University - we don't know where to start!

[Unicycle82]

My ds is nearly 17 and in his first year of A levels.
He would really like to go to university and we would like to support him. We are very proud, neither myself or my dh went to university and we literally have no idea where to start.

They did go to a UCAS event from college but they only had an hour there and ds said it was packed and just came back with some brochures.

Does anyone have any tips when looking for a university. Did you shortlist 2 or 3 and then travel to see them?

How do you know which universities are best for certain subjects? Or which would suit your child better?

Thanks so much in advance ☺️

Whether there is an interview or not may depend on subject (plus Oxbridge for everything, and clinical degrees - medicine, vet, dentistry). When my dd was applying for elec eng, all of her 5 choices interviewed. I got the impression quite a few chemistry degrees did too - we joked that it was the subjects where there was a realistic chance of blowing the place up so they wanted to look you in the eye.

Op I know you said he was thinking of looking at plant science and that's fine if it's really what he wants to do.. But encourage him to look at other courses that may be better suited to a career in perfumery. There are courses in cosmetic science and that looks more relevant. He may not know these courses exist or have considered them.

Lots to think about!
We started off by visiting the most local universities at the open days and speaking to the tutors in the subject departments our dc was studying. Everyone was incredibly helpful and helped her shortlist the area she wanted to study. Once we sorted that, we looked at the unis that offered her course. A really good piece of advice we had was not necessarily to choose based on the uni, but more the lifestyle of where she wanted to study - ie town, city, countryside, seaside. We looked at where the accommodation was in relation to the uni buildings and whittled it down that way. You list 5 universities in your application, and once the offers (hopefully come in) you have the opportunity to look again seriously on applicant's days, which will start this spring for September's intake.

Listen to the person who talks about earning and alternatives. You need to work backwards from where he wants to work. Do they usually hire only people with degrees? What degrees are in favour? If he doens't make his dream, then what is the employment and pay prospect of graduates with the degree?

I saw an article recently about people regretting their degrees. A lot of them have fine arts degree. One from the Central Saint Martin art school which is very prestigious. The problem is only rich kids who don't need to earn a living can afford that kind of degree. I'm not trying to crush anyone's dream. But perfumery is quite niche and he really needs to understand employability.

I agree with that. Working backwards from the type of job he wants is the best way, as that gives you the pathways, degree subject if necessary, right back to A level choices.

Now we have so many kids at Uni, the old ways of "any degree will do" for jobs is declining and many employers are looking for applicants with more relevant degrees, or workplace apprenticeships, or relevant workplace experience. They can do that because of the greater numbers of applicants so in a lot of industries supply is outstripping demand, hence why a lot of employers now use ever increasing levels of aptitude tests etc in their application processes and AI to automatically reject applicants without pre-selected qualifications/experiences, etc.

My niece was interested in plants too, but decided to apply for a broader biology degree rather than plant science, as they were often a bit agricultural.

I remember Royal Holloway was a strong contender, as it had a lot of plant modules, which was unusual. And it was close to Wisley and Kew, and I think there was some exotic field trips offered.
She didn’t go there in the end, but I just looked at the entry requirements, BBB/BBC so might be an achievable choice. It’s a very pretty and green campus.