Aspiring undergraduates faced with that dilemma of where to study for the next three years can now create their own university league table, write Sue Learner and Ceri Williams.
Hotcourses, a publisher of guides to colleges and courses, have launched the UK’s first online personalised league tables.
Using a series of questions on topics ranging from sport and religion to debating clubs, the service draws up a unique personal profile of the applicant that is matched to a list of universities and colleges.
Tony Higgins, chief executive of the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, said: “There is no such thing as a ‘top university’, only a top university for a particular individual.
The ervice can be accessed by clicking on “University and College Search” at www.hotcourses.com Meanwhile, courses in careers education and personal development now count towards university points in Leicestershire. The University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Loughborough University now all recognise non-formal academic qualifications as counting towards university points. Janet Graham, director of admissions and student recruitment at the University of Leicester, said: “The full range of a learner’s achievements will be recognised and celebrated.”
She said an estimated 300 courses, around 70 per cent of the ones on offer in the three universities, were so far involved in the initiative.