline. All applications that we receive by this date are processed and sent to the universities and colleges. Applications that we receive after 30 June will not be sent to the universities and colleges in the normal way. Instead, these applications will go directly into Clearing.
Check the important dates page for more detailed information.
Check the 'Course information' screens in Course Search for the art and design courses you are interested in, to find out if they have a 15 January or 24 March deadline.
Good luck.
Inspire and be inspired.
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