Notes and help for 'finding a course'

1. DURHAM SCHOOL - UCAS DAY (11-06-2012)
NOTES ON FINDING A COURSE
UCAS website - http://www.ucas.com/
 Go to the ‘STUDENTS’ tab and have a look around.
 Remind yourself of the tariff (UCAS) points and how to convert A and AS level grades (click UCAS
TARIFF -> TARIFF TABLES and scroll down to the GCE table
 Which Uni? If you know an area of the country you want to study in but do not know the Universities
which are there, click on ‘WHERE TO STUDY’ and complete the easy steps
 COURSE RESEARCH – click on the ‘COURSE SEARCH’ link and then ‘SEARCH FOR COURSES STARTING
IN 2013’. Remember...
 Check the QUALIFICATION and COURSE LENGTH
 Find out the ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. Note the grades or points offer and any other
important information (e.g. excluded subjects, GCSEs required)
 Go on the COURSE INFORMATION to find out more detail about the course, the skills needed,
careers, etc.
 Find out MORE DETAILS of your course by going to the UNIVERSITY WEB PAGES. Note the course
structure, assessment, etc
RUSSELL GROUP – a list of some of the top universities http://russellgroup.ac.uk/home/ . A
similar group is the 1994 group (http://www.1994group.ac.uk/)
WHAT UNI - http://www.whatuni.com/
 A less formal web site which includes testimonials from students
 Use the ‘STUDENT CENTRE’ to search for courses. This will generate the ‘Times Good University
rankings’
GUARDIAN Good Uni guide - http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/series/university-
guide-2013-subjects
 Use this to see the latest subject specific rankings.
OPEN DAYS – use www.opendays.com to find out when the next open days are for your
potential universities
UNIVERSITY NOT FOR YOU?
 http://www.notgoingtouni.co.uk for careers advice and vacancies.
Have a look at
 See www.jobzoo.co.uk for more information and advice. Go to ‘choosing a job’ for details about careers
in specific areas