Six steps to applying - how to choose your courses

There's a lot to think about when applying to university. What type of teaching will best suit you, which subject, how to decide anything, what your friends are doing, what your family expects - and that's before you start wondering if you're doing enough work to meet your likely offers.

We've tried to make the process easier to understand with our 'applicant journey', so that you can take it just one step at a time.

• Step 1: Choosing courses

  Choose your courses well. Think about what really suits you and your ideas for your future, and do plenty of research before deciding where to apply. Try the Course Finder pilot or the existing Course Search to find out which courses might suit you and the universities and colleges that offer them.

• Step 2: Applying

  Apply online using our application system, Apply. We explain what each section of the application is about, and there's help text to answer your questions.

• Step 3: Offers

  You can check if your choices are offering you a place on our online tracking system, Track. If you change your mind or aren't accepted, there are other options to help you find a new course.

• Step 4: Results

  If you're waiting for exam results, make sure you understand what happens next. We receive some exam results and send them through to the universities and colleges. For others, you send them yourself. When the results come through, check Track to see if you're accepted on your course.

• Step 5: Next steps

  If you are accepted, you will receive a letter from us that explains what happens next. If you receive different grades than expected or change your mind, there are other options available and our website will be full of information and hints about what you can do and how to do it.

• Step 6: Starting university or college

  Make sure you have everything ready, such as accommodation, finances, travel arrangements, books and equipment required for the course. Find out what support is available while you're studying.

 

Right now, you're at step 1: choosing courses.

This step focuses on choosing the right course for you - in April's and May's newsletters, we talked about how to do your detailed research. But we now need to step back a bit and look at the course types as well.

Unis offer more than full-time degrees

There are loads of different course levels to choose from - it's not all about bachelor's degrees: there are certificates of HE, foundation degrees, diplomas, master's degrees and doctorates. You'll feel more able to make good choices when you understand what exactly is on offer. At the moment, you can probably forget master's and doctorates, which require you to have a degree already, but here is more about the others to get you started.

• Certificate of Higher Education (CertHE): the first year of a degree course.
• Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE): two year, full-time courses that are usually linked to vocational areas like nursing and social work.
• Higher National Diploma (HND): a two-year course, which can sometimes lead to the third year of a degree.
• Foundation degree: academic and work-based learning undertaken with an employer. It can be studied as a stand-alone qualification or can lead to the final year of an honours degree.
• Degree: a three- or four-year course where you obtain a bachelor's degree (ordinary or honours). There are different titles and levels of degree, like:
  
  BA - Bachelor of Arts
  BSc - Bachelor of Science
  BEd - Bachelor of Education
  BEng - Bachelor of Engineering
  BMus - Bachelor of Music

There are also numerous options to study part-time. You can speak with the university or college you're interested in for more information or use the National Careers Service to find part-time courses.

For further information, go to the Course types page on ucas.com.

If you're undecided, list the pros and cons of each level, and discuss them with tutors and advisers. Try and write down your questions to take with you on your open days and visits. Check which subjects can be studied at the different levels and decide what's best for you.

Sites to help you choose

Read all the advice in the Step 1: Choosing courses section of ucas.com - this has loads of advice about choosing a course, university and doing your research. There's also a UCAStv video on choosing courses - watch it on the choosing courses page or on www.ucas.tv.

Then use Course Search to see what each university offers - check the right-hand column to see which level each course is; there's a key in the Course Search help text to explain each one.

Good luck and watch out for next month's tip - meanwhile see if you can narrow down your choice of subjects and start deciding what sort of university experience would be best for you!