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Uniselect can help you filter out the noise when you feel overwhelmed narrowing down your choices to just five. We’ll explore how it can make your decision-making process smoother and more informed, and guide you through the step-by-step process of using Uniselect to create your final five UCAS choices.

What is Uniselect? 

Using Uniselect is like having a supercharged search engine that takes your grades, preferences, and ambitions, and turns them into a shortlist of universities that fit your specific goals. It’s like having your own personalised league table! 

With Uniselect, you should find it easier to create a thoughtful, well-rounded shortlist of universities for your UCAS application.

Why use Uniselect? 

1. Tailored to you 

One of the biggest advantages of using Uniselect is that it helps you find universities that suit you, not your parents, your friends, or classmates. You can prioritise what’s important to you—whether it's a university's location, entry requirements, or graduate prospects. The tool lets you adjust the importance of things like student satisfaction and research quality, so you're choosing universities that fit your personal goals and academic profile. 

2. Time saving 

Scrolling through university websites or countless league tables can take up hours of your time. Uniselect does the hard work for you, providing a personalised, ranked list of universities in just a few clicks. This allows you to quickly narrow down the list of institutions worth considering, saving you time to focus on other important tasks—like preparing for exams! 

3. Trusted data 

While reputation matters, making sure a university aligns with your academic and career goals is essential. Uniselect uses real data from our university rankings, meaning you’re not just picking universities because they sound good or your friends are going there—you’re choosing places that will help you succeed academically and beyond. 

4. Prepares you for UCAS 

When you use Uniselect to create your final five, you’re setting yourself up for a strong UCAS application. The tool gives you confidence that your chosen universities are realistic based on your predicted grades, and that they offer the best fit for your aspirations. Having this reassurance can make the entire UCAS process much less stressful. 

Step-by-step guide to finding your UCAS final five 

Ready to start? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to use Uniselect to create your shortlist: 

Step 1: Open Uniselect 

 You can find Uniselect from our homepage or by going to thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings/uniselect.

Open the page now in a new window and you can follow along. 

Step 2: Select your subject 

Choosing the right subject is key, and Uniselect makes it easy. Once you’re on the site, you’ll be prompted to select the subject you’re interested in studying. This helps Uniselect filter for universities that offer the course you want to take. 

Step 3: State your preferences 

Next, you’ll be asked to provide a few more details: 

• Location - Do you have a preference for where you want to study? Maybe you want to stay close to home or venture further afield. You can specify a region or select "No preference" to see all options. 
• University type - Would you prefer a campus university or a city-based one? Or are you open to either? 

Step 4: Tell us what’s important 

Now you can refine your search by adjusting the importance of different factors.

For example, if student experience is a top priority for you, you could rank student satisfaction first. If employment outcomes and career prospects are important for you, you could make graduate prospects a priority. If cutting-edge research and top-notch teaching are essential to you, give research a higher rating. You could also add highly rated teaching to your top 3 priorities. 

Step 5: Enter your predicted grades 

If you enter your predicted grades, Uniselect can find universities with realistic entry requirements for your qualifications. 

Step 6: Refine your search 

Enter your accommodation budget, the sports you’d like to take part in while at uni and the university services that are important to you to make your shortlist even more tailored to you and your needs. Once you’ve done this, click ‘Get shortlist’. 

Step 7: Sign in or register 

Once you’ve clicked ‘Get shortlist’ a register or sign in screen will open. If you are already registered sign in to review your shortlist, favourite you matches and more. If not sign up and you can save as many shortlists as you like to your profile and favourite universities, courses and more by clicking on the little hearts. You can even sign up for our monthly newsletters!  

Step 8: Review your matches 

Once you're signed in, Uniselect will present a personalised list of universities, ranked according to how well they match your criteria. You can see vital information like entry requirements, student satisfaction scores, and graduate outcomes. You can even sign up to recieve further information from your matches, and let the unis come to you. 

Step 9: Finalise Your Top Five 

Now comes the fun part—reviewing your university matches. Click on each university to get more in-depth information, and start thinking about which ones could be your final UCAS choices. By this point, you’ll have a much clearer idea of which universities are realistic, supportive of your goals, and aligned with your personal preferences. 

Now you’re one step closer to securing a place at a university that’s the perfect fit for you. 

Get your shortlist now!