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Higher Education
In addition to resources in the Homewood Careers Library there are hundreds of online resources available to help with your careers research.
UCAS
Your one-stop-shop for searching and applying for UK university courses. You will find detailed information about each, including their selection criteria and admissions policy.
What Uni
Enables you to look at universities offer subjects that interest you, which you can personalize by your A Level subjects and likely grades. They also have advice about all aspects of your higher education choices.
Uni Compare
A free comprehensive university comparison site, offering students resources, tools, student discounts and university stats and rankings.
Prospects
In addition to advice about university and apprenticeship options, Prospects also shows you what you can do with different degree subjects, in terms of career ideas and employment opportunities. N.B. Remember that 70% of employers want graduates from any subject so if in doubt, study the subject you love!
Student Finance
Information about the costs of going to university is available via the Student Finance website.
University League Tables
University League tables can be useful starting points to find the “best” universities for the subjects you are considering studying, however, they take into account different criteria when deciding where to rank a university, so it is important to see which criteria they are using – some of the factors may be more important to you than others.
You may want to try the following league tables:
The Complete University Guide Guardian University Guide
For World University Rankings, try the following:
The Times World University Rankings
How to be a Competitive Applicant for University
Read around your subject: Don’t just restrict your knowledge to what you are taught in lessons. Universities want to see that you are sufficiently interested in a subject to devote additional time to finding out more about it. You will be spending three years of your life studying a subject at university so need to demonstrate genuine commitment and passion for it.
Future Learn and My Heplus offer free online courses and resources in a variety of topics; a great way of demonstrating your interest in a subject.
Communication skills
It is vitally important that your written and verbal communication skills are on par with your academic ability. Many academically excellent students miss out on places at Oxford, Cambridge and other top universities through not performing well at interview or submitting a poor Personal Statement. Use the opportunities available to develop these skills, e.g. engage in academic conversations with teachers and peers, work on your presentation skills, undertake mock interviews, get involved in activities such as debating or public speaking.
Develop other personal skills and interests
Universities and employers want to see good “all-round” students who have something to offer other than just academic studies. Taking part in extra-curricular activities both in and out of school is a good way of developing valuable skills of teamwork, leadership, time management etc.
Work Experience/Volunteer/Part-time Jobs
Organise some work experience/volunteering or part-time work to find out if a particular occupation is right for you and to develop essential employability skills. Relevant work experience will make a big difference to your university application.
Attend Summer Schools and Taster Courses
There are a wide range of taster courses and summer schools you can attend to help you make up your mind – great to talk about in Personal Statements and CVs as evidence of your initiative, determination and commitment too. Many of these are free. The following websites give details of some of the opportunities available:
Uni Taster DaysLondon TastersAccess ProfessionsSuttontrust Programmes Summer Schools Uniq