Once you decide what sort of course you want to take, you will need to think about which universities and colleges you want to apply to.

There are a large number of institutions that offer HE, so you will need to think about which ones will suit you best, in terms of type, size and where it's based.

Size
Some universities, are very big with over 14,000 students while others may only have a few hundreds. Larger institutions may offer a wider range of courses and more facilities, as well as a greater choice of people to make friends from. Smaller places may have a more friendly feel and class sizes.

Students
Although there are very few single sex colleges left, there are still a number of institutions or campuses made up mainly of either males or females. The number of part-time and/or full-time students, of mature students, students from abroad and the ratio of postgraduate to undergraduate students can also vary. How much these factors matter to you depends on the type of person you are what you're looking for.

Places
Town or country, campus or multi-site, where a university or college is based can affect the lifestyle of its students.

City centre - may mean lots of shops and a wide range of things to do and see, but may also mean noisy traffic, higher crime rates and the danger of feeling lost in the crowd.

Rural - may mean peaceful and pleasant grounds within easy reach of the countryside, but may also mean a more less nightlife and a degree of isolation.

Green field campus - sites may mean being able to eat, sleep and study all in one place (useful for late risers) but living in a 1960s concrete jungle can be a bit souless, especially at weekends.

Small town universities- may combine some of the high life of living in the city with the friendly feel and safety of a smaller place, but can feel a bit dull to some people.

Histories
Universities and colleges come in all shapes and sizes. This is because they were founded and built at different times. It can be helpful to divide them up into groups.

Ancient universities - like Oxford, Cambridge and St Andrews in Scotland - entry to these universities is highly competitive. These universities are steeped in history and tradition.

Redbrick universities - built mainly towards the end of the nineteenth century in the industrial cities of the north and midlands of England and in Wales. Examples are Leeds, Birmingham and Cardiff.

Campus universities - built from scratch in the 1960s on green field sites outside towns, like Warwick and Essex.

Technological universities - founded in the late 1960s from former colleges of advanced technology, like Bath and Brunel.

New universities - were polytechnics, became universities in the early 1990s, like Sheffield Hallam, Liverpool John Moores, and Glamorgan.

Colleges of higher education - like King Alfred's in Winchester. These were formed from what once were teacher training colleges, colleges of technology, commerce and art and design.

Cost of living
You may not have given much thought to the fact that the cost of living - food, drink, transport, housing, and entertainment - varies from place to place. With student finance getting tighter each year, this can be worth thinking about when making your Higher Education choices.

Accommodation
You may prefer to live in a university or college hall of residence or self-catering flat in your first year. The number of places and the cost of these can vary widely. Some institutions guarantee a place in hall to all students who accept their offer of a place by a certain date. Others don't have enough place to go round. It's worth bearing in mind when choosing where to apply. Don't just check out the number of places and cost of your first year housing. You are not likely to be offered a place in hall in your second year so this means having to rent a house or flat or take lodgings in the private sector. This sort of accommodation can be much harder to find in some towns than others.

Two further issues to think about when choosing a university or college are the study facilities and the academic reputation of the university or college.

Take a look at the UCAS site for further information.