Five Minute University Tour: Viewing Universities During Clearing
Making a decision over which uni you’ll go to in five minutes is less than ideal, but sometimes it has to be done. If you need to make a quick decision during clearing, here’s our guide on what to look for.
University rankings
So you’ve found the ideal course for you during clearing and now it’s time to take a look at the university and see if it’s what you’re looking for. If you don’t know where to start, logically, looking at the university ranking is a good first step to take into deciding how well established an institution is. The rankings give you an idea of how the university scores in relation to teaching, research and employability expectations after graduation. Read more information on using university rankings if you’ve got time!
Living costs
It’s a well known fact that you can expect living costs to increase in certain regions of the country. Rent can be higher in places like London, as can food prices, travel and the cost of a beverage down your local. Other cities are much cheaper to live in, so take a look at student accommodation costs, flatshare costs and travel fares home. If you are looking to spend much less on living costs, a university closer to home may be the cheapest option available as you could continue to live at home and commute.
Facilities and staff
Universities aim to employ the best, most appropriate staff they can, while ensuring the facilities at the university are of a high standard. Some universities have more specialist equipment than others and some have members of staff that have been in their field of expertise longer than staff at other institutions. These may be two factors that could affect your decision on whether to study at an institution or not. It doesn’t take long to visit an institution’s website and have a gander at their prospectus, course staff and facilities on offer. Many universities include this information on their website as standard to draw students in. Universities also supply information in bite size chunks on their websites to inform students during clearing about the university and clearing process; allowing you to read through it quickly.
Online tours
You may want to take a look at the university in question in more detail, and you may not have time to visit one of their clearing open days. If this sounds like you, it may be of interest to know that many universities have visual online tours available on their websites. These tend to be in the form of short five minute videos showing you the accommodation, the facilities and the students union at the institution. If you want to get a feel for a university then this may be of benefit to you.
Distance from home
You may not want to move away from home as mentioned before, or you may want to move but still be close to home to get back on a more regular basis. If so, then take a look at routes home on trains and coaches before making the decision. If you live the Midlands then a university in the Midlands may be the best option if you want to get home quickly and cheaply. It is important to consider how far away from home you will be during your studies, especially when applying during clearing as you don’t want to be stranded half way across the country on a whim.
So there you have it. A personalised university tour in less than five minutes. Not ideal, but better than pulling the trigger without doing any research!