CHAPTER 6 - Which University?

Abstract

This chapter discusses the ways in which students can choose universities in England and Whales. There are now 30 universities and 2 university colleges in the British Isles. There are 110 different bodies dealing with applications for admission, but there is competition for places. There are 3 ancient foundations Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham; London, which incorporates several colleges; 8 civic universities; 5 former colleges now being developed as universities in their own right; the University of Wales with its 4 constituent colleges; 4 universities in Scotland; 1 in Northern Ireland; and 8 new universities. Over 32,000 students are admitted each year, and the number will rise rapidly in the next few years. The amount of accommodation in colleges or halls of residence is limited. Some universities are much better off than others. On the average, half the students live in lodgings and a quarter in halls of residence or in college; rather more than one-fifth live at home. The choice of a university depends on several factors, many of them personal, such as the subject a student wishes to take, the university's requirements in terms of G.C.E. passes, the facilities for residential accommodation, and a personal liking for a particular university.