Assessing your Options
There are 19 universities in Scotland with hundreds of possible courses available, so you have a lot of choices to decide on before applying to university. We have some tips for you to help narrow down your options.
Choosing your subjects
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Do you need a degree to get into that career? What subject do you need to get the degree in? Check out our Graduate Job Matcher to get an idea for the future.
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What do you like about them? Could you study that subject, or something similar at university? Use our Graduate Job Matcher to see what jobs your favourite subjects link to.
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There are courses and subjects at university that you might not have experienced such as Chemical Engineering, Pharmacy, or Forensics. Explore the options universities have by looking on their websites, reading prospectuses, and attending Open Days.
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Some courses have specific grades in particular subjects that you need to get into the course so you need to consider if you have enough Higher grades required, and if your Highers are in the essential subjects. Use our Subject Chooser to find out what subjects and Highers are needed for your course. If you aren’t on track for the specific subjects and grades needed for a degree, you have alternative routes to get you there: some people go to college first, to gain an HNC/HND qualification. These can articulate into a university degree programme.
Researching Courses
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Think about where you might want to go for university, there are 19 universities across Scotland so consider if you want to stay in the West of Scotland, or experience somewhere new.
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Think about if you want to stay at home and travel to universities nearby, or if you want to move out and travel to a university further away from the West of Scotland. Have a look at our advice on Moving Out and think about what would suit you.
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Think about the opportunities the universities have outside of the different courses they have available- What kind of clubs and societies does it have? What sport facilities does it offer? Is there the opportunity to study abroad?
Compare Courses
Once you have narrowed down the subject you want to study, you can start to compare what universities offer that as a course- use UCAS as a tool to filter results using subject and location preferences.
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Think about how much practical work is involved, how the course is assessed, and if you can choose to focus on a particular area.
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This might give you more flexibility if there were a few areas you wanted to focus on and keep more opportunities available to you for career paths after university.
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You might know you like a certain subject at school, such as Biology, but you might want to study something more specific within that at university. Think about what it is that interests you most about that subject and if the university offers a specialist course, such as Marine Biology or Biochemistry.
Compare Entry Requirements
Each university has different entry requirements, so it is important to research what the different universities ask for.
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Look at the Scottish Qualifications requirements on UCAS to see which Highers are required. Some courses might ask for Highers in specific subjects, use our Subject Chooser to find out what you need. It is important to refer to each university's own website to find out what their entry requirements are, these pages will tell you how many exam passes/specified grades you will need to have achieved by the end of S5 and/or the end of S6. ‘Adjusted offers’ means the university could reduce the entry requirements slightly if you meet certain criteria. Have a look at the university websites and read their information on ‘Widening Participation’ and ‘Access’.
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Try to think realistically what you could achieve by the end of S5 and S6, this will help you to narrow down your choices because some universities have higher entry requirements than others. When it comes to applying you can choose 4 or 5 different courses which means you can include a mix of universities where some have lower entry requirements than others.
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Most courses typically only ask for certain grades in your Higher subjects at school, but some courses require you to sit an extra test, audition, interview, or submit additional work. Look at Accessing the Professions to find out what else is required for courses in Law, Medicine, Dentistry, or Vet Medicine. Look at Accessing the Performing Arts to find out what else is required for courses in performing or production arts (music, dance, acting, film). Look at Accessing Art and Design to find out what else is required for courses in Art or Design.