FAQs

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Absolutely. Every university has a dedicated support network to help students with any issues during their study. For example, Cardiff University has a dedicated ‘Academic study skills’ department that helps new students with the transition from further into higher education. Their support comprises of online/in-person classes, face to face sessions, and online resources that cater towards helping students improve their academic writing and developing students’ approaches to tasks. On the other hand, universities across the UK possess facilities that actively support your mental health and wellbeing during your time as a student. After settling on a university, you might decide to contact the institution before arriving to see what services are on offer; this can help at a later date should the need to access these facilities arise. In addition, every university has a dedicated Students’ Union, a student-led department that dedicates itself to supporting you as an individual by ensuring you feel supported within a healthy and happy learning environment. One service the Students’ Union offers is counselling sessions, where you can sit face-to-face with a specially trained members of staff who can provide support when you need it.

In in metus in orci lobortis malesuada. Vivamus eu justo vitae erat suscipit fermentum vitae non nulla. Quisque diam ex, venenatis sed dignissim in, sollicitudin sed lectus. Fusce venenatis risus nibh, vitae feugiat nunc hendrerit id. Donec consequat tortor sed tortor pulvinar, ut facilisis enim mollis. Praesent tristique nibh enim, a congue eros facilisis ac. Sed accumsan varius tempor.One answer to this comes down to a balance between two things: what you enjoy studying, and what you’re good at studying. Firstly, think about what you enjoy. You might be brilliant at Chemistry but struggle to feel passionate about the subject. Alternatively, you might find that you’re much more passionate about studying Maths, and you also happen to be pretty good at this subject too! Also, the course content can play a role when deciding what to study at university. Use university websites to have a look at what specific modules are on offer. Depending on the lecturers’ specialty, different universities will offer different modules, and while one university’s English course might teach a module on Children’s Literature, another won’t have this module as an option.  Furthermore, consider whether you learn better from coursework or exams. Do you prefer working on a project over time i.e. coursework, or the short and sharp focus needed to complete an exam so the work is done within a short burst? Perhaps you like an element of both, so have a look to see if the course offers a blend of both assessment styles. Finally, it is useful to consider what kind of job you want in the future. For example, if your heart is set on entering a medical profession, a good starting point would be to look at what areas you can go into. A simple Google search for ‘how to become a…’ can help you with this. Ultimately, will your chosen degree give you the necessary skills and experience to prepare you for this future job? 

To help you consider what job you would like to do, career quizzes are a definite go-to. You can find these on websites such as ‘prospects.ac.uk’ and ‘targetcareers.co.uk’. Alongside quizzes, these websites offer a wealth of general career advice and resources. It might also be helpful to think about this question in relation to your ideal university degree. If you can see yourself working in the finance sector in later life, picking a degree such as History might not be as beneficial as Mathematics, or even a degree in ‘Accountancy and Finance’. UCAS can also be a brilliant resource website to help you plot out how you see your career unfolding. Remember, this can be completely flexible, and as you progress in education new avenues of interest might arise. However, making a rough plan certainly wouldn’t hurt. And who knows, the longer you stay in education the more plans you might end up making.

Google UCAS and click on the ‘Undergraduate’ page at the top of the screen. Scroll down until you find a bubble of the left-hand side entitled ‘Choosing what and where to study’. This page includes useful information such as ‘Subject guides’ and ‘Choosing a course’. Alternatively, you could always search your course of interest in the website’s search button. Doing this will showcase every UK institution, in alphabetical order, that offers your desired course. From here, you can click on each result to find out more about studying your subject at that university.

Studying is the most important part of university education. The purpose of your time studying at university is to develop your knowledge for something you are extremely passionate about under the guidance of lecturers who are specialists in specific fields of research. You will gain a higher education qualification that is internationally recognised and respected by employers and academics worldwide and additionally, your qualification will help increase your earning potential after graduating university.

However, by no means is studying the only part of university education. For starters, university is about gaining a newfound independence in your life, where you might decide to live away from home in student accommodation. This decision means taking on responsibility for your own cooking, cleaning, independent studying and managing your budgeting skills. Another part of university is joining societies and indulging in interests with likeminded students. With Cardiff, for example, you’re dropped into a city that offers so much to explore, where sport and music events, shopping trips, and local culture are just some of the options on offer. In addition, you will also have the opportunity to complete paid work, where you can apply to these roles to help out with your budgeting and earn money while studying at university.

For professional training degrees, such as Medicine or Dentistry, these courses will require a successful interview to be offered a place onto the programme. Meanwhile, humanities and social sciences degrees such as Geography, English, and Journalism and Media almost never interview to award a place. The two exceptions to the rule are the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, where regardless of degree status (professional training/humanities and social sciences) you MUST interview as part of the application process. But don’t worry, you can find plenty of guidance on this through UCAS and the Oxbridge websites.

