How to choose the right university

Check upcoming open days and book your place

The three to six years you spend getting a university education could be some of the best years of your life, so long as you pick the university that's right for you. But how do you choose? There are over 200 UK universities to choose from, after all.

There are a few key things to consider when deciding what uni to go to. There’s obvious stuff like what’s on your course and the university’s location, but there’s some crucial stuff you may not have thought of too. That’s what this article is about – here's our guide to what to consider when choosing a university…

CONTENTS

How to choose the right university course
What do you want to do once you graduate?
How do you like to learn?
Look at university rankings and league tables
Researching universities and courses
Where do you want to live?
Check out open days
Work experience opportunities
How much will being at university cost you?
Making a researched second choice
What to do after choosing a university?

How to choose the right university course

First and foremost, you’re going to uni to study – and one of the biggest regrets graduates have is not picking the right course. In fact, a recent study by a jobs board ZipRecruiter found that 44% of students regret their choice of subject. That’s one expensive regret you don’t want to make.

Having a subject or course in mind while you look for universities can help make your choice easier, so we recommend doing a little bit of research into courses before you start looking for unis. We have a whole guide to help you with this...

What do you want to do once you graduate?

If you do know what you want to do after university – or have a good idea at least – then look for unis that offer work placements as part of their courses, or ones that are well regarded in the industry.

No idea what you want to do? No problem! We've got a Careers Matcher to help with that. However, if you’re really stuck for what sort of career you want, it’s absolutely fine to simply subject a course that you find interesting. It seems so obvious, yet many students pick unis or courses they don’t particularly care about.

How do you like to learn?

Do you really hate exams? Or are you actually quite good at cramming and performing under pressure? Do you prefer lectures or practical-based learning?

How well you do at uni and how much you enjoy it can come down to how well it suits your style of learning. Make sure you check out what style of learning a university offers before you apply.

Look at university rankings and league tables

When doing your research, make sure you look at the overall university league table rankings, but also how well regarded their courses are.

For example, you’ll often see the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge at the top of overall university league tables. But did you know that the University of Strathclyde has an incredible forensic science department, or that Lancaster University is brilliant for linguistics?

Our sister site Complete University Guide has overall and subject-based university league tables, which come in very handy for uni research.

Researching universities and courses

You can find lots of useful information about universities right here on Whatuni. Search for unis or courses in the search box at the top of the page and we’ll serve you up vital info that you’ll want to know about the unis.

Here’s what we include in our university profiles...

Academic strengths
Course descriptions
University rankings
Entry requirements
Graduate salaries and outcomes
Student review stats
Job prospects
...And more!

When you’ve found some unis you like the sound of, you can compare them directly by clicking ‘add to compare’. In our comparision tool, you can filter the info down to what’s important to you and organise your Final 5 selections in just a few quick clicks. Handy!

Where do you want to live?

No matter how great or prestigious your uni is, if you’re stuck in the countryside when you want to be clubbing or cooped up in London when you want to be out surfing, you’ll be miserable.

Some students thrive on living in halls and campus life – they love the community aspect, getting involved in student societies and living close to the university. On the other hand, some students can find living in halls to be claustrophobic, loud and boring.

So, how do you decide where you want to live and study? You’ll need to think hard about the lifestyle you want, the type of person you are and exactly what you want to get out of university. A great way to see if a university’s culture is right for you is by reading student reviews, which you can do on Whatuni.

Check out open days

Attending open days is the best way to experience a uni with your own eyes. When you visit a uni you’ll be able to get a good insight into what student life will be like, with campus tours, subject talks and the chance to talk to staff and students. Open days are brilliant for narrowing down your university choices.

Take a look at our useful open day calendar to see what unis are hosting events soon and book your place.

Work experience opportunities

Depending on your course, it can be useful to think about what work experience opportunities will be available in the city or nearby that you could do while studying. If you’re a fashion student, for example, you might be able to find internships in London, Brighton or Bristol – and where your uni is will affect how easily you can reach these work placements.

Think about the companies you want to intern for, or do work experience at, and choose a university that’s realistically close to that company.

How much will being at university cost you?

The cost of living will vary depending on which city or town you choose to study in. When doing your research, compare costs you know you’ll have to pay. This can include stuff like...

Accommodation
Transport
Study supplies
Food
Entertainment

Remember, though, that wherever you go to uni there’ll always be the students' union and student discounts are available in many places. Try not to be too put off by more expensive cities like London and Oxford, but make sure you do bear the cost of living in mind when thinking about which university you’d like to go to.

Making a researched second choice

Finding your dream uni is hugely important, but many students don’t put down a realistic second choice or don’t research them properly.

The answer? First of all, make sure that your second choice is as well researched as your first – so that you actually want to go to that university and study the course. And secondly, make sure one of your options is an “insurance choice” where you need less than your predicted grades.

What to do after choosing a university?

Found your perfect uni? Now you need to get into it! Luckily for you we have a guide all about applying to uni through UCAS. And once you’ve completed your UCAS application and been accepted you’re free to embark on some of the best years of your life. Good luck!