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Selecting your university
There are a good number of universities in the UK and there are quite a few top names. However, there are fewer choices compared to USA and so decision making is simplified.
The Guardian publishes university league tables which give detailed comparisons of various universities and their attributes.
Universities are divided into departments (also called schools) to independently handle each subject. It is important to understand that a particular university may have some excellent departments but may not be as good with other departments. So besides choosing a big university name you will also need to focus on how good the department you intend to go to is in that university. Remember that certain smaller university names may have very good department for your subject and their department could give you a much better education in your degree than a popular university with only a mediocre department for your subject.
Other common factors include international student support (esp. if this is the first time you are coming to the UK or you are not very independent), choice of courses, tuition fee costs, whether or not you would like to receive a scholarship and living costs for the town in which your university is located.
It helps to draw up a table of factors you are concerned about and then give a weight to each factor (1-5). Then rate each university on each factor (1-10). Multiply the factor weight with the factor rating and sum up the product for each university. Universities with higher scores are better for you than ones with lower scores.
Example:
| Factor | Factor Wt | Uni1 | Uni2 | Uni3 |
| Factor1 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 5 |
| Factor2 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| Factor3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| Totals | 9 | 12(9x12=108) | 23(207) | 15(135) |
Remember you don't have to make a blind choice, if something is unclear email the university international department1or write to your school2 asking questions that concern you. It will help you narrow down your choices and eliminate time wasters. Remember to say Thank you at the end of your email.
