Around a third of all 18-year-olds choose to go on to university. If you’re one of them, here is how to go about securing a place.

Choosing the right place

You’ll want a ‘good’ university and ‘good’ course – but how can you be certain that what you are applying for meets your ideas of quality? Investigate the course in detail by visiting the institution’s website and asking to be sent a prospectus. A university may be highly regarded but not place much emphasis on the subject you wish to study or it might be less well-known but offer a top-class course in your chosen field.

When choosing places, consider the following factors:

• Course content – does it cover the subjects that you are interested in and/or require for your chosen career? Not all degrees are the same, even if their titles are similar.
  
  
• Quality of teaching – how well will the course be taught, and what support will be made available to you?
  
  
• Accreditation – some courses – particularly vocational ones – are accredited by professional bodies. Ask the university if this applies to yours.
  
  
• Employment – what is the university’s success rate for students finding jobs within six months of graduation?
  
  
• Social life – this can be equally as important a consideration as academic ones. No one wants to spend three or four years living somewhere they hate.

Applying

You will need a form from the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS), which organise and regulates the entry procedure for most higher education institutions in the UK. Your school should supply you with the necessary paperwork, or you can visit www.ucas.ac.uk to order a form or make your application online.

You must submit your form, which allows you to apply for up to six courses, by a strict deadline (usually near the end of the year, but earlier if you are applying to Oxford or Cambridge university). There are a number of seemingly minor but essential rules, such as only using black ink and block capitals, which you must follow if your application is to be successfully read by the UCAS computer system. A small fee is required: £5 if you apply for one course, £15 if you apply for two or more.

Within a few weeks, you will receive a decision from each of your chosen universities, which will be unconditional – as long as you achieve certain A-level grades – or a rejection. You can then make one acceptance and decline all other offers.

Extra

If you find yourself without an offer after using your six choices (you may have been refused, withdrawn your applications, or declined all offers), then you will be eligible for Extra. UCAS will notify you of this status. You can choose to proceed online (using a special button that will be added to your UCAS profile) or on paper (using an Extra Passport with its own unique code number). You cannot change between the two media.

Lists of universities with available places will be listed on the UCAS website and in The Independent newspaper on several days in April, May and June. You can apply by phone or online to any institution marked as accepting Extra students.

Clearing

If you do not achieve the right grades, decline all your offers, or apply late for a course with places still available, you can get to university through Clearing. This runs from the middle of July and means you will have to be available throughout the summer to deal with admissions tutors and make decisions.

If you are eligible for Clearing, you will automatically receive a Clearing Entry Form (CEF) and instruction booklet. There will be no need to ask to be sent the details.

You can apply for any course that has places left and you don’t need to stick to the subjects you previously applied to study. Lists of the available courses will appear on the UCAS website and in The Independent, The Independent on Sunday and the Daily Mirror.

You will have to contact the universities by phone and quote your Clearing entry number and original UCAS number. You may have to make a personal visit for an interview. If an institution is happy that you meet their requirements, it will ask you to send your CEF. You will then be offered a place, or the CEF will be returned to you so that your can try another university.