My daughter, currently in the 6th form is at the stage when she is looking into what university course to choose. I would like to point her in the direction of websites which a) tell her which courses she can do given the A levels she has chosen b) tell which universities offer which courses with an outline of the syllabus c) tell her what sort of grades she needs for these courses. Any help greatly appreciated.
We are UK based.
You will not find good websites, or even any websites, that specifically help you make the decision as to which universities and courses your daughter should choose. This is the internet and there is a lot of crappy websites.
1. There is no substitute for doing your own authoritative
research.
That should be done by selectively and speculative picking institutions and requesting their prospectuses. Read them.
You may pick up ideas for other subjects, so you go further and request prospectuses for specific subjects.
You may pick up ideas to study at another institution, so you go further and request prospectuses for that institution.
2. You should first of all consult: www.ucas.com. Click on http://www.ucas.com/search/index08.html. Do a course search – a speculative search. Search a course you are interested in: e.g. "Marine Biology". Alternatively, click on search a subject and then choose one. Then click on the institutions listed as offering the course, and read their websites.
You can do this "browsing" process by looking at the official UCAS Directory available at your school, on the internet, and at the local library.
You should just browse. Its just like ordering a gift from a catalogue.
(a) You ask for courses she can do given the A levels she has chosen. Thats somewhat the wrong way round. The A levels are there to facilitate being able to do any course at degree level. The question is this: how has doing an A level in sociology, say, contributed to the decision to do a course at degree level? What skills have you learnt? What is it about sociology that interests you to study another degree subject?
So for e.g. if your daughter wants to do a history or economics degree, its recommended you study A level history of course or economics, but its fine if she studied Chemistry, or Biology. The question is, what has persuaded you, having done these subjects, that you are interested in and can commit to three years in History or Economics?
This question (a) is really a question to be asking the university. They will tell you what they need or recommend to study when they give you their prospectus. You just need to start requesting prospectuses and have a look at them. No one is going to do the work for you – no website can do it – and courses and course content change all the time.
(b) You should really start looking at the university prospectuses. I can’t tell you "which universities offer which courses with an outline of the syllabus". You have to read the wonderful prospectuses the universities provide. They go into great simple detail about the syllabus.
(c) Again, you should consult the prospectus to find out what grade.
And if you are really stuck, have a start with this link:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/index.htm
The Government website may help you, but it looks very tedious and really wastes time. You need to get into the university prospectuses.
