Using your skills and making decisions

When making decisions about going to university, it's good to know that there's plenty of information and advice to help you. Your school or college will usually have prospectuses that you can look at, and many hold 'UCAS days', where you'll get to discuss all things UCAS. Nothing beats doing your own research though - you can decide what is important to you about a university or course, so when you start the course you'll be confident that it's right.

Make the most of the resources at your school or college

Find out what's available at your school or college - along with university and college prospectuses, your library will probably have UCAS guides to applying and guides to choosing where to study. Use the university and college websites for your research, as well as the UCAS website.

When thinking about the universities and colleges, check the source of your information. Sometimes you'll come across statistics that are biased towards a particular place, so make sure that the data and advice are impartial.

Use Course Search on ucas.com to check entry requirements - most courses have an Entry Profile, which will tell you what skills a student might need for the course. You can then work out if you have what it takes - there's more about your skills below.

Attend a convention

Try to attend a convention where you can speak to various reps for the universities - they will give you an insider's view of studying there. Take a look at last month's article for tips on getting the most out of a convention.

Some students see conventions as an opportunity to collect as many prospectuses as possible, then can't carry them and/or can't see the point in looking through so many. Be selective - question the rep on the stand, and if you're happy with what they say about the university, pick up a prospectus to find out more. This way you only collect the ones you're genuinely interested in (and your arms will thank you).

Also start looking at when open days are taking place for the universities you're interested in. Dates are on the UCAS website, or check the university websites. Go to the open days page on ucas.com for more information.

Discover your skills

About three-quarters of students have no idea what career they want when they apply to university, so if you're one of them, you're not alone.

Going to university is a great way to discover what you do (and don't) want to do. From the point when you think about going to university, you start to uncover your skills (whether you realise it or not), and these can help you work out what you eventually want to do after studying.

Think about the skills you already have

When you apply, you write a personal statement, which is your opportunity to sell yourself and tell course tutors why they want you as a student. Course tutors look for more than just academic qualifications. To be successful, you'll need to think about the skills and experience you have, and work out which meet the skills needed for the course, and which offer that little bit extra than other students. These could be:

• academic achievements
• work experience
• positions of responsibility (like being captain of the rugby team or lead cameraman in a video production)
• other skills you've developed (like being calm under pressure, or finding solutions to problems).

 

Check the courses' Entry Profiles and see if the skills match what the university is looking for - you'll then know what to include on your application.

Think about the skills you will gain

The main reason people study a course at university is to get the skills required to be an 'employable' person at the end (meaning that you will get decent job offers). You'll build up these skills the whole time you're at university, but there are also a few things you can do to improve your job prospects.

For example, getting involved in sports will show that you can work in a team. If you're not interested in sport, think about other group activities, where the focus could be on anything, like debating, acting, rambling (the walking kind) or other activities where you can demonstrate general skills that could be used in almost any career. Being a good communicator, having lots of confidence, ambition, 'stickability' and being able to learn quickly and get on with people are all vital assets.

So what next?

Thinking about the skills you'll develop at university is useful, but right now you should focus on those you already have, or will have before you start the course, as these could play a big part in getting you onto the course you want. See where these skills match the requirements for the course, and use them to sell yourself on your application to university. We'll go into the application itself in more detail later in the year, but there's plenty of advice in the 'applying' section of ucas.com if you'd like to take a look now.