Choosing the Right Degree

Fundamentals

In order to help choose the right degree for your child, do make use of school teachers and careers advisers, if you haven’t done so already. Bringing together what your child thinks, what you think, and what his or her teachers think, is the best way of getting a rounded picture of his or her capabilities.

You are looking for three things:

  • a degree course your child wants to do;
  • which he or she has a good chance of qualifying for;
  • in a place where he or she is happy to live.

Since the turn of 2010, and for the foreseeable future, University places are going to be tight: so before you do anything else, it's crucial to check out the Application Timeline and make sure your child has got a grasp of it. Why not print it off and stick it on the kitchen wall?

Qualifications

You will look at qualifying first, because it determines the other two. If your child is going to get three Cs, she can’t do medicine anywhere. If he is going to get three Bs and wants to study English, he won’t be able to do it at Cambridge, but will be able to do it at Lincoln, and so on.

So find out what your child’s predicted grades are: talk to teachers, as above.

The bog standard UCAS tariff system for A level grades is: A* = 140; A = 120; B=100; C=80; D=60; E=40. So three Bs is 300 points. For other qualifications (AS levels, Baccalaureate, BTEC etc) check out the UCAS website.

Choosing a subject

Once you’ve a reasonable idea of predicted grades, you will look at the subject your child would like to study. There are four questions to ask about a prospective University subject: 

  • will I get into it with my A levels? 
  • will I enjoy it?
  • will I be any good at it?
  • will it take me on to the career I want?

This tends to be the order in which potential students ask the questions; whereas parents are likely to give somewhat more priority to question four. It was ever thus.

Once you’ve reached a view on predicted grades and subject, the presenting issue will be something like: which places will take three Bs for English? Much the easiest way to find out is the Unistats website.

Unistats will help you compile a shortlist of Universities: and then the work begins in earnest.

The next step is usually choosing a University. If you already know that your child is considering Aberystwyth, click here. Otherwise, click 'Choosing the right University' to carry on on through the Application Maze.