Higher Education

Next Steps - Post 18

Higher education is the name for qualifications and courses you can take after 18. It includes diplomas, foundation years, bachelor degrees and more. You can often study flexibly at your own pace by learning online or part-time. Courses are usually taught in universities, colleges or specialist institutions like art schools. 

Each higher education provider and qualification will have its own entry requirements that you’ll need to meet. You'll usually need A levels or a qualification that’s the same level. If you’re not sure, you can see what the different qualification levels mean.

You can take an access to higher education diploma to prepare you for university if you’re over 19 and do not have A levels.

Most universities and colleges charge a tuition fee to cover the cost of your course. You can apply for funding from student finance to support you. You may also be eligible for a scholarship, grant or bursary, depending on your circumstances and the subject you’re studying.

After higher education

You can use your higher education qualifications towards:

• postgraduate degrees
• graduate employment schemes
• getting a job

You could also look for volunteering opportunities to get workplace experience and build new skills.

Links for Students 

TARGET careers university profiles give details such as number of students, student-staff ratio and average UCAS tariff needed: 

https://targetcareers.co.uk/university-hubs

The Careerpilot Degree Course Search tool is a good place to start to look at university courses that you might be interested in. You can save courses of interest within your Career Tools so that they can be viewed again when you next log on. Find out lots of information about each course:

- Entry requirements 

- Student Satisfaction 

- Average salary of graduates 6 months after graduation

For students who are interested in studying at either Oxford or Cambridge university check out the information and tips put together by Careerpilot

UCAS has information about all full-time degrees, Foundation Degrees and HNCs/HNDs. Part-time courses will be found on university's and college's own websites. Find out your options and start planning your next steps including university and degree apprenticeships: www.ucas.com

Whatuni? helps students find universities and courses and has a University Comparison Tool.

You can search for:

- Degrees

- Foundation degrees

- HNC/HNDs

- Access and Foundation Years

Which? University has a course search which also provides comparison data such as student satisfaction, grades/points needed, how the course will be assessed, etc

The Complete University Guide has information about courses, subjects, student satisfaction, etc. The site also shows the top courses for each subject.

Discover Uni is the official government website for comparing UK higher education course data.

This includes student satisfaction scores from the National Student Survey, jobs and salaries after study, and other key information for prospective students. You can make bookmark courses and compare them.