The whole process, from deciding to study at university, choosing Britain as the country to study in and applying to British universities, is a decisive moment in the careers of many pupils. One recommendation is to consider this long process in terms of activities which take place at different times.



The very first decision a pupil should make is whether or not to proceed to university after finishing school. As with most decisions about the future, there is not enough past experience to support making a sensible decision. Traditional, but also useful, sources of information are parents (sometimes), school counsellors, an older, more experienced person and books. The recent popularity of the Internet has made it an additional resource.

Once the decision is made to go on to higher education, the next hurdle concerns what to specialize in. Three important questions to ask are:

* What are my interests?

* Do I have what it takes?

* What are the advantages of my study?

Because the British government has recently decided that universities should be more independent, the latter have started charging students fees to cover their costs. Thus, an important question the prospective student should pose is:

* What is my (or my parents) financial situation?

English is a world-language and a good part of academic research is conducted in it. Britain has excellent research universities. These are two good reasons to think about applying to British universities.

Preparatory resources are available and it would be advisable to find and make use of them. For example, there are particular aspects of the application process which are distinctive of universities in Britain.

University rankings, or university league tables, may be an important consideration for some, but I personally think one ought to consider other important factors. At some point, one may wish to consider whether one can get into Oxford or Cambridge (jointly, Oxbridge).

There are also preparatory resources about the LNAT (National Admissions Test for Law), the UKCAT (UK Clinical Aptitude Test) or BMAT (BioMedical Admissions Test), all of which are specific to universities in Britain.

Most universities require applicants from foreign countries to take the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) tests. The British Council overseas is the first place to check for information about these tests .

Because undergraduate university application is a centralised online process handled by UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service), that is the first place any prospective student should look at to start the process of applying to British universities.