Higher education: A chance to widen your horizons

Going to university or college (and remember that there are many colleges of higher and indeed further education which offer degrees and other HE qualifications) can be, and usually is, great fun.

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Higher Education: What does a degree offer me?

Going to university or college (and remember that there are many colleges of higher and indeed further education which offer degrees and other HE qualifications) can be, and usually is, great fun. You meet new people, explore new ideas, go to new places and widen your horizons.

The important thing to remember is that you should enjoy yourself. Do a subject you will enjoy somewhere that suits you. Do not be pressurised into applying to a particular institution or to study a particular subject just because your parents or teachers think it's what you should do.

There is all this gloom and doom that students now have to pay tuition fees and don't get maintenance grants. Well, the latter is true – although only about a third of students have to pay full tuition fees and a third pay nothing – but graduates tend to earn much more than non-graduates, and the sacrifice you make becoming a student pays off handsomely after graduation.

You will no doubt be bored by the UCAS application form, either on paper or preferably electronically. But UCAS is not simply a boring administrative machine: our website ( www.ucas.com) contains a wealth of information. If in any doubt about your application, call us on 01242 227788.

As an aging chief executive, it has been an absolute privilege to work with the younger generation in this country which never fails to surprise me in its talent, hard work and ambition. I will have absolutely no time for those who say that when A-level results improve year on year, there must be a diminution in standards. You are all working hard with huge motivation to ensure that you can improve your lives. I guarantee you that it is worth it to put in the effort, and UCAS is there to give you help whenever you need it.

Good luck.