A daunting task | University guide | The Guardian

Choosing where to study can be a daunting task. There are over 300 institutions, and if your subject area is popular most of them will offer your course. So how to narrow them down? The aim should be to produce a shortlist – maybe nine or 10 – by the end of the summer term and to visit some of these over the next few months to see what they are really like.

The Guardian’s University Guide, which comes out today, is produced to help you to start making your choices. It contains profiles of 150 universities and the EducationGuardian.co.uk website has more detail on these, plus all the other specialist and further education colleges that may be of interest to you.

One of the most crucial issues to consider is whether or not to stay at home. This will always come down to individual choice and circumstance, but there are some important considerations.

First, your course may not be offered at the local university. Or when you look at the various indicators, the courses with the “better” reputations may not be in your locality.

Next, consider whether you want a different experience over the next three years. Do you want to gain more independence, meet new people, and have a change from the current routine? Many will balance this against continuing home comforts – family, friends, part-time job, food and washing services provided. The advice must be: don’t be conservative. Look at all the options with an open mind.

Get a map

Going away from home doesn’t necessarily mean going to the other end of the country. Get a map and find out where places are! Travelling time rather than distance is a good measure to use. Transport links in this country are not too bad and most universities are pretty accessible. Inevitably, cost may come into the decision – as a rough yardstick, one year’s accommodation at university should cost around £3,000. This could be borrowed as a student loan; you may qualify for a similar amount if you attract the full grant.

How do universities differ in other ways? Your architectural surroundings may be important to you. One famous university is 800 years old this year. Unsurprisingly, it features some old buildings and therefore has a certain ambience. This will suit those looking for history and older architecture as their locale. Contrast this with modern environs – with buildings built much more recently, often in the last 20 years. These are likely to have a much more futuristic feel and may feature new, cutting-edge facilities inside.

Then there’s the issue of size. Again there can be vast differences. The first thing to appreciate is that your higher education destination is likely to be much bigger than your current school or college, and may well be more widely spread, on several different sites. Always check where your course is run – each site will have a different feel. Some courses will be franchised out to different colleges altogether.

Little and large

A number of institutions have tens of thousands of students (Leeds has over 20,000, Manchester over 30,000) and will feel like small cities. Others have just hundreds, like small extended families. Do you want to be a big fish in a small pond or to merge into the crowd? This may depend on what you are familiar with now, and whether or not you want a change after 18 years of acquaintance.

Do find out exactly where universities are located – some will be in the middle of large cities, others on the edge of small towns. Check the journey to and from home. There’s a large selection of campus universities – many built in the 1960s – usually located a few miles outside of a town or city, where all the teaching and much of the accommodation are on the same site. This can be an ideal option for some, too claustrophobic for others.

Facilities matter, too, both academic and social. For certain courses – engineering, say – up-to-date facilities may be crucial. Don’t ignore your “spare” time pursuits either, whether they be sports, drama, politics, music, whatever – check they are all at hand. Accommodation too – even if you don’t visit, university websites usually give a very full impression of what they are like and what they cost.

All of this merits thorough research. Take advice. Remember, your course choice is the most important aspect, but the location follows a close second – where will you be happy? There’s no substitute for a visit – try to see two or three different types of university before you commit yourself.

John Beckett is a higher education adviser at City & Islington Sixth Form College. Next time: is a gap year a good idea?

University Guide with today’s Guardian

Today sees the publication of this year’s Guardian University Guide, which is full of advice about applying for university. And you can find out the top performers in our league tables, which rank universities for their performance overall and for individual subjects. For more details and for fully interactive tables go to EducationGuardian.co.uk