The decision you make on what you do when you leave school will have a profound effect on the rest of your life.

If you are in the Lower Sixth form and thinking of taking A2 levels and going on to university you should start thinking about the process of applying for a place as early as February of that year. This is twenty months before you will finally enter university!

• Graduates generally have a better starting salary than non-graduates
• There may be the possibility to earn more during your lifetime
• You will have the opportunity to study a subject you really enjoy
• You will enjoy a lifestyle and have different opportunities, both socially and academically, which are much less restrictive than school
• You will enjoy the company of students from a wide variety of backgrounds
• You are likely to live away from home so it is an ideal time to develop your own self-confidence
• You will begin to take responsibility for your own future

It is important if you are to benefit from the experience of university life that you make the correct choice for you.

This entails ensuring that you:

• Choose the correct university
• Chooses the correct subject
• Choose the correct course

To achieve this end there are many resources to help you. Your school will have:

• careers teachers to advise you,
• books on universities and the courses that they offer,
• books on which university offers the best course for the subject that you wish to study
• there are web-sites and software available to help you match your aptitudes and interests to the right degree subject
• all universities provide prospectuses and information for you to read and collate information
• there are Open Days at the universities and the opportunity to visit the campus and decide if it suits you

Please ensure that you investigate all these avenues before reaching a final decision. Be realistic about your results and your abilities. Also include in the decision-making the following suggestions;

• The most important question…Does the university offer the course that I want to study?
• What are the entry requirements?…there is no point in applying if the offer is going to be above your predicted grades.
• I enjoy sport - what is available on campus?
• What accommodation does the university offer?
• Is it in a city or do I prefer a collegiate university?
• Do I want to stay in Halls of Residence with meals provided or would I prefer self-catering?
• What can I afford?...universities are expensive
• How far is the campus from home?…take into account travelling costs

No one can make these decisions for you. You are the one that is going to have to spend at least three years studying at that university and working on the course.