Think of UCAS as an essential resource bank for anyone who is unsure about what to do after leaving school. Their website offers in depth advice covering further education study options and applying for post-16 apprenticeships, alongside detailed guidance for aspiring undergraduate university students. Google ‘UCAS’ and get stuck into their website to see for yourself how much it offers you!

The biggest difference between Russell Group and non-Russell Group institutions comes down to the research produced. Typically, Russell Group universities are oriented towards producing world-leading research in various academic fields. Also, these universities will generally offer more academic subjects such as Geography and Biology, while non-Russell Group universities offer significantly more vocation-specific degrees such as Fashion and Design. It is entirely possible that you will experience both types of university. For example, you might opt to study English Language and Linguistics at Cardiff University, a Russell Group Institution. After graduating you might undertake a Speech and Language Therapy degree at Cardiff Met University, a non-Russell Group institution, focusing your skillset for your future career.

There is no right or wrong answer to this, as the best decision is one that’s right for you. But to help you think about which option you prefer, here are some things that you can take into consideration:

1. Independence. Travelling away from home to study means greater responsibility for things like cooking, cleaning, budgeting etc., and will give you a totally different experience of life in a new place you might not have seen before. However, if you would prefer to have a more accessible support system of friends and family from your hometown, you may want to think about choosing a university close to home.
2. Expenses. Networks such as Student Finance relieve the anxiety surrounding affording university, especially away from home. However, you might prefer to hold onto that money you would’ve spent travelling away from home and open a savings account, choosing to live at home while studying at a university close to home.
3. Making friends. At home, you have friends that you’ve grown up with and might be sad to leave. Alternatively, moving away from home and having a fresh start in a new place provides you with the opportunity to establish new friendships.
4. Location. If your area has everything you would want surrounding your education, e.g. nightlife, culture, shopping etc. then staying close to home might be the best option for you. By contrast, studying in a new location might give you an interesting and exciting new culture of living to experience. Living away from home means expanding your horizons before choosing to settle down later in life, so it might be worth giving this some thought too.

The word ‘Undergraduate’ means any student currently studying at a university who does not already have a degree. Undergraduate degrees in humanities and social sciences (History, English etc.) teach you the fundamental elements with room to specialise in particular areas of interest during your final year of study. One option to express the depth of your interest in a chosen field could mean undertaking a dissertation, which is an extended research project that you complete independently across your final year. These degree programmes generally last three years. Other degrees might be longer, such as professional training degrees (Dentistry, Medicine etc.) and last five years, but prepare you for a specific working field. Within these degrees, you can undertake an intercalation, where you leave your current degree for a year and spend that time studying on another related degree programme, e.g. Biomedical Science. While this extends your total time at university to six years, you will graduate with two degrees. After completing an Undergraduate degree, some students might decide to continue their studies with Postgraduate qualifications, which involve higher levels of research and develop your specialist knowledge of certain field(s).

Don’t worry, this isn’t something you need to think too much about now, as you’ll have plenty of opportunities for talks explaining the ins and outs of finance during your further education. But to alleviate any anxiety, I can confirm that you will be able to afford going to university. While a lot of people consider university to be too expensive and unaffordable, this is where Student Finance plays a huge role. Student Finance is a system put in place to ensure everyone can gain access to university study.

Most first-time students can receive loans from Student Finance that you don’t need to pay upfront. One of these loans is a tuition fee loan, where the annual £9,000 cost of studying at university is sent directly to your chosen institution and covers your fees. The other loan is a maintenance loan, which helps you with groceries, studying equipment and paying for your student accommodation. If you’re applying through Student Finance Wales, there is also a maintenance grant. By contrast to a loan, this grant doesn’t need to be paid back. The difference between grant/loan is calculated according to your household’s income. After you graduate, you will only start paying your loan back once you earn over £27,295 a year, and you only pay back a very small amount of your total debt per month. After thirty years, anything you still owe is automatically wiped from the system. Scholarships and bursaries are also available, which can help towards financing your study. In short, a wealth of resources ensure studying at university is affordable and attainable.

While the Higher Education Roadshow supports students who wish to transition into higher education, we want to help you make the right choice about your future. Sometimes, this future might not involve studying at university, and this is absolutely fine. For example, you might decide that a traineeship is the right choice for you. This pathway involves preparation for the world of work via a shorter course designed to help build vital skills. During this course, you would spend time learning on the job and studying to help improve your skills and get work experience. This option is a fantastic way of finding out if the job is right for you with no commitment. Alternatively, you might want to undertake an apprenticeship, which is a mix of working and studying for a qualification instead of a university degree. You would be employed full time while studying, and if you were looking for a career in construction for instance, an apprenticeship would give you the exact qualification you need. Contrary to a traineeship, this option is perfect if you know the job is exactly what you want.