Study in England

Ambitious students choose to study in England because it is a global leader in further education with many of the world’s oldest and most eminent universities. More than 350,000 foreign students currently study in England, over 30% of whom are from the EU. Studying in England offers students a wonderful learning experience in a dynamic multicultural environment, allowing you to meet fellow students from around the globe.  While studying in England you will have the opportunity to undertake internships with multinational companies in the fields of finance, fashion, business management, and technology.

Rich in history and tradition, England nevertheless stands at the forefront of innovation and cutting-edge research. As a student you can enjoy the best of both worlds.

Students wanting to study in England have a choice of over 100 universities out of a total of 160 in the UK. England has many outstanding research-led institutions for ambitious students including renowned Oxbridge, and the prestigious Russell Group. Scoring highly in international rankings, the Russell Group is made up of 24 leading universities which focus on research and have a global reputation for academic excellence.

If you want to study in England, you will be spending a minimum of three years at university. England offers such a wide range of campuses, locations, and atmospheres that you will need to think about where you want to live, besides where you intend to study.

Some factors to consider:

• ranking of the university and course you wish to study
• location -urban, or more rural
• nature of campus, and availability of accommodation
• transport and ease of access
• tuition fees and living costs
• work opportunities

If you are torn between various options, contact Elab. We will provide you with a report which compares up to fifteen selected universities, with recommendations from our education consultants to guide you and help you make the right decision. Elab will also put you in touch with one of our on-campus student mentors, who will be able to answer any questions about a specific course, or what to expect from studying in England.

University rankings are a key factor in choosing where to study in England. The table, below, ranks the top 20 universities in England and gives you each university’s current world ranking.

Choosing a course to study in England is not so simple. The choice is huge and individual courses within a field of study vary widely. Below, we list the most popular courses students applied for with Elab in 2023. 

To help students choose a particular course to study in England, Elab offers a number of great programs to discover more about your abilities and analyse what course is best suited to your talents, long-term career goals, and personality. Our diagnostics programs will open the door to courses to study in England you may not have considered and will suggest areas where you could excel. Elab’s GR4Uni programme, for example, is geared towards students in their last year at school. GR4Uni programme offers the Morrisby Diagnostic Test, meetings with our consultants, mentorship, and a report on the courses and universities which meet your aspirations. It is a great motivator to get students thinking and planning where they want to go after school.

If you have already decided on a specific course to study in England, on request Elab can provide you with a comprehensive university report offering the courses you are interested in, along with details of the university itself, the application process, requirements, deadlines, and costs.

In addition to the above, nursing, marine biology, and physiotherapy are attracting growing numbers of applicants every year wanting to study in England. Competition for a place to study popular courses like computer science in the higher ranked universities in England is becoming fiercer.

Choosing a course to study in England can be daunting if you rely on lists and tables. If you would like to get personalised advice, and information, and talk through your options with a specialist consultant, then pick up the phone and call us, here at Elab, or drop us an email. Elab’s consultants have the experience, passion, and knowledge to guide you. We also run regular, informative webinars. Follow us on Facebook or check Elab’s calendar of upcoming events here.

Undergraduate university applications to study in England are processed through a central online system known as UCAS, which opens in early September and closes in January. Oxbridge deadlines are earlier and close around the middle of October. Postgraduate candidates must apply directly to the university of their choice in line with their requirements. 

Elab recommends you start preparing your documents to study in England and the UK well in advance, since you will need to get school references organised and translated, and write a strong, convincing Personal Statement. You will be asked to fill in a section about your educational history, your work experience, upload references which include predicted grades and submit your Personal Statement, setting out why you wish to study a particular subject.

You may also need to prepare for and pass IELTS exams, and possibly other entrance exams, or sit a university interview. Elab’s consultants will guide you through the process in your personalised classroom, with regular tasks, meetings, mentor assistance, and reminders. Ultimately Elab’s goal when helping students with applications is to maximise their chances of securing a place at the best university of their choice. 

To submit a UCAS application to study in England or the UK, you will have to pay a small submission fee. You can pay online with a credit or debit card. You can choose up to five universities and, once you have registered with UCAS and received your log-in instructions, you will be able to track the progress of your applications.

Elab can help you prepare a brilliant Personal Statement to study in England, which stands out from the crowd and will give assessors a clear idea of who you are, what you stand for and what you offer their university.

UCAS will contact you by email whenever there is any activity on your account. This will be particularly important once you start getting replies from universities. You need to respond to any offers you receive in a relatively short period of time.

Anyone who has already applied to study in England through UCAS and has not received an offer by the beginning of July is eligible to apply to Clearing, a system which matches people and unfilled places. Oxford and Cambridge do not take part, while UCL, LSE, Imperial and some members of the Russell Group generally have waiting lists or no extra places to fill. In addition, courses, such as medicine, dentistry and veterinary science are always very heavily oversubscribed.

The dates for Clearing vary from year to year, but normally run from the end of June to the end of September/mid-October. The process of Clearing is a little complicated, but Elab can help you navigate through it. You can only apply for one course at a time, and since the availability of courses and universities varies from year to year, you will not get a clear idea of where to apply until Clearing opens.

If you want to study in England to enjoy everything it has to offer, you need to be aware of the relatively high tuition fees for EU students that now apply. Post Brexit, EU students are now classified as international students and are no longer eligible for government grants and home tuition fees. For current tuition fees, specific to a university and course, contact Elab. However here are some guidelines on costs to study in England:

• Undergraduate tuition fees range from GBP 14,000-GBP 38,000 per year, depending on the course you have chosen, with medicine being at the high end of the scale at GBP 39,000-GBP 61,000 per year.
• EU resident applicants who want to study in England will need to pay a fee in the region of GBP 400 to apply for their Tier 4 student visa. Contact Student visa : Overview – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for further information.
• Living costs to study in England – recent surveys have established that the average student needs the equivalent of around 1600 euro per month, with rent accounting for approximately one-third of that total.
• Rent differs from one area of England to another, with the North being significantly cheaper than London and the South.
• Scholarships: when you study in England you can become eligible for a range of scholarships, some of which are awarded automatically. Other scholarships are for academic results or outstanding achievements in specific fields. Commercial and charitable organisations, as well as individual universities, all offer scholarships, although you should note that many are only available to postgraduate students.
• You will have the right to work part-time throughout your studies in England, to support your living costs.

• Student Accommodation: first year students in England and the UK can  apply to live in university halls of residence, or find a house or flat to share, or stay in a studio apartment. Universities have accommodation departments that assign campus rooms and can put you in touch with recommended local agents. Collegiate universities, such as Durham and Oxbridge, will offer you college accommodation once you have been accepted.
• Placements and internships: England’s universities value practice as well as theory. You will be expected to be proactive, to take up placements and internships, and discover how to apply what you learn to the demands of the workplace. Most of England’s universities offer study abroad options, for a term or a year, as well as the opportunity to work on projects with external partners.
• Get involved and enjoy yourself: English university student unions organise a vast range of activities, clubs, societies, and social events. Whether you are interested in football, mime, filmmaking, debates, or line dancing, you are sure to find a society to join and enjoy.
• Part-time work while studying in England: if you intend to find part-time job, you will have more opportunities if you live in a large university town or a major city.

Elab successfully helps hundreds of students decide on what course and where to study each year, and then apply to get their dream offer.

Your dedicated consultant will take you through Elab’s proven 5 Steps to Success process in your own personalised on-line classroom, and is always available during office hours to meet and discuss your application’s progress further.