CHOOSING UNIVERSITIES

Universities and colleges of higher education are now to be found at more than 200 locations around Britain. Some will be sited in places similar to ones you know well but others will be in less familiar surroundings. Your choice of where to go is going to be most strongly influenced by who offers the kind of course you fancy and what type of places you want to live in. After that you are going to have to start coming up with your own shortlist of universities and colleges, although it is not possible to put them all in neat pigeon holes.

The thumbnail sketches that follow may come in handy.

A TAXONOMY OF UNIVERSITIES

The Redbricks or Big Civics

(such as Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, and Birmingham)

Founded or greatly expanded by the Victorians (who liked bricks) in the cities that spearheaded the industrial revolution. Can have up to 20,000 students. Offer a very wide range of courses, with a strong emphasis on science, medicine and engineering. Tend to be housed in a number of large buildings distributed near the city centre. Most halls of residence were built later and are sited in the suburbs. Often amount to significant student communities in their own right. Students' Union is normally large and central. Plenty of opportunities to follow both high(ish) and popular culture.

The Campus Universities

(such as Kent, Bath, and York)

Built in the mid-Sixties, mainly out of concrete. Usually smaller than redbricks and concentrated on a single site within a short walk or bus ride of a town. Some, such as Surrey and Salford, were created by relocating and renaming colleges of technology and retain a strong bias towards science, engineering and vocational subjects. Others, such as Lancaster, were started from scratch with a significant leaning towards the social sciences and humanities

The New Universities

(such as Middlesex, De Montfort and Humberside)

Created in 1992 from the former polytechnics and retaining strength in applied subjects and flexible degree programmes that allow students to do some, or sometimes all, of their learning while working. Some have expanded by merging different institutions and therefore have a number of campuses.

The Colleges and

Institutes of

Higher Education

Originally specialised in teacher training and many had specific religious affiliations. Have since diversified into offering a wider spectrum of courses, often with vocational slants. Smaller than most universities and place emphasis on close and continuing contact between staff and students. Usually award the degrees of a local partner university.

Oxbridge

Still in a category of their own but are now abandoning setting their own entrance exams. You apply to colleges, not the university. Each has its own subject strengths and facilities, so you need to do careful research before applying.

FEDERALS

London

All 22 colleges have their own prospectuses and distinctive subject profiles. The location offers great opportunities for research and extra-curricular activity. Some say that accommodation can be a problem, as can the cost of living (although you do get about pounds 500 and pounds 300 per year extra respectively on your grant and loan).

Wales

Seven colleges, spread across the Principality. Mainly operate as separate units, although they do share things like degree regulations. Colleges vary from Cardiff, which is big and civic, to Aberystwyth, which is smaller and more rural.