About Us

This is unambiguously a consumer website − for those applying for first degrees, who will become the final consumers of UK higher education. It unashamedly sides with sixth formers and undergraduates – not teachers, not university admissions staff, not UCAS (although we have good working relations with all of these).

The website is based on The Student Book, a long-established and well-respected book also edited by Jenny Lees-Spalding and Klaus Boehm. The most recent (the 30th) edition was published as the Guide to UK Universities 2010. The book ran to 800 pages but the website allows you to navigate much more effectively around the vast amount of information about universities and degree courses. You can narrow your search and focus on precisely what you want − and so make your very own shortlist.

How to use the site

You can use this website to find the university or college that best suits you. The website has detailed information on nearly 250 UK universities and colleges, offering British first degrees (or equivalent).

• To find the universities and colleges that might interest you, you can Search by the subject you want to study or by the geographical location.
• This will give you a list of universities that fit your criteria, with some key data on each – the total number of students, the average entry points of the students, annual tuition fee etc. Click on the top of any of these columns to re-sort the list.
• Click on any university name to see more detailed information – from student numbers, details of accommodation, subjects offered, tuition fees charged, a genuine Student View of what life is really like there − and lots more.

In addition, the site includes invaluable information on

• Making your shortlist – the criteria you might consider when shortlisting both your university and what to study when you get there.
• How to apply. A handy guide to how to apply to university, from your first application through to Clearing.
• Money matters. How much it will all cost, what grants and loans you might be able to get, and tips for managing the money that you have.
• Freshers’ survival guide. Our handy A-Z helps you get to grips with the realities of student life – from Accommodation to Welfare.
• Gap years. How to make the most of a year out, if you take one, and long vacations.

Our website aims to help you make your own, personal shortlist of universities to look at. After that it's down to you to look hard at each one – look carefully at the university websites (and maybe the departmental prospectuses and students’ union websites too). And don’t even think about spending three years of your life in a place you have not visited...

So we aim to help with the first step. Then it’s down to you – good luck!

ABOUT THE EDITORS

Jenny has long been interested in education and, particularly, the individual students and consumers of the system. She was academic registrar at what is now London Metropolitan University, working with students on first degree courses. She has since been involved with undergraduate programmes based at City University and the Open University.

Klaus has developed a wide range of reference titles with a number of publishers, both paper and electronic. These include the Dictionary of the History of Science, British Archives, The Royal & Ancient Golfer's Handbook, The Macmillan Nautical Almanac and the prize-winning The European Community. Klaus lives in London. He likes food, wine, music and the countryside. He dislikes precedent, pecking orders and all those with an over-developed sense of their own importance.

In addition to The Student Book, Klaus and Jenny’s joint titles include the Guide to Independent Schools, the leading guide to independent secondary schools. All their titles share a common philosophy: users are intelligent people who make their own choices; reference works are a good starting point for preliminary investigations and developing a strategy but are no substitute for primary sources.

ABOUT THE STUDENT BOOK

This website is based on the long-established book, The Student Book, also edited by Jenny Lees-Spalding and Klaus Boehm. The most recent (the 30th) edition of the book was published as the Guide to UK Universities 2010.

• Like the website, its core is detailed information on nearly 250 universities and colleges.
• To help you narrow your choice, there are search lists giving the universities teaching particular subjects, those with high/low drop-out rates, those with star research departments, etc.
• There are sections giving handy advice on criteria to consider when making your shortlist, how to apply, how to get the money, how to survive your first year and tips on gap years.
• There are also maps, a glossary, an address list and much more.