Knowing your resources and making decisions

When making decisions about going to university, it's good to know that there's plenty of information and advice to help you. Your school or college will usually have lots of resources to help you - from uni and college prospectuses to 'UCAS days', where you'll get to discuss all things UCAS. Get to know the resources at your fingertips. Nothing beats doing your own research though - you can decide what is important to you about a university or course, so when you start the course you'll be confident that it's right for you.

Make the most of the resources at your school or college

Find out what's available at your school or college. Along with university and college prospectuses, your library will probably have lots of UCAS guides, books and other materials on how to apply and what to study. Don't forget - there's lots of information on www.ucas.com to help you as well.

Your school will probably have a higher education or careers adviser to help you along the way. Find out who this person is so you know who to go to with questions. You might also want to think about tutors at your school who can help you with your application. They can tell you about careers in their subject area and the types of skills you'll need. They might even become your referee on your UCAS application, so it's never too early to get to know your tutors better!

At your school, there may be parents' evenings, UCAS days or in some cases, a visit from a UCAS representative. Other schools might also take you to a UCAS convention.

Attend a convention

UCAS holds nearly 50 conventions around the UK to help students like you research unis and courses you might be interested in. Chances are, there may be one nearby that your school will take you to so that you can find out more.

When you go to a convention, make sure you take a list of questions you want to ask the university representatives. You'll get an insider's view of what it's like there and this information may help you narrow down your choices.

Some students see conventions as an opportunity to collect as many prospectuses as possible. Be selective - question the rep on the stand, and if you're happy with what they say about the university, pick up a prospectus to find out more. This way you only collect the ones for universities and colleges you're genuinely interested in (and your arms will thank you)!!

Also start looking at when open days are taking place for the universities you're interested in. Dates are on the UCAS website, or check the university websites.

Introducing PREP.

UCAS has created a resource to help you make the most out of a UCAS convention. PREP. is your comprehensive preparation guide for visiting a UCAS higher education convention. On this website and in the PDF version, you will find loads of suggested questions, top tips and worksheets to help you get the most from your visit. You can find out more about the UCAS higher education conventions at www.ucas.com/conventions.

A note about rankings

When thinking about where to study, you might come across rankings or league tables. Make sure you look closely at who put these lists together and what criteria were used in the rankings. Sometimes you'll come across statistics that are biased towards a particular place, so make sure that the data and advice are impartial. There are no government rankings available in the UK.

Use Course Finder and university or college websites to check out information that's important to you. Remember all unis and courses are unique, so it's important to find what's right for you.

Finally, if you go to a UCAS convention, don't forget to stop by the UCAS stand! There will be UCAS experts on hand to answer any questions you have about researching your courses!

See you there!